Surgical treatment of wounds, bites and injuries

What it involves

Wound management is not just suturing. A bite wound looks from the outside like two small holes, but under the skin there is crushed tissue, torn away from the underlying layers, and bacteria from the attacker's mouth. Suturing such a wound without cleaning it is a recipe for an abscess. That is why, under anaesthesia, we remove dead tissue, flush copiously, assess the depth, place a drain where fluid will collect, and only then close — or deliberately leave the wound to heal open.

After road traffic accidents, falls or bites from a larger dog, the skin wound is sometimes the least important problem. Before we deal with it, we check the chest, the abdominal cavity and the bones — internal bleeding or pneumothorax kill faster than a cut in the skin.

Heavily contaminated wounds, burns, extensive skin defects and neglected wounds are managed in stages: dressings, cleaning and, after a few days, closure or skin reconstruction. This requires patience, but gives a better result than forcing the wound closed in one go.

When it is used

Every bite wound needs a visit within a few hours, even if it looks harmless — especially in cats, in which an abscess almost always develops under a small hole in the skin. Cuts and lacerations are best treated within 6–8 hours; after that the risk of infection rises.

After being hit by a car, a fall from a height or a bite from a large dog, come straight away, even if the animal “looks fine”. During the practice's opening hours, call on your way — we will have a treatment area ready. Outside those hours, go to a 24-hour animal hospital.

Indications: symptoms that should prompt a visit

• A dog has been bitten by another dog and has wounds on the neck, chest or abdomen.
• A cat has come back from a fight with a wound, or after 2–3 days has a hot, painful swelling and a fever and is not eating.
• An animal has cut its paw on glass or sheet metal, is bleeding and limping.
• A dog has been hit by a car, or a cat has fallen from a balcony.
• The wound has a detached flap of skin or deeper tissues can be seen in it.
• A wound that was sutured earlier has come apart, is leaking or smells.
• A cat has a wound that keeps reopening and has not healed for weeks.

Conditions for which we use it in particular

Diagnostics beforehand

First, an assessment of the whole patient using the triage scheme: breathing, circulation, pain, consciousness. After high-energy injuries, X-rays of the chest and abdomen and a quick ultrasound (FAST) looking for free fluid or air. An X-ray of the area around the wound shows fractures and foreign bodies that cannot be seen through the skin.

A blood test assesses blood loss and the state of the organs. Pre-anaesthetic assessment under STD-01 — in trauma patients often after initial stabilisation with fluids and oxygen.

How it proceeds

Aftercare

At home: a collar, protecting the wound from licking and dirt, an antibiotic (usually essential for bite wounds) and painkillers as set out on the schedule. We remove the drain after 2–5 days, change dressings every 1–3 days and remove sutures after 10–14 days. With open healing, check-ups are more frequent.

Call if the wound smells, swelling grows, pus leaks out, the animal has a fever, is lethargic, has difficulty breathing or has pale gums — also a few days after the injury, because some complications appear late.

Frequently asked questions