How does a veterinarian know when to leave a bite wound open , suture it closed or place a penrose drain ?
Bite wounds on a dog, multiple
9 Responses to “How does a veterinarian know when to leave a bite wound open , suture it closed or place a penrose drain ?”
Ryland 148 Said:
You should ask a vet. Your chances of finding one on here are extremely slim to none.
Aspen Waters Said:
I would imagine thats what they are trained for
whats the point of the question… take your dog to the vet!
Jordan Mcgowan Said:
How? That is what they learned in school! That is why they have the diplomas in veterinary medicine, and we (the average pet owners) do not!
Probably based on the width, depth, location, and severity of the individual wound, I would imagine!
Please, if your dog has multiple bite wounds, get him some *professional* medical attention ASAP.
Daniella Rossiter Said:
They know because of the four years they spent in Vet School. It depends on the location of the wound, length, depth, whether there is enough healthy tissue to suture closed, and likely where the dog is kept (for example, a wound that might be fine left open on an indoor dog may do better closed if the dog is outdoors in dirty conditions).
Cesar Lodge Said:
You should ask your Vet every question you have, all I know is that sometimes a bad bite is just wrapped and they like it to heal from the inside and as skin dies they cut it off, I don’t even remember how I found that out, sometimes when my dogs are in for a check I ask my Vet some weird question about something I saw on TV, he answers and I forget 1/2 of it and he tells me I’ll forget, If its your dog or whatever dog it is I hope it all turns out OK
Kiley181 Said:
What Sunshine said- it depends upon upon the location and structure – or lack thereof- of the wound.
If you have a question about how your vet repaired the damage, you should ask them.
Davon Whitworth Said:
It’s based on how large the wound is, how deep the wound is, how old the wound is, and whether there is infection.
A superficial wound would not need any stitching. Also, if the wound is older, there is no need to stitch, as the tissue around the wound will generally not hold the stitches. The only real reason to put a drain in is if there is a chance of infection- to drain out the infections material.
Janiyah Bradford Said:
If your wondering why they don’t alway close large ones.. it is so they can be drained and flushed because of possible infection. It would depend on the animal that bit them also.
Andre Holland Said:
Whether we leave it open or closed depends on whether it’s clean or not. Generally we assume all bite wouns are contaminated (teeth aren’t all that clean, after all), so will leave a wound open until we can se evidence of healing (granulation tissue) before closing it. The granulation tissue indicated that there is no infection, so it is safe to close. Obviously if leaving the wound open is going to be life threatening in itself (an open chest for example), we have to close it very quickly and deal with the infection later.
The drain depends on the size and location of the wound.
You should ask a vet. Your chances of finding one on here are extremely slim to none.
I would imagine thats what they are trained for
whats the point of the question… take your dog to the vet!
How? That is what they learned in school! That is why they have the diplomas in veterinary medicine, and we (the average pet owners) do not!
Probably based on the width, depth, location, and severity of the individual wound, I would imagine!
Please, if your dog has multiple bite wounds, get him some *professional* medical attention ASAP.
They know because of the four years they spent in Vet School. It depends on the location of the wound, length, depth, whether there is enough healthy tissue to suture closed, and likely where the dog is kept (for example, a wound that might be fine left open on an indoor dog may do better closed if the dog is outdoors in dirty conditions).
You should ask your Vet every question you have, all I know is that sometimes a bad bite is just wrapped and they like it to heal from the inside and as skin dies they cut it off, I don’t even remember how I found that out, sometimes when my dogs are in for a check I ask my Vet some weird question about something I saw on TV, he answers and I forget 1/2 of it and he tells me I’ll forget, If its your dog or whatever dog it is I hope it all turns out OK
What Sunshine said- it depends upon upon the location and structure – or lack thereof- of the wound.
If you have a question about how your vet repaired the damage, you should ask them.
It’s based on how large the wound is, how deep the wound is, how old the wound is, and whether there is infection.
A superficial wound would not need any stitching. Also, if the wound is older, there is no need to stitch, as the tissue around the wound will generally not hold the stitches. The only real reason to put a drain in is if there is a chance of infection- to drain out the infections material.
If your wondering why they don’t alway close large ones.. it is so they can be drained and flushed because of possible infection. It would depend on the animal that bit them also.
Whether we leave it open or closed depends on whether it’s clean or not. Generally we assume all bite wouns are contaminated (teeth aren’t all that clean, after all), so will leave a wound open until we can se evidence of healing (granulation tissue) before closing it. The granulation tissue indicated that there is no infection, so it is safe to close. Obviously if leaving the wound open is going to be life threatening in itself (an open chest for example), we have to close it very quickly and deal with the infection later.
The drain depends on the size and location of the wound.