Benjamin chewing out stitches after spaying

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This topic has 10sd replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 2 months ago by LittlePuffyTail.

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- 01/03/2011 at 8:15 PM
  Bennala
  Participant
  2 posts
  Hey guys,
  
  I’m new to binky bunny & I just recently had my bunny Benjamin spayed. I actually thought it was a boy prior to bringing him in to get what i thought would be neutered, & the vet told me Ben was actually a female. So i had her spayed because i had just bought another baby bunny to bond her with. When i took her home, all she did was sit in the back of her cage that night and only ate a little. She later became more active and ate more, but i noticed that she had chewed out all of her stitches. However, the incision looked clean and not swollen or bloody/pussy and actually looked as if it was sealed. But a few days later (today) i looked again and it looks as if the wound is not sealed and is kind of open. I cannot see inside of her stomach or anything, but it still worries me. The wound looks clean still, no swelling blood or puss. So i called the vet i took her to and they said that it should be fine and just to watch her. I tried putting a tshirt sleeve around her stomach but she immediately ripped it off after growling and biting me as i put it on her. Im very worrried even though she gives me nothing to worry about as she eats a ton, runs around fine, jumps up on beds and everything. So i just wanted some opinions from other people who maybe have more knowledge or have gone through something like this! anything would help!
  
  Thanks!
- 01/03/2011 at 8:27 PM
  angie-la
  Participant
  380 posts
  yikes! to give you some peace of mind, I would say to just take her back and get the stitches redone. the surgery for females is much more intensive than the one for males. do not, however, give her an e-collar. the bunnies can hardly do anything with the cones of shame on haha. instead you can go to petco and get these inflatable collars that are much more comfortable and let the buns eat, groom, etc, while still preventing them from licking their wound. she’ll hate it, but you only need to use it for a week or so. here’s a link to the product:
  
  http://www.petco.com/product/100555/ProCollar-Premium-Inflatable-Protective-Collar.aspx
  
  i hope your bun has a speedy recovery!
- 01/03/2011 at 8:50 PM
  Bennala
  Participant
  2 posts
  I know I really need to take her to get the stitches redone but I go to UCSB & i can’t get back home before Friday because my classes just started. I called a vet in the area & said it would cost $250 to redo the stitches and put her under. However badly I want to just pay, my mom will not shell out that much money just to have her stitches redone since the surgery cost only $100. Im hoping she will be okay until Friday when i can go home and get her all stitched up again & buy her one of those collars. Thank you so much for the link and advice I’m hoping she continues to show lively behavior!
- 01/03/2011 at 9:13 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  So i called the vet i took her to and they said that it should be fine and just to watch her.
  
  Could you take some pictures to email them and ask again?
  
  I’m just going to point you to this thread as it talks a little about the layers that are sutured: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab…fault.aspx
  
  I hope there are no complications. (((vibes)))
- 01/03/2011 at 9:27 PM
  longhairmike
  Participant
  1069 posts
  Our Usako pulled out her stiches twice after she was fixed (2004),, she HATED the collar. when it finally came off she spent the better part of the day grooming herself. She’s a super diva.
- 01/04/2011 at 6:57 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Can you set up an appt at your vet for friday when you get back to have her checked out?
- 01/04/2011 at 7:12 AM
  Momto3boys
  Participant
  123 posts
  How long was it between the spay and her chewing out the stitches?
  Also if you can get a picture of it, it will help us see what’s really going on and if she does infact need to go and be restitched again.
- 01/04/2011 at 7:40 AM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Keep the area clean until you can get her to the vet on Friday. It sounds like the incision site is not infected and you want it to stay that way. Twice a day, use a new sterile cotton ball soaked it warm water with a drop of liquid soap in it to dab it clean, and then spray or apply some iodine solution on it. You can get topical povidone-iodine solution at feedstores or at a drugstore.
- 01/04/2011 at 9:14 PM
  KatnipCrzy
  Participant
  2981 posts
  I am not sure exactly what you are describing- but I am wondering if your bunny had any external sutures at all- some vets will use surgical glue to close the last layer- the skin that you can see. Some vets do use sutures that you would be able to see. Did you actually see stitches when you brought her home and now you do not? I would recommend calling and asking if they used glue or stitches to close the skin layer of the incision.
  
  Most pets will not bother their incision- but every once in a while there are some pets that are relentless about licking and bothering the incision. Light grooming and keeping clean is OK- but any excessive grooming and pulling out sutures needs to be addressed with some type of barrier to keep the pet from reaching it. Sometimes a vet will actually use stainless steel wire/suture to re-suture as they will leave tabs after the knot that are pokey and can keep the pet from licking the incision. I don’t see this done too often- but have seen it done.
- 01/04/2011 at 10:07 PM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  Your questions been answered and I don’t have anything to add but sending {{{Healing Vibes}}} Your way-I hope everything turns out fine-please keep us posted!
- 01/05/2011 at 4:47 AM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  Sounds like she will need to wear a cone. My boy needed one after his neuter and he hated it but we had no choice as he was making himself bleed. It’s a lot of work though because it requires a lot of hand feeding since they can’t reach the ground to eat with it on. We took it off for about an hour in the evenings to let him scratch his ears and wash his face, we just had to supervise him to make sure he didn’t lick at his incision while it was off.
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