Stitches being taken out….a year later ☹️

[Roksana]

Hey guys, so I took my bun Goose to get spayed last year (which I was super nervous about and made sure to ask a bunch of questions) and thankfully everything went well. I was told that she would be getting dissolvable stitches and that I had nothing further to worry about. I continued to check up on her weeks after and she healed great and was back to her usual self soon. After a few months I noticed I still felt what I thought to be stitches, but since I was completely unfamiliar with the procedure and what to expect I figured maybe the stitches would take a long time to dissolve. Now here we are a year later, and her stitches are still there. I contacted the office where she was spayed and asked what was going on and if this was normal and they informed me that she actually had STEEL stiches that were supposed to be removed 2 weeks after surgery, and that they were surprised she hadn’t developed any sort of infection. I’m really upset of this oversight on their part but also upset with myself for not being more vigilant and checking with the office more often. We are going in for her stitches to get removed on Saturday and I am petrified that she’ll have to go through another recovery process due to skin growing around/over her stiches. If anyone has any info on a situation similar to this that would be helpful, or even if you could let me know how your bun reacted to stiches being out, that would help a lot!! Thank you ?

[Luna]

Don’t blame yourself. They told you the stitches were dissolvable; the mistake is theirs. And it’s amazing/good that she didn’t get an infection. If I were you, I would make them pay for the surgery to get her stitches removed since it was their fault.

[Wick & Fable]

Agreeing with Luna here, the vet office didn’t even try to contact you to say that following the surgery (irresponsible of them. If they aren’t going to remove them, who would? They should!), so clearly it’s not completely your fault! I asked myself the same question with Wick’s neutering because his stitch is still in!

I don’t have any experience with stitch removal unfortunately, but use the same cautions after a procedure as you did following Goose’s spay. Since it didn’t get infected, I think that’s a sign that you take good care of her and she’s in a clean environment to say the least!

It’s an uncomfortable subject to bring up, but I would ask the vet why they did not reach out to you following the surgery, and if there can be a leniency on pricing of the needed procedure, if there needs to be a payment at all. This vet office needs to have patients point out these errors and take action on them so they do not make them in the future.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Deleted User]

That’s absolutely horrible! I’m so sorry that happened, you shouldn’t feel bad though. You didn’t know and it’s just awful on their part that they made no attempt to contact you. And you were given the wrong information in the first place! I hope the second surgery goes smooth as well, and I would definitely ask them to do the surgery free of charge, or at least at a reduced rate. Good luck!! Poor bun

[LittlePuffyTail]

What a terrible oversight. Definitely not your fault. Wishing your bunny an easy stitch removal.

[Roksana]

Thank you guys so much for your support and info! When I spoke to the office rep she was very apologetic about it and said she wasn’t sure how this happened and all that, and that there would be no charge. She also said they can’t be sure exactly what they’re gonna need to do to get the stiches out until they see her, but I know this is going to be a stressful situation for her regardless. Crossing my fingers that the situation isn’t bad and everything goes well!! ?

[Q8bunny]

That’s craaazy! How did they not notice during the followup visit or visits? Hope things get resolved smoothly. (((Goose)))

[Dface]

Hi I’m not sure how extensive the stitches are in your girl but I know Yumi has two stitches (a year after her surgery) I was also told they were dissolvable and on our check up they told me she was all good.

Recently I noticed she had two lumps and decided to ask her new vet about it who told me that they were probably nylon stitches which were never meant to dissolve.
But the vet I visited decided taking them out would do more damage than leaving it in as she felt another operation for something that wasnt effecting her was unnecessary stress

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