Rosie- A Nasty Dog Bite
Name: “Rosie”
Species: Canine
Breed: Cavalier King Charles
Sex: Female Speyed
Weight: 7.8kg
Age : 2 yo
History: Rosie, a gorgeous Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was brought into Wilston Vet one afternoon as an emergency after being attacked by another dog.
Examination: Rosie was in shock, and had one major puncture wound to the middle of her chest, with a few smaller wounds around it. Poor Rosie was extremely painful on examination. It was quite hard to assess the degree of damage to Rosie’s body as her furry coat was covering her wounds. Nurse Melissa very gently clipped around the puncture wounds, so that Dr Kate could assess the injuries fully. Once Dr Kate was happy the wounds had not extended into the chest cavity, she talked to Rosie’s Dad about her need for an emergency stitch up. Rosie’s Dad was happy for Dr Kate to perform the surgery immediately to clean her wounds and suture them closed.
Treatment: Rosie was immediately given pain relief medication and intravenous fluids whilst the surgery area was set up for her. She was also given a strong antibiotic injection as dog bite wounds are prone to infection as dogs harbour millions of bacteria in their mouth. Nurse Melissa monitored Rosie’s vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and oxygen saturation) as Dr Kate prepared for surgery.
Once anaesthetised, Dr Kate was able to see how deep the major puncture wound went under her skin. There was quite a large portion of skin that had been torn off the underlying muscle, which resulted in a deep pocket.
The affected area was flushed with saline, to make sure all foreign matter had been eliminated from the wound site. This also helps to reduce the chances of infection as superficial bacteria are washed away. A latex drain was placed to help drain any fluid away that may accumulate over the coming days.
Rosie was woken up from her anaesthetic, and her mum and dad came back in to collect her that night. Rosie was transferred to the Pet Emergency Centre overnight for further monitoring and care. This was to ensure Rosie was monitored overnight in case she deteriorated. Thankfully her overnight stay went well and she went home to her family the next morning.
Outcome: Dr Kate requested to see Rosie back three days after the surgery, to remove the drain. There was still quite a bit of swelling and fluid retention in the area, so the drain was left in for two more days. Rosie was super brave for her drain removal two days later and the area was looking good. Rosie then had her sutures removed another 6 days later. Dr Kate was very pleased with the healing! Well done little Rosie for being so brave!