Post Operative Care

There are many reasons that your pet can go "under the knife". This blog is to give you an overall understanding/"step-by-step" post surgery care for your pet for minor surgeries. (Such as spay, neuter, or mass removals)

Warning: There will be some "semi-graphic" photos posted below to demonstrate what a healing wound SHOULD NOT look like. Please be aware beforehand, however, this is something that a responsible pet owner should know to look out for.

Below are Basic Instructions for post operative care:

1. If your pet had surgery that day, first ask the veterinary nurse or doctor if your pet has been fed yet. If not, ask when is a good time to offer a small amount of food. Do NOT offer a full meal because general anesthesia can cause nausea. Offer food in small amounts for that evening. If vomiting occurs, remove food that is being offered. Always confirm with veterinarian that this is normal for the specific procedure that your pet had. Your pet may also not be hungry post surgery, this is alright. Make sure fresh clean water is always available. (Exceptions: Kittens/Puppies/Teacup dogs should be offered food as soon as possible unless otherwise specified to make sure that their blood sugar does not get too low.)

2. Keep pet in confined area away from other pets and children for a day. (ex. bathroom, kitchen, etc.) Do not place them in a room with a high place (sofa, bed, etc.) Rest and sleep are essential for healing. Jumping onto or off of a high surface can rupture the surgery site or cause internal bleeding in a worst case scenario.

3. If pain medication has been prescribed, follow the written instructions on the bottle from your veterinarian carefully. Usually this medication should be given with food unless otherwise specified. DO NOT GIVE HUMAN MEDICINE, FOR EXAMPLE ADVIL, ASPIRIN OR TYLENOL. THESE MEDICATIONS CAN BE DEADLY TO YOUR PET.

4. Incision Care: Check your pet's incision DAILY. Your pet may or may not have stitches (aka sutures) or staples to be removed 10-14 days from the time of surgery. Your veterinarian should let you know this upon discharge. If not, ask. Personally, I would always keep an Elizabethan Collar (aka E-Collar) on my pet after any surgery that he/she has the ability to lick the site at. Even if your pet is "well behaved". Once incisions start to heal, they get ITCHY. It's only natural for them to attempt to lick and/or scratch the site.

You may say "well I will watch them", however, are you always home? Even if you don't work, or work from home...five minutes is all your pet needs to do some serious damage. Or, what happens when you go to the bathroom? Take a shower? Sleep at night? You get the picture. You are not physically able to ALWAYS watch your pet. Safest bet is to leave the e-collar on for at least the first week. It takes the skin 10-14 days to completely heal back together (with no complications).

If your pet is using an e-collar, prepare for them to usually react negatively at first. It will be awkward for them, and hinder their movement. It usually takes pets 24 hours (without taking the cone off!) to get used to the collar, but then they are quite accepting of it. (You may take the collar off to walk your pet, unless told otherwise by your veterinarian.)

Normal Incision Healing:

(example: cat spay; please note yellow color is the iodine used to sterilize the patient before surgery.)

Infected Incision:

(example: cat spay; you can see the skin sides are no longer touching, also known as possibly a "dehissing" incision, it's red, swollen, and it appears to have some puss oozing out of the site)

Minor swelling/redness is normal for the first day or so. If there is still swelling/redness and/or oozing starts to occur, contact your veterinarian IMMEDIATELY.

5. Keep your pet in a calm, clean environment that is warm and dry for the next week. House your pet indoors.

6. Restrict your pet's activity. Short leash walks for dogs for the next week, and discourage running/jumping or rough play for the next 7-10 days. Crate your pet for the first few days if necessary. I know that you feel bad for them, however, you will feel even worse if they need to be re-sedated to fix their surgery site over something that could've been very easily preventable. Whether through restricted activity or an e-collar.

7. Do not wash or clean the incision. Do not put any antibiotic ointments on the incision unless specified by your veterinarian. DO NOT BATHE or get your pet WET for the next 7 days. DO NOT GET YOUR PET GROOMED until TWO WEEKS after surgery (or when ok'd by your vet).

Helpful Hint:

If your pet's incision is on their back or somewhere where an e-collar won't matter or help (for example they can't lick the incision like on the back of their neck or head, BUT THEY CAN SCRATCH IT), I find using a child's t-shirt or pet t-shirt can be extremely helpful. It acts as a barrier from scratching. Just make sure that you continue to check the incision daily and that the incision can "breathe". Make sure it's not a tight piece of clothing.

(my Jack and Lilo sporting their polos) :)

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask. That's why I'm here!

Until Next Time!

Rachel, LVT

"The Visiting Vet Tech"TM

P.S. If you have any topics that you would like me to talk about or questions that you would like me to address on here, please feel free to comment or send me an e-mail at RHusney@gmail.com