A Stitch in Haste

Diamond has developed a case of interdigital furuncles on one of her paws.




Nothing life-threatening. In fact she can walk, run and jump perfectly well.

She is on Clavamox, but there is still a 50-50 chance that she will need surgery.

On the other hand, the surgery is minor — not even general anesthesia — just lots of lidocaine and a strong sedative that knocks her out for 15 minutes. Then snip-snip, stitch-stitch, cone, home.

She also developed a yeast infection in one ear. Apparently it is not at all uncommon for the two problems to occur simultaneously, and suggests allergies. Though I can't imagine to what after three years with me.

Stay tuned.

(Cross-posted at Modulator's Friday Ark.)

The Clavamox had no noticeable effect on Diamond's furuncles. The vet and I are in agreement that it is better to remove the lesions now, before they have a chance to worsen and possibly make her go lame.

So she will be going in tomorrow for the quickie same-day procedure. This way I have all day Wednesday to nursemaid her.

Her ear, meanwhile, is now completely free of the yeast infection.

Thanks for all the well wishes this weekend.

Diamond's surgery was successful and uneventful. The vet said that the lesions were in fact cysts and not just inflamed tissue, but also said that having them biopsied was unnecessary.

They had just shot her full of painkillers when I picked her up, so getting her home was a bit of an adventure -- she wobbled and paused like a drunken sailor.




She's far less groggy now, but still a bit listless.

On the bright side, she gets a new fashion accessory:




Fortunately she only needs to wear it when I'm at work.

Next milestone is a trip back to the vet on Saturday to change the dressing. The stitches stay in for ten days.

Best dog in the world.

The surgery was a complete success, but the recovery was not. The cone, or "e-collar" the vet gave her was too short.


Apparently the vet forgot that we were dealing, not with abdominal stitches, but with interdigital incisions on her front paw. The very first day I left her alone and went to work, she got the bandage off and ripped out one stitch. Over the ensuing days she got all four out (two stitches times two incisions), despite my best efforts at repeatedly re-bandaging her.

Still, both incisions have now closed and she is completely fine — walking, running and jumping as friskily as ever. But she will have scars that are far worse than they needed to be. On the other hand, her fur will grow back and conceal them, more or less.

And it goes without saying that I will not be returning to that vet. I'm just glad I have a choice and that we don't live in a socialized vet care regime.

(Carnivalized at Modulator's Friday Ark.)