My dog's c-section incision looks split and irritated. What should I do?

Have her rechecked by your veterinarian. The site should have been fully healed by now unless she has been licking it or overly active. Place an e-collar (cone) on her and restrict activity to just leash walks for elimination until she sees the doctor. A staple, suture or glue may be applied once any infection or trauma has been ruled out by the vet.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Mattie. It is common for skin incisions on nursing dogs to become irritated due to the skin folds created by the mammary chain. When she is not nursing, try to hold the mammary glands apart and dry the skin. This should be enough to help keep the skin healthy. If you notice a discharge from the incision, foul odor, heat or pustules on the skin, then you will need to alert her veterinarian. I hope this information helps!

Thank you for providing a picture of Honey's incision, it's very helpful. Yes, I agree it does appear to have opened up, and I'm worried it could get infected since it has opened. She needs to see a vet asap to get this closed, and the vet may likely close it with surgical glue after examining it and cleaning it. The vet may also prescribe antibiotics. Please take her into a vet immediately. I hope this helps!

Sometimes skin incisions that were closed with glue will pucker at the very ends and open slightly. However, the middle pucker appears a little swollen. I would recommend that you take Chloe to a vet to check the incision. Usually the vet that performed the surgery will do brief incision checks at no charge. Sometimes another spot of glue is all that is needed to get it to heal properly. Sometimes the puckers are left open to heal on their own. If the vet finds signs of infection, oral antibiotics can be prescribed. Make sure that Chloe is not licking the incision. If you see her lick even once she needs to wear an e-collar or cone to prevent further opening of the incision. Also, she needs to still be on moderate activity restriction - even though this can be difficult in young puppies, encourage her to stay flat and not jump around too much. And no bathing for at least 1 week after surgery.

Unfortunately the photo does show separation of the incision and draining from this area suggest that it may be infected. Yes Bailey should be seen by your vet asap to have this area investigated to determine why she is having this leakage, how far the infection is underneath, and if antibiotics or an additional surgery is required. This is not ideal; however, getting her seen quickly before it gets any worse and restricting her activity until she is seen, is the next best step towards getting this resolved. Wipe away any discharge with a clean rag and place a clean t-shirt over her to help prevent any further contamination of the area. Place her e-collar back on her as well to prevent any licking of the incision. Best of luck with Bailey and dealing with complications following her surgery. i hope that she gets this resolved very soon. Best wishes and take care.

This was likely done to reduce tension on the incision. Since such a large section of tissue was removed, not making these small cuts in the surrounding tissue would increase the risk that the incision would open up even if sutured or stapled. You will need to keep the area clean, dry and free of debris. A bandage may be applied, however it would need to be changed daily or more frequently to keep the area clean. An e-collar should also be used to prevent licking until healing is complete.

No as long as it’s not fully opened. The abdomen is closed in layers so even if the skin incision opens a little it will not effect the healing of the inner layers. Do not clean it or put anything on it. If she’s licking please use a cone, and keep her quiet. Being overly active can cause problems with the suture line and result in increased pain and swelling. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Lena.