Why isn't my senior Lab's leg wound healing after tumor surgery?

Silver sulfadiazine ointment works wonders to heal wounds. Also, you need to keep the wound covered/bandaged until it is healed. We can probably help you better if you could post some photos of the wound.

This can happen , as wounds like that, even with tension cuts, often slough the skin, The skin will have to grow in slowly and it will. However the wound will need regular bandaging and moisture, so you will need to discuss a bandaging schedule with your vet, Have the vet or his techs show you how to bandage the wound, and give you supplies , (ointments, etc),

Since the skin is broken and/or inflamed, Bruno should be physically examined by your veterinarian. He may need antibiotics, anti-inflammatories or both. If there is a lump or mass associated with the sore, it should be aspirated to collect samples for pathology. Use an e-collar (cone) to prevent Bruno from licking it.

If he is licking at it, use an Elizabethan collar (cone) or apply a light bandage. use caution when applying bandages though. if you make it too tight, you may cause more harm than good. Restrict Bruno's activity to just short leash walks for elimination. Avoid excessive running, jumping or rough play until he is feeling better.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that T is having this problem. A few things are possible here. I am assuming that the original wound never healed, only got better. If that's the case then I would suspect either a foreign body has entered the leg or an insect/spider/other has bitten him that started the entire problem. Puncture wounds can look very different over time so it may have been only one small puncture wound from the inciting event. I would advise taking T back to your veterinarian so they can recheck the wound and possibly rethink what is going on. (Assuming they saw it initially) after it first happened. They may want to culture the wound and run a sensitivity of the bugs that grow out of the culture to determine what antibiotics would be best. They may also advise some x-rays to determine if a foreign body has entered the leg although this can be of questionable value depending what the foreign body could be. Exploring the wound might be another option. All of these can be discussed with your veterinarian and I have made some assumptions here and could be wrong. I wish you the best of luck with T and I hope you get to the bottom of this very soon.

Oh my, this is a large wound for Ruger! Treatment and prognosis for this type of lesion will be dependent upon the initial cause (i.e. burns, cancer, ringworm infection, bacterial infection from a skin infection, etc.). Ideally, I do recommend taking him to the vet to determine if the wound has become infected so that appropriate treatment can be started. Topical sprays, such as Vetericyn, can be helpful with many cases of wound healing, but do not start any of these treatments without first consulting Ruger's vet. I hope that all goes well!

It could be Bruno was injured. I would gently clean hi's wounds with warm water and antiseptic soap. To keep him from licking at it, you can put an Ecollar on him. You can get one at a pet store or make one at home. Keep the wound clean and dry, and monitor it for signs of infection. If you see redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, or pus, then it is infected and he will need to see the vet for antibiotics to treat it.