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My puppy has a bump on her spay incision. Is it normal or a hernia?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My puppy just got fixed. We have not let her horse play or anything. But there is a bump where she had surgery. Is that normal? My mom thinks maybe a hernia. Do I need to take her back to the doctor?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on November 21st, 2019

Without a physical exam or images, it is difficult to determine what it happening. The lumps could be sutures under the skin which close the muscle layer. These typically resolve on their own.
Continue to restrict activity and keep the e-collar (cone) in place to prevent licking. You can post another question with up to 3 images attached. Be sure images are no larger than 5MB and in either .jpg or .png format.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Jessica Desrosiers
Veterinary Technician
Published on June 7th, 2023
It would be best to have the area rechecked by your vet an assessed to see if it's just inflammation from internal sutures (which is a normal healing process, and can appear as a hard lump under the skin) or an actual hernia that might need surgical repair. Keeping Lucie from licking or chewing the spot, and reducing activity may help with the healing process until it can be seen.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Isabelle Roese, DVM, CVA
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist
Published on August 29th, 2017
If you gently push on the bump and it moves inside of the abdomen, movies past the muscle layers back into the belly, you might be dealing with and hernia. If you gently push on The lump and it does not go inside you might be dealing with swelling due to irritation caused by the suture material. Either way I would suggest you take Bell back to the office who did the surgery for a recheck post operation At my office we offer free recheck exam post operation.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Ana M, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on September 1st, 2018
Thank you for submitting your question regarding Harper. The bump appears to be a small area a long her incision site that has not healed as well as the rest of it. She may have an infection or could have licked that area. If the area enlarges or does not heal, she will need to see her veterinarian again. She may require antibiotics. In the meantime, do not allow her to lick and do not bathe her. I hope this information helps!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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What is this lump on my puppy's spay incision? Is it normal?

Larger dogs or dogs that are playful after a procedure can develop a seroma at the incision site. These firm bumps under the skin at the incision and are not painful. Sometimes they can drain and be fluid-filled. They will go away completely as healing takes place, but it may take a little longer than the normal 10 days for healing. It is still there after 2 weeks, begins to ooze any fluid, or gets noticeably larger, then I would have it rechecked. It's unlikely to be a hernia, particularly if it resolves on it's own. For some dogs, warm (not hot) compresses applied a few times per day can be helpful.

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Spayed dog incision bump: Is it normal or should I see the vet?

Although quite inflamed and with mild amount of dry discharge, the incision looks healing normally and does not look infected. A vet check up at this stage is not needed. Buster collar should be kept on at all times. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

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My dog's spay incision has a pink bump weeks after surgery. Normal?

It looks like there could be some inflammation at the site of the incision. That could be due to her body breaking down the sutures, or she caused some sort of trauma to the area. If she is acting normal and you don't feel any swelling around that area I would wait and see if it improves. But if there is swelling, drainage, or pain I would worry about a dehiscence (opening of the incision) which would be an emergency and she should see a vet immediately.

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My spayed Yorkie has hard lumps on her incision. Is it normal?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. The picture is a bit grainy and discolored so it is difficult to say for sure what the problem is. However, with your description, what you are feeling are likely the knots of the suture at the top and bottom portion of the incision line. These knots can sometimes cause inflammation due to a slight suture reaction. If the incision is not open, then I would just monitor for now. If the incision is red, inflamed or there is pus present, then I would have Huggle rechecked by the veterinarian that did the procedure. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! If the bumps are indeed due to the suture and they do not worsen, you should see those disappear over the next few months hopefully. Complete absorption of the suture I use in my spay procedures takes about 3-4 months to occur. However, absorption time depends on the type of suture used.

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Is a red bump on my dog's spay incision normal after 9 days?

This appears to be healing just fine. I suspect this is a mild reaction to the stitches under the skin. This is very common. I would only be worried if it opens up and starts draining fluid, gets much larger or becomes very red. Just make sure she cannot lick it until it is completely healed.

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Is a red, painful lump on my dog's spay incision normal?

This doesn't look perfect but definitely does not look too bad either, there is some bulging as you mentioned, probably because the stitches have been put on a little too tight, as long as the stitches hold though i would not be too worried, you need to make sure she does not lick the area (i assume she has an E-collar on) and make sure the incision does not open up, the swelling should start resolving within a couple days from now. as long as it does not look worse than this i would be ok keeping her at home, you can still take her for short walks without any issues and your vet needs to see her at some point but it is not urgent (usually post opps are done 3 days and 10 days after the surgery).

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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