My dog's spay stitches broke, incision infected & swollen. What now?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You should clean the wound with cotton buds and warm, boiled water 2-3 times a day until you see your vet. Putting a cone back on is an excellent idea too. Your vet will likely prescribe Apollyon an antibiotic cream and maybe will put a stitch or two to close the small opening in the wound.

That looks like it's healing pretty well at this stage. Keep an eye on it for any redness, bleeding, seeping, swelling or her feeling sick or lethargic. Keep her confined, going outside only on a leash and only long enough to go potty for another week or so until she heals completely.

I cannot speak for your vet but Spays are sterile procedures. This means it is done in a sterile bacteria free area. Sometimes patients can have suture reactions or inflammation around the surgery site secondary to movement. Also sometimes mild discharge if clear in color is not actually a bacterial infection. The clear discharge can be just secondary to the inflammation and reaction. However at anytime if you see green/yellow discharge, heat around the incision, increase in patients temperature or the incision separating I would recommend taking Lexi back to the vet for possible antibiotics and a close exam of the incision. I hope that helps and Lexi makes a speedy recovery.

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Panda's spay incision does appear to be red and a little swollen. Swelling at a spay site can be due to a variety of reasons, including infection, inflammation from a reaction to the suture material, or over-activity after her procedure, among others. I would recommend Panda be seen by her regular veterinarian to have the swelling evaluated, and start any medications (antibiotic, anti-inflammatory) that she may need. In the meantime, I would recommend icing the area as well. Good luck!

If Tinkerbell is not on antibiotics I would recommend calling your vet to see if they can prescribe some. If the incision is closed (it looks closed based on the pictures) then it may just take time for the swelling and inflammation to go down. Continue cleaning it twice daily and don’t allow Tinkerbell to lick at the incision. If the incision appears open then you will most likely have to take Tinkerbell back to the vet for a surgical repair. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

No, unfortunately there is no ointment that will keep the incision closed. Ideally, she should be rechecked by your veterinarian. The most common reasons for sutures to fail are too much activity and licking the incision. If an e-collar (cone) is not in place, put one on her immediately and keep it on until she is healed. Restrict her activity as well. Keep her crated, if necessary, to prevent running, jumping or rough play. Leash walk her when she has to go out.