[Gpdd] Gpdd (Health) (non-dissolving sutures, mega drooling, and tooth work) PART !

[Ellen Garrison]

Hello everyone,

The vet, our new one, Dr. King, did confirm over the phone that the sutures
were of the dissolving variety!! yes they are supposed to dissolve
according to him.

Well, these "Dissolving" Sutures, after 6 weeks, were pulling on Hina'us'
skin, in one direction, and making the skin difficult to heal. And yes, in
answer to Ann's question, the transparent dissolvable sutures STILL had the
knots on the outside of the skin on all sides where they were tied. The
suture that went vertically, going along down his back, on one side, kind
of away from the spine, was too taught and was pulling his skin! So I cut
it with my blunt-tipped manicure scissors which I use when they get hair
cuts. The thread was extremely hard to cut.  Hina'u was getting a haircut
and a bath and i used Keto-chlor shampoo which is good for anti-bacterial
and anti-fungal and I got it at the vet's. (The only orther type of
dissolving sutures ever seen by me for a guinea pig was when the other vet
had neutered my first boar Lil Guy, so he could play with Gin Gin.  They
healed in no time. That was over 5 years ago.) However, these ones on
Hina'u  look and feel like fishing line.  It makes me so mad.
For the record, yes Dr. King told me the day of Hina'u's surgery that the
sutures were DISSOLVABLE, but did not tell me they take 120 days to
dissolve!!!! What's the point in using that kind if it takes that long?
that is 4 months. When I said to the vet that he neglected to tell me the
time element for the dissolving of the sutures that appear to be fishing
line, (well, I did not say fishing line but here i am trying to be funny),
he said that people don't usually ask. Well geez I am glad to know NOW. He
said it's the only kind they use, and rattled off some long name of the
suture material.  He said they have another kind which is pink, and doesn't
dissolve. That some sutures dissolve faster on some animals than on others.
I told him I had to cut one and he said that was ok. I noticed his wound
healed up fast where I had removed that one lousy suture.  I did not take
him back for a check-up since, if it was dissolvable it should be ok, plus
it is hard to take them to the vet because I have to sneak them out of the
apartment in boxes. Well, Hina'u still has a non-dissolvable suture
sticking up on his back from where I cut it, and there is another one still
intact going off horizontally to his side, but that one looks ok although
there are obvious knots. i am just glad we did not have other piggies with
any need for more invasive surgery, I don't think I would want to see what
that would be like.
If we do need anything else in the way of surgery,I may just get the
fast-dissolving type. I know there are a lot of bunny and feline
neutering clinics around at certain times of the year here, and I do not
think they use sutures like the one mentioned above.
thanks everyone,
Ellen