Does this vet know what he is doing?

Took my dog swimming and something in the water cut her hind leg open. It was bad , blood everywhere and emergency room. According to the vet she has a torn ligament. The vet said he connected it again with a few stitches. Went back a few days later to put a new bandage on her foot and he said its not bleeding but also not healing as fast or as well as he thought it would. He said I have to bring her back to stitch her up some more. Something about the skin or bone not attaching to the muscle (whatever that means).


Its only been about 9 days and will be sedated for a second time. I'm thinking why would the 2nd surgery work but not the first one and whats telling he wont want to do a 3rd surgery...


Does it make sense to anyone that he would be doing another surgery and/or does anyone know anything about this kind of injury?

Does this vet know what he is doing?
Could you give more of a description of where the cut is? I'm trying to work out how something like a cut could tear a ligament, and am wondering if he's using it interchangeably with tendon. Ligaments attach bone to bone, whereas tendons attach muscle to bone, so tendon would seem more likely from what you are saying.





Without knowing exactly what he's done, or what her injury is, it's impossible to say whether he's gone about it correctly or not. Certainly with a tendon laceration, the ends of the tendon need to be sutured together, and the limb then immobilised to allow the tendon to heal.





When he was talking about it 'not healing as fast or as well as he thought' and stitching up further, do you know if he was referring to the ligament/tendon, or to the skin wound?





With bad cuts, you often end up with something called 'dead space'- basically an area (e.g. under the skin or between muscles) where the tissue has been damaged, leaving an empty space that can't be closed immediately. I'm wondering if that is what he was referring to when talking about the skin not attaching to the muscle. When the wound's occurred in a contaminated environment, such as in the water, you have to be careful about trying to close up big wounds in case you wind up sealing an infection in.





If this is the case, it would be quite reasonable for him to consider having her back to put more sutures in, and possibly debride tissue that is not looking healthy.





Whether he knows what he's doing or not, it sounds as though he's not really given you and adequate explanation of what he's doing. Try speaking to him, and getting him to talk you through how he plans on managing the wound. If you're still not happy, then seek a second opinion. You need to be able to trust your vet.





I hope that helps :o)
Reply:When in doubt,.. go for a 2nd opinion.


Seems he didn't do the first Operation well enough or underestimated the damage.
Reply:Veterinary Medicine is tricky. Sometimes with an injury to the leg in animals, blood circulation is compromised slowing or stopping healing. Your vet has a valid argument, but a second surgery seems like an extreme and expensive step to go. If you know another vet, or can get a reccommendation, go out and get a second opinion, as a second check up would be cheaper than a second surgery. However, be quick about it, no need to make the animal suffer longer than she has to.
Reply:It really does sound like something is going on with that vet. I'd take your dog to another vet and get a second opinion.
Reply:i have heard of this happening, no matter how good the surgeon, dogs and other animals have a way of getting themselves in trouble any way they possibly can it seems. my dog tore her cruciate, had the surgery and everything was fine, but one of my friends dogs also had the same surgery. she had pins placed in and after the surgery they moved and had to be operated on again to correct the problem. it was no fault of the surgeon, things just happen. even if your dog had no pins inserted, and the surgeon did everything perfect, things and move and tear after the surgery that require correction. and even tho it may seem severe to have a 2nd surgery, there is no other way to repair a ligament, they never grow back on their own if they are torn like that and need to be attached properly. it is very likely she will never heal if the corrective surgery is not done
Reply:You have to take into account the area where the leg was injured. The dog will be constantly moving the joint, putting pressure on it as it is weight bearing, and the muscles of the leg are very complex. Imagine if it were a human, there are no absolutes or guarantees with any surgery. You just have to take all precautions, follow doctor's orders and of course Bed rest.
Reply:If you are feeling weird about the vet and the advice he is giving you, get a 2nd opinion. They are just like anyone else in another profession.. There are good ones, there are bad ones, there are vets that love animals and there are vets that love money.
Reply:Think I would get a second opinion on this one,because if the first surgery wasn't performed correctly,you have no guarantee that the second one will be help.Such things as torn legiments should have been taken care of with the first surgery and anytime you put an animal under ,you're taking a big chance that it will die.Find another vet.
Reply:VETS KNOW NOTHING NOT EVEN ANYTHING ABOUT THEM SELVESE so no they dont