The wound did not heal well
as it was under a high tension area with
much movement. The stitch broke down as
expected. This is a complication of
surgery which is expected. The husband threatened to sue, saying that if
I was not competent to operate on this
case, I should not have done so. He said
he was in the process of suing another vet
for his dog's death. "Make sure that my
dog does not die during hospitalisation in
Toa Payoh Vets," the husband said.
I warded
the dog for more than 40 days
at Toa Payoh Vets and got its wound cleaned daily.
I considered a skin flap operation but
there was not sufficient skin area and in
any case, there was high tension in this
area.
So, it is best to heal the wound by granulation.
It would take a long time. Around the 40th
day after surgery, the wound had reduced
in size. It was OK to send him home and no
complaints were forthcoming as at 2 months
after discharge.
Small skin tumours are best removed early
but in this case, the tumour was gigantic.
To prevent stitch breakdown, would another
surgical approach using skin flaps be
effective? Bad outcome provides
experience. Experience is gained through
bad outcomes.
All vets who operate on difficult cases
will encounter complications of stitch
breakdown. He or she may
suffer threats of litigation when the
surgical outcome is not as desired by the
owner. A consent form with proper record
of the complications is best given to the
owner to sign but this form is of no help
when the Golden Retriever had
complications like wound breakdown.
It may be best not to accept the case, in
the final analysis. If only easy surgical
cases are accepted, the veterinary surgeon
will have a peaceful professional life
than face litigation which will cause
large amounts of money.
BE KIND TO
DOGS & CATS --- GET EYE ULCERS TREATED
WITHIN 4 HOURS --- IF YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO BE
BLIND. More case studies, goto:
Cats
or Dogs
TOA PAYOH VETS
