Skilled Veterinary Care for Pets with Wounds in Southington
The only thing worse than seeing your pet suffering from a wound injury is not knowing where to turn or what to do about it. Wounds can vary greatly in their type, the degree of severity, and required treatment. Here at Apple Valley Veterinarians, our skilled veterinary care can put your mind at ease, while helping your pet feel better and recover more completely from his injury.
When to See Our Veterinarians in Southington
The term “wound” usually applies to a loss of skin integrity due to a laceration or other trauma, but underlying tissues, blood vessels, and organs can be wounded as well. For example, a surface laceration may cut through the top layers of skin and other superficial tissues, while a stab or gunshot wound might penetrate to the internal organs. It can be difficult to tell just how deep
or serious a wound is without having your pet evaluated by our veterinarians in the Plantsville section of Southington. Generally, however, you should seek veterinary care in situations that include:
- Exposed muscle, fatty tissue or other underlying structures
- Uncontrollable bleeding
- Burn wounds
- Bite wounds
- Wounds that contain potentially infectious material or foreign objects
- Wounds that cause lameness or other loss of extremity function
- Wounds that are obviously producing extreme pain
- Any wound in a pet that has additional healing challenges (due to disorders such as diabetes, old age, etc.)
General Pet Surgery and Other Treatment Options
While you might be able to apply basic first aid measures such as cleaning and dressing a dirty wound, some pets will instinctively resist any attention to the wounded area, while other wounds require more advanced care than any pet owner should provide. The safest strategy is to bring your pet to Apple Valley Veterinarians as soon as possible for evaluation and professional veterinary care. Dr. Freiman or Dr. Rothstein will first evaluate the wound to determine whether emergency treatment is necessary. This may reveal the need for general pet surgery such as suturing a wound, or more complicated procedures like repairing internal injuries.
While some situations such as profuse bleeding need immediate remediation, the nature and age of a soft-tissue wound will help determine how (or whether) we go about closing it. For instance, a contaminated wound must be thoroughly cleaned before it can be sutured — but if the contamination is more than a few hours old, better alternatives might include either letting the wound heal from inside with appropriate drainage or surgically removing the contaminated issue beforehand. If a wound must heal in its open state, we can prescribe antibiotics, appropriate pain medication, and instructions on proper wound dressing and monitoring techniques. You can help prevent your pet from re-opening or re-infecting the wound by restricting his activities, but sometimes an Elizabethan collar is needed to prevent his chewing or licking the wound.
Give Your Pet the Wound Care He Needs, Contact Apple Valley Veterinarians Today!
Don’t let your pet’s wound go untreated. Contact Apple Valley Veterinarians at (860) 628-9635 today so we can put your best friend back on the road to recovery!