One of those evenings

[etumukutenyak]

One of the evening technicians called me at home tonight, to report on my surgical patient from two days ago -- and to say that he thought the sutures had been pulled out.

After the heart-stopping moment passed, and I could think clearly, I asked "Why do you say that?"

"Because we can't see any sutures," he said.

I breathed again.

"That's because I buried my sutures," I said.

"Oh."

"Thanks for calling! I really appreciate the update!" I said.

No, really -- I do. I want them to call me with even the slightest concern, because I never know when it will be something truly serious, like the bloating patient from a few years ago that kept fooling people into thinking nothing was wrong, until the Saturday morning when one tech called me and I heard that note in her voice. She later remembered which patient it was and poo-poohed her feelings, but I'd already decided to take her seriously and we saved his life. Twice, actually, but that's more detail than anyone really needs.

I'd rather run to work late at night and find a healthy patient than not be called and have a dead patient.

Comments

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

Is burying your sutures something you would normally do, or more time and effort than it's usually worth?

(I'm assuming "burying your sutures" means having any knots be subcutaneous, with the intention that they won't be removed.)

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

It is something I do in particular because this species can pick at sutures until they are out, and it's worth the time to make sure they don't. You are correct, it's all beneath the top layer of skin.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

Is this used in conjunction with surgical glue?

Sorry, morbid curiosity poked its head up and said "hrm? surgical procedures? intellesting, tell me more!"

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Actually, yes. I do use glue during the closure to make sure there's no bits of knot sticking out anywhere, and no little crevices for a digit to get into, and it helps the incision heal.

Don't be sorry! I could talk about surgeries all day. :-)

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

What was the patient?

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

As in which species? A fairly close relative of humans, but not one of our cousins. The ones that used to come from India, and we have a blood factor named after them.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Are you positive?

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

O, yes. ;-) You get an A for effort.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

But no rhesus pieces? Me I got an O for 'orrible.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

I prefer M&Ms, but don't B sorry about your O.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Only Abie would be negative.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

LOL you guys! I took Spirit's stitches out some years back. I went to get my current beadwork, which was in a fairly heavy drawer in the workroom, only to find the drawer partly opened and the piece missing. A search found the bead fabric under the dining room table, but not the 12 feet of thread and the needle that had been attached. I called my vet and she said it would have to be surgery, since it could have been 24 hours since she ate it. She said I needed to take all four to the emergency vet because we couldn't be sure it was Spirit.

So I got there, found the accessible entrance locked and rang that bell until some guy came down angry until I explained I couldn't go up their flight of stairs in front and then he was embarrassed. He carried the carriers up and I told the doctor what had happened. I told them to x-ray Spirit first, but Giorgio was in the same carrier and they hadn't closed the door to the back side of the veterinary and he escaped, so they x-rayed him first. Then they did Spirit and saw the needle in her gut.

They started surgery and I took the other three home. They called me early in the morning when they finished and said we were lucky -- the thread was all in a wad right on the needle, so there'd only needed to be one incision. They figured she'd be there a couple of days. Then mid-morning, they called me to come get her. She has anxiety and compulsive disorders and she was not only not eating/sleeping/outputting, she was trying to kill anybody who put their hands in. For a small cat, she's good at sticking her claws in people who scare her.

So I went in and got her and did my best to keep her from jumping and then when the incision was healed, I took the stitches out. I was pretty sure they'd have to sedate her to get them out at the vet's.

Since then, I've kept the workroom door closed. Shiva is the one who's irritated, but he just doesn't like being away from me when I'm home. He used to sit outside the bathroom when I showered and howl, but now he just waits.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, some cats love to eat stringy things. I took out a knee-high nylon from a cat -- a gastrotomy and four enterotomies. My own Stripey once scared me badly when I came home at lunchtime, saw him running away with some string in his mouth, stepped on the loose end, and about 5 feet came out of him. Luckily he had just started his "meal" and I hadn't accidentally done any surgery on him. He always liked string and straws, and we had to keep our brooms upside down to keep him from eating more of the wrong things. I used to find rubber bands in his poop, too. What a cat!

Small cats with anxiety issues are deceptive. I have one of my own. She apparently ate a few vet students when they went to anesthetize her for the spay. She tried to eat me (well, destroy really) when I had to catch her for transport to our new house. Totally freaked out everyone else but me, and I was just mad at myself for completely forgetting to catch her first.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I thought I'd been careful -- it really was a heavy drawer and she had to have really pulled to get it open -- because I know cats eat things like that. I always cut my leftover thread into half-inchs or less before I throw them out.

A nylon! Wow. And we could have had that many, too, but we were lucky.

When I took Spirit, we thought she would just live under my bed (I got her because my vet also worked for a breeder and the breeder was going to kill her because she couldn't sell her like that) and when she realized I'd seen her, she'd attack, full tooth and claw. I have some interesting scars. But within about a month, she started coming out and seeing the condo and then eating everything -- edible or not. I called the vet and we put her on Buspar for three months and it made a big difference. She still has anxiety and compulsive disorders, but they're much easier to deal with. And now that she's almost blind, she's not as scared as she used to be. Although, she is now fascinated with a flashing ball a friend sent to the cats. I guess she's still seeing flashes.