Staples Or Stitches

[davey 310]

Is there a course or a place which will teach people how to do it on small wounds

[Maximus Ferret 2,057]

Don't know if its any help Davey but I think youtube have some vids of stitching and ebay have practise stitching kits for medical students. If you buy a couple of pigs feet from your butcher or local foodmarket you can make slits in them to practise on. That'll get you started anyway, and then you'll need to learn about taking the hair off the edges of wounds after that.

I'll have a look and see if I can find you some links.

[Maximus Ferret 2,057]

Here you are mate:- https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=suturing

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l2632.R2.TR6.TRC1.A0.H2.Xsuture+.TRS0&_nkw=suture+kit&_sacat=11815

Now I'm not saying this'll replace vets. Some folks will never have the dexterity to do this sort of thing but it's worth understanding what you pay your vet for and whether he's actually any good or not.

 

PS. if you do get to where you might consider trying it, stick to small ones, no more than skin deep, and away from any moving parts (where legs meet body and skin stretches) and keep away from belly wounds. Vets have a long training for good reasons.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Maximus Ferret

[davey 310]

My young bitch has opened her chest and I chose not to take to vet but now I think in hindsight she needed a stich .its not threatening but going to take a while to heel

[skycat 6,172]

Open skin tears can take several weeks to heal properly if they are not sutured or stapled. But it is better to leave a smallish tear open rather than mess around with staples etc if you don't know exactly what you are doing. Cleaning and flushing the wound out correctly is crucial if you are going to seal it up, as a wound which contains dirt, grass seeds or other foreign bodies will go bad very quickly. Also, large wounds need a drain put into them before suturing, and not many people would be able to do that without proper training.

[BlackStreak 498]

Stapling is faster and easier than suturing. Eventhough staples are easier, I prefer sutures because I have better luck with them staying in. I don't cut the hair as a lot of it tends to find its way into the wound and it's very hard to get it out. I wash the wound and surrounding area good with hipiclens soap and put bedadine around the area and surrounding hair. I've never had much difficulty keeping the hair parted and laid back out of the way when closing a wound.

If it's a deep cut, leave a hole on the bottom side for drainage to excape. Deep puncture wounds i normally leave open and I flush them several times a day with bedadine after running water over the wound from a garden hose. If a dog can lick the wound, all the better. If it can not lick it, then i try to leave the puncture open but keep it covered so it stays clean.

[nans pat 2,575]

some pull the skin to tight stapleing,seen some botched jobs.

[LIGHT ON LIGHTS OUT 71]

If its only small I use oxygenated water to clean and then dermasol cream. Should more or less heal in a few days. Atb