Dog's umbilical hernia incision red, discharging, scratching. Normal?

Question

Hello, Milo recently got surgery for an umbilical hernia 6 days ago. I noticed it’s red and had some discharge recently. He’s been trying to scratch the area a lot with his hind legs. Currently, he’s wearing a donut and I wrapped the area so he cannot scratch it. Is it normal for it to look like this as the stiches don’t look to be fully closed. Should I take him in to get it redone if this is the case? Pet's info: Dog | Pomapoo | Male | neutered | 6 months and 3 days old | 12 lbs

Dr. Elizabeth · Accepted Answer

Hello, my name is Dr. Shines and I am happy to help. I agree that the incision does not look normal. I do recommend to have him examine today. They may need to place some staples and potentially give him an antibiotic. In my experience, the donut collars do not do a very good job of protecting the incision from licking. I recommend to switch to a regular, hard plastic Elizabethan collar. Ideally, these areas are not wrapped either. Keeping them open to the air is best for healing. If he can reach the area with his back legs to scratch, they to make surgery suits for them to wear and this would probably be less compression and allow more airflow. Also make sure his activity is severely restricted. No walks, jumping, running or vigorous play. Minimize stairs and outside on a leash only. The more he moves around, the more it pulls at the incision. I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out with any additional questions.

Dog's umbilical hernia incision red, discharging, scratching. Normal?

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