# Wound reopening after stitch removal



## kacurran (Oct 31, 2009)

My horse fell on his stall latch and has a large neck wound. The stitches were removed 14 days after. He was placed back in his stall. The entire wound was reopened by morning. Has anyone had this happen to your horse?


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## justsambam08 (Sep 26, 2009)

Although I have not had a wound where stitches were required, my gelding did get into a fight with another horse and he injured his LF canon . It took weeks for it to heal enough to go without a wrap, and now he scratches off the scab almost daily. It's very annoying

Did the wound reopen to its previous depth, or did the skin just split open? Since its on his neck and you cant exactly wrap it, I would use corona ointment, or something else with lanolin in it to promote skin growth and keep it from getting infected.


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## AussieDaisyGirl (May 21, 2009)

Agreed, how badly did it reopen? I would call your vet and discuss it with them.


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## My Beau (Jan 2, 2009)

My vet doesn't recommend Corona Ointment because of the sheep oil/lanolin - slows the healing process (which was news to me at the time). To prevent infection use Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Contact your vet. It may be that there is simply too much tension on the area with regular movements and that suturing is simply not going to be an option. Leaving sutures in for a longer period of time is also done sometimes, but longer than 14 days and you are likely going to have the body trying to grow right over the sutures so that they have to be dug out to be removed and that's not a good plan. 

It may be that you just have to let the wound heal by second intention--leave it open and let the body fill it in. 

As far as topical treatments, a triple antibiotic lotion would be a good choice because it will help prevent infection but is't as greasy/sticky as a cream and therefore not going to attract and hold contaminants to the wound.


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## justsambam08 (Sep 26, 2009)

What I've been told about corona (since that's what I use) is that its only for leaving a wound in open air like for scrapes on the face or a raw rub, NOT for wrapping. definitely a regular triple antibiotic if you're in a situation to wrap. I've had excellent results with it and haven't seen evidence of it slowing down the healing process.....but thats just IME on my horse.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

That's not just your opinion on the triple antibiotic. The lecturers on wound care at the AAEP conference a couple of years ago stated that it was the best choice for the majority of wounds because it prevented infection and provided a good environment for wound healing, thus not not slowing wound healing like many of the products that are sold OTC like furacin.


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