hi! i was wondering what factors in leaving an incision open vs stitching it? ive done observation of procedures at a couple different clinics (as a volunteer and an intern, i am not working as an assistant currently) and it didn't seem like just the length of the incision mattered. like i was surprised to see neuters just loosely glued up. is it more about vet preference? thanks!
vet-and-wild here.
It depends on the origin of the incision, how old it is, how big it is, and how clean it is. The "golden rule" for closing a traumatic injury is about 8 hours. After that the wound is considered contaminated and you don't want to close bacteria into a contaminated wound. Same goes for things like bite wounds that are full of nasty mouth bacteria. We generally need to do some kind of wound care with those (i.e. flushing, bandaging, etc). Or an infected incision. Another factor is location and how deep it is. A spay involves opening the abdomen, so you want to make sure everything is really secure. It takes multiple layers and generally at least a few centimeters of length. Something like a rabbit neuter, on the other hand, involves pretty minimal tissue trauma and doesn't really get near vital structures. Some species tend to be less irritated by glue rather than sutures or at least are less likely to pick at it. For cats the incision site is generally left open. It's a really quick procedure with barely any bleeding and a very low infection risk.
