Dog Stitches not healing

[kwolfe25]

I have a boxer mix that had a abcess on his right leg just above the elbow.   The vet had to do a 3" incision to drian and clean it.   Then closed it with stitches.   All but one area seems to be healing.   The stitches in that one area keep pulling out and the area keeps reopening.   The size of about 1/4".  I have put steri-strips and bandages on it changing them daily yet this one area keeps opening.   I have thought about a super glue for that one area but am not sure.   He is supposed to go back to the vet friday.   He has already redone the stitches once.

[Ghilly]

This area is notoriously difficult to heal because every time the dog bends his elbow it stretches the skin and opens it again.  Ask your vet about using Liquid Bandage instead of the surgical glue.  It has more stretch to it so it might be able to better withstand the bending.  Short of that, the only other real choice is to make sure he only lays down on soft surfaces and ride out the healing time.  It will eventually happen, but so will a lot of frustration along the way, and with this being summer, fly-strike is always a concern so if he's outside, keep the area covered so the flies don't lay eggs in the wound.

Ghilly

[Margot49]

I don't think I'd use the surgical glue. I would just keep it clean and covered until you see the Vet on Friday, assuming it is not infected, bleeding or oozing anything.  

[kwolfe25]

I was actually refering to the surgical super glue for vets you can buy it online for about 20.00 for a small tube.  I am sure regular super glue would burn or something

[ginger899]

No, please don't use superglue!
It is possible that, if the rest of the incision has healed nicely, then the last 1/4 inch, so long as it is not infected, or anything else pathological happening....then this will heal perfectly well left to nature.
When she was much younger, ,my dog got an injury (a tear) in the skin of her right thigh, inside, up near her belly. It was about 3/4 inch long and scared me somewhat to look at! The vet insisted that it didn't need stitches, but I was unsure. It did not become infected. I bathed it daily with antiseptic lotion, and covered it with  a large band-aid when she went outside, to prevent dirt getting into it. When I could see it was no longer "angry" looking and had started to heal, I left the band-aid off and just gently cleaned it once a day.
It healed perfectly. If I look carefully I can still make out a hairline white scar there, but no other problems arose from that.

The main thing is -no infection. If there is no infection, given time and care, I think this wound will knit together again OK.