Kiko's Fight Part 2: Injuries and Treatment

Yesterday I posted the narrative of a dog fight I had to break up. My dog Kiko and I were walking when two other dogs arrived and the situation devolved badly. Today's post describes the injuries that we sustained, the treatment we received, and how the healing process is coming along.

I sustained puncture and laceration wounds to my left forearm, left index and middle fingers, and my right thumb. On an outpatient basis, Kadlec Medical Center cleaned my wounds, applied dressings, administered oral antibiotics and a tetanus injection, and gave me a prescription for antibiotics and pain medication. They instructed me to report back to the Kadlec Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon, 13 May 2008 if my wounds are not healing well or appear inflamed. I was released at 16:23 PDT.

Kiko sustained puncture and laceration wounds on the inside of his left thigh, and mild abrasions to the right side of his neck. Mid-Columbia Pet Emergency Services anesthetized him, evaluated his neck wounds as not needing treatment, and repaired his left inside thigh wounds. They released him to me at 18:23 PDT with antibiotic, probiotic, and analgesic medication.

My wounds were healing satisfactorily on Tuesday, so I did not return to Kadlec Medical Center.

Kiko's wounds were also healing satisfactorily until Wednesday evening, when he started licking and worrying at the sutures on the wound to his inner left thigh. By Thursday morning he was clearly in distress, so I put an Elizabethan Collar on him and took him to our regular veterinarian at Desert Veterinary Clinic.

The veterinarian noted that a small amount of infection had set in and prescribed an additional antibiotic. She explained that dog bite injuries involve immediately visible punctures and lacerations, but that tissue crushing also occurs. Often the sutures that treat the laceration are made into crushed tissue, which compromises the repair. She prescribed an additional antibiotic, and asked us to return in a week for further evaluation.

Update 18 May 2008: see this new post for pictures.

Tomorrow's post will consist of my analysis of the events, trying to put the pieces together into a more organic whole.