Remember "Stitch"? (pics)

[milkmaid]

That's what the hired hand named him

In May:

Before (went through a fence)

After I sewed him up

Yesterday:

There's a little ruffle in the hair if you look for it, but otherwise he's healed up so nice you wouldn't know what happened by looking at him.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Good job there MM. :clap:

 

[CKC1586]

:clap: :clap: job well done! :nod:

 

[MO_cows]

Nice work! We had a Great Dane with a similar injury; dived thru the fence in hot pursuit of a rabbit. Our vet used staples, didn't think sutures would hold. So I am really impressed that yours did.

 

[larryshoat]

Good job MM, I'll bet that took a while to sew up. Did you follow with much antibiotic?

Larry

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Nice sewing job! By the looks of the 'before' picture it looks like it would have taken a fair amount of time to sew him up.

Katherine

 

[milkmaid]

He got 5cc's of LA200 after I finished working on him, then turned out to pasture with the rest of the herd and hasn't been touched since. Not sure how long it took to sew him up; it felt like 15 minutes, but I've timed myself since and done a fair bit of work with a needle this summer and I don't think it's possible that calf only took 15 minutes.

I was impressed the sutures held too, esp after I spent this past summer shadowing vets. All I had available for use on that calf was 10 year old catgut from the neighbor, and I've since learned catgut is not ideal for skin sutures (absorbs too quickly). Beginner's luck, I suppose. I took some lidocaine and suture material with me to the ranch yesterday; if y'all remember the story from this spring, I didn't have any meds, sutures, or tools with me when this calf was cut, and we had to borrow from a neighbor. I don't ever want to be caught without my "vet stuff" again.