A New Look for Nikki
We weren’t supposed to see Dr. Pyne until tomorrow, but she had read the report from the emergency room and decided that she wanted to see Nikki today instead.
Dr. Pyne was concerned with the seroma that had developed, and also concerned that when the emergency clinic drained it they were only able to get 5cc of fluid out. She took Nikki into the back room, and proceeded to drain the seroma as much as she could. Turns out she was able to extract over 300cc of fluid! That’s a LOT of fluid, and more than a pound of extra weight on the wound area. No wonder Nikki had been uncomfortable!
Now that the seroma is drained, Dr. Pyne wants to keep a pressure bandage in place to help the healing. (Apparently the body will continue to produce the fluids as long as there’s a place for them all to go) Unfortunately with Nikki’s anatomy, there was no real way to keep the bandage on, so we worked out a plan that means we need to keep Nikki’s harness on for the next couple of days so that we have some hope of the bandage staying attached.
Here’s Nikki’s new look:
We’ll need to make daily trips to see Dr. Pyne over the next few days for bandage changes until the seroma dries up. Hopefully this won’t take too long..
In other news, I forgot to post a couple of pictures from yesterday showing that Nikki has found out how to get up on the couch and rest in one of her favorite spots:
So, as you can see, we’re progressing on a somewhat “normal” track for these things.. Hopefully the seroma will heal quickly and Nikki can get back to learning to walk without all the extra “baggage”.
February 1st, 2010 at 19:00
Nikki looks like such a sweetheart. We’re glad to hear she’s more comfortable now and hope she doesn’t have to wear the bandage too long. Thanks for the update!
February 1st, 2010 at 19:04
Oh poor Nikki…. I hope the pressure bandage helps! Is it attached to the harness? Is that why the harness has to stay on?
Tracy, Maggie’s Mom
February 1st, 2010 at 19:11
Yep, the bandage is attached. Dr. Pyne tried her best to figure out how to wrap it such that she could “go” and that it would still stay on. Only option was to wrap it around the harness…
February 1st, 2010 at 19:31
Hi Nikki! We are so glad to see that you have made it up onto the couch where it is nice and comfortable. Also glad to hear you got that seroma drained. I had one of those, and it drove my Mom crazy.
Happy healing!
Licks and leans,
Nova
February 1st, 2010 at 20:31
ha ha ha. I bet you didn’t ask Nikki if it was okay for you to post THAT photo. That is pretty funny Nikki. Better make sure your parents don’t show that to any of your potential beaus!
February 2nd, 2010 at 00:08
Hi Nikki,
Hang in there. Pawrents are so insensitive. WTH? At least your bandage is stylish.
February 2nd, 2010 at 00:53
THAT’S a lot of fluid, I trust she feels better and the pressure is gone (it hurts so good kinda feeling) and trust the bandage doesn’t hurt the suture site, poor Nikki, I’m so sorry – that’s not really a set back but bothersome, I’m sorry. She’s really a trooper. Kanga’s seroma seems to be healed, a little swelling on the suture site but she likely licked it while I was downtown today. She was super excited to see me when I got home and she ran, literally ran, all over the place. I call it the hop-trot but she was running, wow. We are concerned that her other back leg is turning inside like almost bowing and it’s really alarming to us. We get our sutures out on Saturday so we’ll have it checked out then unless we think it needs attention beforehand. Nikki Nikki, how lucky you are to have such an observant vet, that must make an amazing difference. I hope our hearts quit sinking every time we turn around soon.
Kanga’s Mom
February 2nd, 2010 at 06:15
Hi Nikki,
So glad to hear your vet figured this out and has you all wrapped up in a cool looking bandage! We love the photos – how awesome you figured out how to hop onto the couch already! Holly would like some lessons! 🙂 We’re hoping all goes well now and that the rest of your recovery is smooth sailing!
Hugs,
Holly and Holly’s mom
February 2nd, 2010 at 06:34
Love the picture of Nikki with her bandage… Looks like she’s wearing ‘panties’… 🙂
Hopefully the pressure bandage will do the trick! My Jake had one for the first week postop, and I think the vet changed it 2-3 times. All the padding inside the bandage helped to soak up any drainage, and when he finally had it removed, his wound looked great. You should take more pictures of Nikki in her pretty ‘pantie’s… She just looks too cute in them! 🙂
Angel Jake’s Mom