Penetrating Injuries
Penetrating injuries involve a foreign body stuck in a dog, usually in a body cavity like the abdomen, chest or deep wounds where the skin is broken.
Examples of these kinds of injuries are: from air gun pellets wounds (which sadly is all too often); dog fight injuries when a tooth remains embedded in the wound.
Dogs frequently carry sticks in their mouths and can get them impaled in their mouths when then end of the stick gets jammed into the ground. Throwing sticks for your dog can result in similar injuries and it’s advisable to stop throwing a stick and use a ball instead.
Dogs can fall out of windows and become impaled on fences and sharp objects. If this happens, seek veterinary attention immediately as impalement injuries can lead to serious internal damage.
Sedation and general anaesthesia are often required to take the dog out of pain, to determine where the impalement took place and how much internal damage has occurred. Some foreign bodies, such as wood, do not show up on x-rays as they are not radio-opaque, so more advanced tests such as ultrasound or an MRI scan may be required.
Occasionally, the foreign body will fragment and even after most of the foreign body has been removed, some fragments may be left in the tissues. This can then form sinus tracts, migrate to different parts of the body and can cause problems weeks later.
Dog bite injuries are very dirty injuries. They may look minor at the beginning, but due to the crushing of the tissues caused by the biting and the infection being introduced deep into the wound by teeth, these wounds can deteriorate rapidly within a couple of days following the attack. Sometimes pockets of abscessation will develop and they may well need to be drained and debrided.
What To Do
What Not To Do
Penetrating injuries involve a foreign body stuck in a dog, usually in a body cavity like the abdomen, chest or deep wounds where the skin is broken.
Examples of these kinds of injuries are: from air gun pellets wounds (which sadly is all too often); dog fight injuries when a tooth remains embedded in the wound.
Dogs frequently carry sticks in their mouths and can get them impaled in their mouths when then end of the stick gets jammed into the ground. Throwing sticks for your dog can result in similar injuries and it’s advisable to stop throwing a stick and use a ball instead.
Dogs can fall out of windows and become impaled on fences and sharp objects. If this happens, seek veterinary attention immediately as impalement injuries can lead to serious internal damage.
Sedation and general anaesthesia are often required to take the dog out of pain, to determine where the impalement took place and how much internal damage has occurred. Some foreign bodies, such as wood, do not show up on x-rays as they are not radio-opaque, so more advanced tests such as ultrasound or an MRI scan may be required.
Occasionally, the foreign body will fragment and even after most of the foreign body has been removed, some fragments may be left in the tissues. This can then form sinus tracts, migrate to different parts of the body and can cause problems weeks later.
Dog bite injuries are very dirty injuries. They may look minor at the beginning, but due to the crushing of the tissues caused by the biting and the infection being introduced deep into the wound by teeth, these wounds can deteriorate rapidly within a couple of days following the attack. Sometimes pockets of abscessation will develop and they may well need to be drained and debrided.
What To Do
- Keep the dog calm and blanket the dog.
- Muzzle the dog to avoid getting bitten as the dog will be in a great deal of pain.
- Attempt to immobilize both the foreign body (FB) if it is still present and immobilize the dog. Severe and continuing damage is done whenever the foreign body is allowed to flail about inside the dog.
- If the foreign body is in the chest, or there is damage to the chest, listen for sounds of air sucking or whistling around the wounds. If it appears there is an open wound in the chest, cover the wound (and the foreign body – if necessary with plastic wrap). Before you place the plastic wrap, apply petroleum jelly, sterile lubricant or antibiotic ointment to help seal the wound.
What Not To Do
- Never try to remove the foreign body yourself.
- Do not allow the dog to move.
- Do not move foreign body whilst cutting it.
