Our emergency veterinarians are highly qualified and well-trained to provide you and your pet with the highest standard in emergency medical and critical care.
Common Causes of Physical Injury
Pets can easily get injured if they spend time outdoors & engage in an active lifestyle (as they should!). Below are some popular reasons pet owners bring their animals to the emergency pet hospital:
- Vehicular accidents
- Attacks from stray animals
- Falling from great heights
- Sharp objects
- Torn nails
- Bug bites or stings
- Eye trauma
At BrightCare Animal Emergency, our team of veterinarians offers wound & laceration repair for animals who have suffered from physical injuries, such as bruises, wounds, & cuts. If your pet has been involved in an accident, it’s important to visit a nearby veterinarian for an examination and treatment. Physical trauma is not always visible – beneath a harmless cut could be a sprained ligament or infection. Emergency vets are trained to properly evaluate the damage for prompt treatment before it’s too late.
Wound & Laceration Repair
A laceration is a cut in the skin. It can be superficial, only affecting the top layer of skin, or it can be more severe, even going so far as to damage muscles or internal organs. We encourage pet owners to take their animals to the vet as soon as possible. Leaving open wounds can lead to abscesses, hemorrhaging, or worse.
Treating lacerations early on prevents the risk of infection and further damage. The veterinarian will assess the severity of the wound. If it is large, deep, or infected, surgery and anesthesia may be required. During the laceration repair, the veterinarian will remove any foreign objects, like stingers, rocks, nails, etc, and thoroughly clean the afflicted area to keep bacteria from festering. Then, they will bond the severed tissue together with stitches or skin staples and bandage as needed to speed up the healing process.
Post Treatment Care
After the treatment, the vet may recommend an Elizabethan cone to prevent picking, licking, or touching the affected area.Antibiotics are also often prescribed to prevent infection. For pets who are bitten or stung, vets can give pet owners antihistamines to suppress allergic reactions like inflammation or hives. Pets who undergo surgery can also be given pain medication by the veterinarian. Pet owners should not try to medicate their animals on their own. The veterinarian will give instructions on how to clean the healing wound and check on its progress, but for the most part, it should heal on its own. If your pet begins behaving strangely or the wound gets worse, call the vet immediately.
BrightCare Animal Emergency is a 24 hour emergency animal hospital in Mission Viejo. Our emergency vets are trained to diagnose and treat animals in crisis. Don’t hesitate to visit if you have an animal emergency that needs immediate care.
