What is a Seroma?
Jim Myers
who got in a fight with another dog and got bitten on his shoulder.
Although the bite didn't break the skin, it appears to have caused an
injury below the skin called a Seroma.
My vet drained it once and the next day it filled with serum to the size
of a fist. The vet then made an incision and left a 1/4" rubber tube
for drainage until it can heal. He said it would take 7-10 days to heal
then I could remove the stitches and tube or he could. Also, he gave me
antibiotic for jack, about 10 days worth.
Question: What is a seroma and should I worry about future problems
with it? Any advice appreciated.
Regards,
Jim
Lynda Oleksuk
Hi Jim. A seroma is just a place where serum has collected below the skin.
Dog fights are notorious for causing them, because of the crushing injuries
to the muscle (even if the skin isn't pierced). The crushed muscle oozes
serum, just like a cut oozes serum after the bleeding stops (serum is the
portion of blood that's left over after a clot forms - it's a straw-colored
fluid). As long as the incision that your vet made doesn't get infected
(hence the antibiotics), the seroma should clear up with no further
complications. You can put a drain in, as your vet did, to speed the
process, but often the serum is resorbed by the body. Kati had a seroma
when she was spayed - she developed a lump the size of a hard-boiled egg
under her suture line. The vet aspirated it to make sure it *was* a seroma
(and not blood or an infection) but then just left it.
I don't think these things cause any permanent problems. But your dog is
probably pretty sore - dog bites hurt, and not just because of superficial
damage to the skin, but the crushing part of the bite too.
Hope this helps - and keep him away from that other dog!!
(BTW - aren't shepherd X collie mixes *great*!!!!!)
"Wanna cookie? Nothing in life is free." -Lynda Oleksuk (akit...@bev.net)
& Edric the Wonder Mutt, Kati the world's hairiest Akita, __ /|__
Gypsy the brindle pinto pogo stick, ah, I mean Akita, / \___/ ^_/
and Battlecat & Cringer, who think all dogs are dumb \ \/ |
(oh, yeah, there might be a husband under all the hair) \ / --\ /
"If I don't vacuum for another year, maybe I'll finally || ||
have wall-to-wall carpeting!"
Mark R Ackermann
A seroma ("ser" for "serum" and "oma" meaning tumor or swelling) is simply
that, a fluid filled swelling. Most commonly these are seen after surgery
at the incision site. They occur any time a "potential space" opens up in
tissues, such as what happens when surgery separates two tissues (skin from
underlying muscle). In Jack's case, the impact of the dog's bite probably
separated the skin and underlying tissue, leaving a "loose" area that the
body filled in with fluid.
Other than looking bad, they are usually pretty
benign, but if they get infected, there can be nasty complications. For
this reason, large seromas are often treated the way your veterinarian
treated Jack, and antibiotics are used to prevent infection while healing is
occurring. Once healed, there should be no future problems.
Hope Jack recovers quickly!!!!
Sharon Gwaltney and KC the amazing "dobernewf"
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