Summus Laser Wound Healing Success Story #34

This trooper of a dog had a run in with a lawnmower 😲😲

He was given a grim prognosis to save the leg without very expensive and un-guaranteed orthopedic surgical intervention at another practice. Amputation was the option they were facing, but they didn't want to give up on his healing ability. They contacted us and the doctors and staff were up to the challenge. Dr Seth evaluated it and gave it a go. 

This pup had 2 major lacerations on his wrist and paw, as well as fractured carpal bones. We cleaned the wounds and closed them with suture/staples. To help stabilize the fractured bones we placed a splint but left a window to be able to utilize the speed healing power of laser light therapy. 

The first images were on April 13th. The final laser picture was on May 27th. The most recent picture was July 28th. We did a total of 12 lasers. 

APRIL 13

Fractures can be seen on the bottom 3 long bones of the "hand" 

You can see that there is a deep, open gash that had fractured 3 of the carpal bones. The medial (most inside) carpal bone was unfractured and acted as a internal splint. 

For the sake of practicality and finances - the fractured bones were not pinned, just flushed. Sutures were used to close the SQ fascia and skin. 

There was also a laceration around the large pad of the same foot - as seen at the bottom of the image.

He was a fantastic boy! Was very sensitive and touchy with the leg at first but was happy to have us work with it as time went on. 

A spoon splint was placed and a "window" was left for the major wound/fracture site so laser therapy could still be utilized while keeping stability for healing. 

APRIL 15 - Laser #2

As you could see it was a hard life getting lasers......

APRIL 17 - Laser #3

He managed to get the splint and bandaging wet - so we sedated and took it all off to clean and rebandage. 

APRIL 22 - Laser # 5 - Stitches removed from main site. 

APRIL 27 - Laser #7

Definite granulation tissue forming along with healing discharge. 

You can see in the 2 week x-ray update - still plenty of bone healing to take place, but definitely not losing any ground!

APRIL 29 - Laser #8

Wet bandage again - so we removed it again - FANTASTIC wound healing taking place. Staples were removed from secondary laceration site by pad. Even though there wasn't direct laser therapy on this site except for when the splint was off - the 3 lasers previously and the continued laser therapy drawing oxygenation and increased blood flow to the area benefited this site. 

MAY 4 - Laser #10

MAY 6 - Laser #11

MAY 13 - Laser #12

MAY 27 - Laser #12

JUNE 3rd - 2 Month X-ray. 

JULY 28th - 3. 5 Month Follow Up

With hair regrowth the would is no longer visible. The dog is able to use the leg which was the owner's biggest wish - save the leg! 

You can see a nice bony callous has formed and the bones are well on their way to healing for stabilization. 

K-Laser Wound Healing Success #33 - Necrotic Cyst

Here is yet another example of how awesome the power of the class IV K-Laser is at improving healing time and effectiveness for our pets!

This dog presented with a cyst that had become acutely infected and filled with pus. As you can see in the video - it was straight nasty that the body can make that. Over a period of 25 days we did 5 laser sessions along with antibiotics and the healing was fantastic. 



April 25

May 20

K-Laser Success Story #32 - Dog Bite

For our next K-Laser success story- we had a poor dog that had been recently attacked by another dog. It was purely impressive how this dog was a trooper through the entire process! 

She presented with very large wounds on her back and shoulder just behind her neck. So much so that the skin could be dramatically pulled away from the muscle underneath. She was anesthetized so the area could be shaved and cleaned- then debrided and closed with a drain in it. We warned the owners due to the immense size and “undermining” of the wound that there was a good chance some of the skin may devitalize and lose its blood supply and ultimately slough off. Sure enough it did. 

She presented on March 12 and the last photo was on April 17. We did a total of 12 lasers over that 4 week period. 

March 12: 

MARCH 15

        

35 DAYS LATER!

K-Laser Success Story #31 (Cat Bite Wound)

For our newest post - this cat is an indoor/outdoor adventurer.

It must have gotten in a fight with another cat - and developed a very large abscess in its armpit. I removed a large amount of puss via sterile syringe. No obvious bite marks could be made out at the time. Radiographs were negative for any fractures. Antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory was given. It returned 2 days later with 2 large open wounds - ultimately the original penetrating wounds did open with the puss drainage. That is when we started laser therapy.

From first picture to final picture - October 29 - November 14 (5 Laser Sessions)

 

The puss filled pocket is large white blob to the right of the chest 

Laser #1 October 29th - The penetrating wound spots significantly ruptured open.

Laser #2- November 1

Laser #3 November 5

 

 

Laser #4 - November 8th

 

 

Laser #5 - November 14

K- Laser Success Story #30 (AMAZING!)

This most recent success story was a doozy! 

The patient was a dog that had a large skin mass in its groin that had to be removed. Due to its location and the amount of skin that had to be removed- the closure suture line had more than normal tension, and it was in an area of motion due to the leg. Ultimately, there was some dehiscence (opening of incision during healing). The closure was already pushing the limits the first time - going in and removing more to be able to close again was not advisable. So what to do??  K-Laser Therapy!!

The original surgery was May 1st, the first day of dehiscence was May 7th- when laser therapy was started. Once again - we did about 10 lasers over the next 6 weeks, along with just antibiotics and a t-shirt to avoid licking. The dog was happy, we were happy, and best the owners were very satisfied! 


May 1st - pre-surgery

 

May 7 - 1st day of dehiscence - STARTED LASER THERAPY

 

 

May 14th 

 

 

May 16th



 

 

May 18th

 

 

May 24th

 

 

May 29th

June 4th

 

 

June 13th

June 21 Final Laser

June 29 Follow UP to see COMPLETE CLOSURE AND RESOLUTION