The Wire Cut

D. E. Larsen, DVM

It was a sunny Friday evening and we just got the kids to the dinner table. 

“Maybe we should eat dinner and go to the movie down at the Rio tonight,” I said. Speaking more to myself than to the family.

“That would be great,” Sandy said. “It that new movie that everyone is talking about. Star Wars, I think.”

I made a long reach from the end of the table and speared slice of chicken breast with my fork. Just as I settled onto my plate, the telephone rang.

“Great,” Sandy whispered under her breath.

“Three day old wire cut,” I said. “Those gals never look at their horse all week and find the problem when they are brushing them for a Saturday morning ride.”

“Do you want me to answer it?” Sandy asked.

“I’ll get it,” I said as I got up and walked to the kitchen to answer the call.

“Hello, this is Dr. Larsen,” I said into the phone.

“I’m so glad I caught you, Doc,” Janice said. “I thought you might be at that movie already.”

“What do you have going on, Janice?” I asked.

“Luna has a nasty wire cut on the side of her neck,” Janice said. “I think she must have caught it on the barbwire fence. I was hoping I could get you to come out and sew it up tonight.”

“I thought we talked about that barbedwire fence last year,” I said.

“Yes, I know it is my fault,” Janice said. “But you know how it is, there is always something else to spend the money on and something that seems to consume the time.”

“When do you think this happened?” I asked.

“It looks like it might be a day or two old,” Janice said. “There is some dried blood in the hair and the wound Is matted with her hair.”

“Janice, you know that there will be no difference in the wound healing of a wire cut that is two or three days old,” I said. “It will save you a hundred dollars if I come out in the morning.”

“Yes, I know,” Janice said. “But I was planning to ride Luna in the morning. A bunch of us girls are going up Black’s Creek for a ride. Do you think she will be okay to ride tomorrow?”

“I can’t tell without looking at her, but I wouldn’t expect a skin laceration on her neck to slow Luna down much,” I said. “And twelve hours difference if only going affect the price. What time are you planning to leave in the morning?”

“Sue is going to be here with her trailer at nine,” Janice said. “That is why I wanted to get it done tonight. But, if waiting until morning will save a hundred dollars, maybe I should wait.”

“I can be out the by eight,” I said. “Luna is so easy to work on, I should be done before nine.”

“Okay, Doc, let’s do it in the morning,” Janice said. That way your kids can see the movie.”

***

Janice was holding Luna in the corral when I pulled into her driveway. I poured a bucket of water and drew up ten ccs of lidocaine in a syringe and stuck it in my pocket. 

With my surgery bag in one hand and the water bucket in the other, I slipped through the corral gate.

Luna snickered when I patted her on the right shoulder. The laceration that Janice had call about was on the right side of Luna’s neck. It was less than two inches long, dry and crusty, it probably happened on Monday or Tuesday. I would have been pissed if I had came out last night for this wound.

“I have to tell you, Janice, that this would will heal inspite of what we do today,” I said. “This is nearly a week old. I can clean it up, give her a tetnus booster and some antibiotics and she will be good to go. To close this wound, I am going to have to remove the skin edge and all the granulation tissue, then suture the wound. That might heal a little faster, but only by a week.”

“Are you sure it well heal?” Janice asked.

“If I looked at this wound on Wednesday, I would have sutured it with only some minor debridement,” I said. “Today, I have to remove the skin edge and all the granulation tissue. It will make a larger would, take more time, and gain very little benefit. I think if I clean this wound and shave the hair away from the skin edge, it will be healed in two weeks.”

“Okay, Doc,” Janice said. “Am I going to be able to ride her today?”

I press hard on the wound and around the edge. Luna showed no response to the manipulations.

“I don’t think she knows she has a wound,” I said. “I will only use a little lidocaine for local anesthesia if she flinches. My bet is she isn’t going to need anything.”

I scurbbed the wound with Betadine surgical scrub and rinsed it well. I shaved the wound edge with a prep blade, making a wide margin around the wound. Then I scraped the crusty debris from the wound, exposing fresh granulation tisuue. Luna never flinched through the whole process.

I opened a new container of Furacin ointment and applied a small coating to the wound. I handed Janice the container.

“Apply a small amount twice a day,” I said. “That is all you have to do. I will drop by next Friday, just to double check on things. I will have Sandy give you a call on Monday to schedule that recheck. If you have Luna in the corral, I don’t think you would need to be here.”

“Do I have to do anything for flies?” Janice asked.

“I don’t think that will be a problem with this wound,” I said. “By the time I recheck it, you will be surprised at how close it is to being healed.”

“That’s great, I hate the fly spray,” Janice said.

“Now a tetnus booster and a dose of long acting penicillin and I will be out of here before Sue arrives,” I said.

***

Just as I said. Luna’s wire cut was almost healed with I rechecked her the following week. Janice and Sue had an enjoyable ride after my visit. And the kids got to see Star Wars. I just didn’t expect that movie to still be around for almost fifty years.

Photo Credit: Stephen Leonardi on Pexels.