The Dreaded Cone of Shame

I'm gonna come right out and say it....I am Pro E-collar. Yes, that's right....I am all for the Cone of Shame. Some doctors lean more on the side of saying, 'let's give them a chance without it first'. Well, as a veterinarian and a mother of a two year old, I can tell you that animals and toddlers will do exactly what you don't want them to do as soon as you are not looking. Trust me!

Unlike you or I, our pets don't have the proper reasoning skills to know that they should not lick or scratch at their new incision or their sutures as they heal. Part of the healing process involves inflammation and that inflammation causes itching. When animals itch they want to scratch, or bite or lick or chew. Anything to get rid of the cause of the itching. Often that means the meticulously placed sutures or staples that are holding together poor Fido's belly or Fluffy's leg. Dogs and cats can undo our hard work in a matter or minutes. Just ask Carly's mom....Carly came to see us for a mass removal on her left forelimb. By all accounts, Carly is a great dog. She is an adult golden retriever and just wants to get as many belly rubs as possible. And she did great for her surgery - her incision closed up so nicely and she went home wagging her tail. Carly returned the next day - why you ask? In the matter of a few minutes when left unattended, Carly managed to pull out every single suture we placed in her leg. Unfortunately this meant another round of sedation for Carly and staples to close her incision. It also meant the dreaded (pause for effect here)................Cone of Shame.

I have heard all the excuses before...'he bumps into things', 'she is going to hate me for this', 'she can't eat/sleep/drink with it on'. I am here to tell you, the e-collar is harder on you as an owner than it is on your pet. Yes they bump into things on occasion and yes they may act like they hate you, but trust me they are fine. And isn't all that money you just invested in my surgical expertise worth having Fido wear her lampshade head wear for a week? A great surgeon friend of mine used to tell her clients to tape their invoice from their surgery to the fridge so that they could see it everyday to remind themselves why post-op instructions, such as e-collars, was so important.

It's a small thing and often declined by owners but it can prevent catastrophic infections and damage done by our pets. I support the Cone of Shame - consider it a fashion accessory for your precious pet!

PS - this is Carly....and the best news of all was that her lump was benign...No Cancer for Carly!