Seroma Development in the Canine

A seroma is a collection of serum in the body that most commonly forms into a fluid-filled mass. Seromas occur most frequently post-surgery, when a large space has been created under the tissue. A seroma can occur after a spay or laceration repair. They commonly occur after major traumatic injuries such as coyote/dog attack inflicted wounds, where the bite has left an open wound with a large space under the tissue. Veterinarians will attempt to repair the wound as best as possible, but sometimes seromas will form no matter how good the repair was. At most times, the veterinarian, will place a drain in the wound to allow excess fluid (that would normally collect and form a seroma) to drain out of the area.

The drain is typically left in the wound/incision for 3 days, granted that your pet does not decide to remove it with their teeth. This 3 day time frame allows for the tissue to heal and close off any pockets of space under the dermis that there may be. The drain is then removed and the wound left to heal. Now, what happens if your dog does develop a seroma? How is it treated? A seroma is just a fluid filled pocket that forms in a dead space. What veterinarians will typically do is to take a syringe and needle and tap into the seroma. The doctor will pull off as much fluid as possible by pulling back on the syringe plunger. Once the initial fluid draining has taken place, your veterinarian may have you come in several more times to drain the seroma. Doing this will prevent further expansion of the tissue and hopefully the tissue will begin to adhere after the several visits. Seromas are in no way neoplastic, they are benign in nature and are easily treated.

Preventing seromas is the main goal of the veterinarian when dealing with an injury such as a deep bite wound. An antibiotic will most likely be prescribed so that an infection does not set in. Sometimes the seroma can become filled with infectious material. This will delay healing and make it difficult for the seroma to resolve. The size of the seroma depends on the wound/incision. You could have a baseball-sized seroma or a nickel-sized seroma. Either way, the fluid is drained until the tissue begins to adhere and the seroma has resolved. Once it begins to heal, you will need to make sure that your pet is not licking at the incision/wound site. This will not only delay healing, but disturbance of the area from licking could cause the seroma to come back.