
06/14/2025
Meet Boston! 🐾🦔
This handsome boy came in overnight for an emergency visit after getting himself into a prickly situation! This is a particularly busy time of year for porcupine encounters, and Boston was just one of several patients this week needing quill removal.
The quills were primarily embedded in his chest and three of his legs. A dense cluster was found around his right knee joint, requiring multiple small incisions to access and remove deeply embedded quills. All wounds were thoroughly flushed, explored, and closed with sutures. 🩹
Porcupine quills are barbed, making them especially tricky (and painful) to remove. To avoid complications, quill removal should always be performed by a veterinarian, often under sedation. Contrary to popular belief, cutting porcupine quills does not make them easier to remove. In fact, it increases the risk of the quills splintering and leaving fragments behind in the tissue.
The most serious risks associated with porcupine quills include deep tissue infections, and migrating quills that can lodge in joints, the eyes, or even vital organs, creating life-threatening complications.
After carefully removing dozens of quills from Boston, we sent him home with pain relief, anti-inflammatory medication, and antibiotics. During recovery, it’s important to monitor for any signs of discomfort, swelling, or newly visible quills. Boston will also need to wear a cone until the sutures around his knee can be removed in the next 10 to 14 days. 🦴
We're happy to report that Boston is back home with his family and on the road to recovery. We’re wishing him a smooth and speedy healing process! 💜🐶