Wound on leg after tumour removal

Question
I have a male brindle boxer who is just under 6 years old, A few weeks ago he had to have an aggresive tumor removed from his back thigh. The vet had to go quite deep due to the nature of the tumor. After a couple of days when I had to take him back to get his stitches checked the wound was weeping slightly in the middle and when the stitched were removed on sat the wound opened more than the vet expected leaving muscle tissue and inches of flesh exposed in a deep wound, his thigh has now been restitched as i couldnt have left it open like this i was too worried of risk of infection. After a couple of days the area is now leaking in the centre again and he has to get this rechecked next week. He is getting his course of antibiotics as advised and I am bathing his wound 3 times per day as advised, exercise is kept minimum with only a very short walk outside on lead for him to do his needs and I am doing my best to keep him rested and calm although it's hard to keep him still at all times and he does have a habit of lying on the stitched leg. He also has an elizibethian collar on at all times. Is there anything else i can do to help ensure this area heals and if the wound does reopen will he be okay? is there another soloution, I am worried sick as he is a very popular family member and I would do anything for him to be okay.

Answer
Hi Mari,

It sounds as if you're doing everything you can for him; the wound does need to weep a little, otherwise it may abscess.  Keeping it clean and keeping him from aggravating it are the important things right now, and it sounds like you've got that well covered.  You can support his immune system with things like Vitamin C or B-complex; once he's finished the antibiotics, you can give probiotics to replenish "good" bacteria which helps immune function (i.e. lactobacillus, found in the refrigerator section of health food stores) - generally 1-2 Tbsp 2x per day for the same amount of time as you gave the antibiotics.  Also, when the wound is healed internally and there's just the skin left to close, you can use a calendula-based cream or ointment to speed healing.  (Again, you want the wound to drain while the muscle is healing - calendula can tend to heal a wound from the outside, which could lead to abscessing if started while the muscle is still open.)

I think you're doing quite well by your boy - hang in there, and give him a big hug from me!