Advice Please - Eye Removal Post-op Complications

[Catherine Johnson]

One of my 3 year old piggies had to have an eye removed 10 days ago and post operatively she was doing well but 6 days into her recovery she developed an infection at the top of her incision and the wound began to dehisce. I cleaned the wound with warm saline and took her to the vet who put her on baytril 0.4mg daily and advised I clean the wound as before. Dally is eating ok but has started with diarrhoea. I am keeping her on her own at night and whilst at work so I can keep an eye on her movements, she is returned to the group whilst we are at home but I'm concerned that I'm not doing enough. The wound is still weeping but not as previously. I've seen that probiotics are recommended but Dally doesn't drink much so is there anything I can syringe? I'm quite desperate to not lose Dally as we lost our boar 6 weeks ago to an enlarged liver and my daughter is so upset. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[Wiebke]

One of my 3 year old piggies had to have an eye removed 10 days ago and post operatively she was doing well but 6 days into her recovery she developed an infection at the top of her incision and the wound began to dehisce. I cleaned the wound with warm saline and took her to the vet who put her on baytril 0.4mg daily and advised I clean the wound as before. Dally is eating ok but has started with diarrhoea. I am keeping her on her own at night and whilst at work so I can keep an eye on her movements, she is returned to the group whilst we are at home but I'm concerned that I'm not doing enough. The wound is still weeping but not as previously. I've seen that probiotics are recommended but Dally doesn't drink much so is there anything I can syringe? I'm quite desperate to not lose Dally as we lost our boar 6 weeks ago to an enlarged liver and my daughter is so upset. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Hi! Baytril is well known for causing diarrhea. Please stop all fresh veg and top her up with syringe feed. Are you taking about runny or just soft poos?

You can also mix a pinch of probiotic powder into the syringe feed or the water you are syringing. Please do not add it to the drinking water as you cannot control the intake and it can promote the growth of algae. Weigh her daily at the same time to control the food intake.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

It is normal for eye cavities to seep and even produce a bit of pus on the healing surface without there being an infection underneath. A number of vets are therefore actually not stitching the cavity shut anymore for that reason.

@furryfriends (TEAS) @Claire W

 

[Claire W]

Hi! Baytril is well known for causing diarrhea. Please stop all fresh veg and top her up with syringe feed. Are you taking about runny or just soft poos?

You can also mix a pinch of probiotic powder into the syringe feed or the water you are syringing. Please do not add it to the drinking water as you cannot control the intake and it can promote the growth of algae. Weigh her daily at the same time to control the food intake.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

It is normal for eye cavities to seep and even produce a bit of pus on the healing surface without there being an infection underneath. A number of vets are therefore actually not stitching the cavity shut anymore for that reason.

@furryfriends (TEAS) @Claire W

Hello and welcome.

My Eliza developed an infected eye socket after having her eye removed.

You will know if the socket is infected as the sight and smell of the pus is awful. There are other signs to look out for too such as redness around the area and the skin feeling warm when you touch it. Like Wiebke says, it's normal for there to be some seepage.

My vet left the socket open and I had to flush it daily with saline solution until all the pus has gone. The idea is to let the socket heal from the inside out. Granulation tissue will form to fill the socket in.

I did however have to keep removing the scab to leave the socket open to heal properly.

 

[Catherine Johnson]

Thank you so much. Her poo was ok until last night and now it's just staining on the fleece lining of her hutch (see photo). I've been removing the poos I between changing the fleece to make sure she was producing the correct sort of poos. She is otherwise ok but isn't great at eating her pellets. My vet advised just to keep her digestion moving by encouraging her to eat, especially dandelions!? I will study the syringe feed page and get some probiotic powder. The area was definitely infected, smelled dreadful, was reddened and was oozing plenty of pus. My vet removed the scab which seemed to improve things initially. The smell has gone, no seroma formation but just weeping greeny coloured thickish discharge but is definitely improved. What about stopping the abs?

 

[Claire W]

Bless her.

I would follow the advise that Wiebke has given. Take her off of all fresh veg and just feed her pellets and plenty of hay.

I'm not sure what to suggest about the ab's to be honest so I'll let someone else answer but maybe contact your vet for advise. I had a piggy once who just couldn't tolerate baytril and that was even with probiotic.

It's good that your vet removed the scab. It isn't nice but sadly, it needs to be done to allow for drainage and healing