Anaesthetic

[Olivia18]

Hi all,

My Guinea Pig, Beau, has a lump on his inner leg. We have been treating it but doesn’t seem to be helping. We have been told that that he can live with it but we have also been given the option of surgery. This is the first time I have been in the dilemma and knowing about survival rates, I’m not sure what to do.

Any advice or knowledge would be widely appreciated x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all,

My Guinea Pig, Beau, has a lump on his inner leg. We have been treating it but doesn’t seem to be helping. We have been told that that he can live with it but we have also been given the option of surgery. This is the first time I have been in the dilemma and knowing about survival rates, I’m not sure what to do.

Any advice or knowledge would be widely appreciated x

Hi and welcome!

Survival rates very much depend on the vet and how knowledgable/practised they are with small furries.

Please be aware that whenever you do any online research, you invariably get all the horror stories but rarely the success stories that are in the vast majority but not worth talking about when they go without a hitch. In short, you are confronted with a very skewed picture which you have to always take into any considerations.

In reality successful ops have massively increased and continue to do so as more better trained vets and nurses are working in clinics and operations on small animals is becoming more common.

If you are dealing with cyst or a fatty lump, then it will not shrink or go away on its own. If they are harmless and do not impede movement, they are generally left as much as possible. Has your vet told you what he thinks the lump is, and is it impeding your piggy now? Thankfully, the majority of lumps are benign.


PS: One of my sows needed an infected sebaceous cyst next to her genitalia removed last year, which was pretty trick because of the location. She made a normal and quick recovery and lived for another 11 until the ripe old age of 7 seven years.


We have got a recommended UK vet list on the top bar and can provide a link to recommended vets in some other countries if wished.

Here is our post-op care guide: Tips For Post-operative Care
Your care at home during recovery is in its own way as vital as any vet care and can literally make all the difference.

Since we have members and enquiries from all over the world and from very different backgrounds and climates, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details so we can always tailor any advice and recommendations straight away to what is available and relevant where you are straight away. Please click on your username, then go to account details and down to location. This will make it appear with every post you make and speed up things for everybody. Thank you!

 

[Merab]

I’ve been checking my vets’ website as there is a possibility one of my girls may need surgery depending on her ultrasound results.
As I like to well prepared I was reading up and they use a newer anaesthetic on small furries that is much safer than the older traditional anaesthetic.
From what I read it sounds so much safer than once it was.

 

[Betsy]

My Christian had a life saving operation to remove a mahoosive abscess the size of an egg 3 weeks ago and he is still here. He is now on 2 lots of antibiotics, an anti-inflammatory and probiotic. His operation lasted 1 hour and 5 mins and was very complicated. You need to make sure your vet is experienced in small furries. I trust my vets and was quite willing to leave my gorgeous boy in their care knowing that they would look after him. The after care has been phenominal and I am very happy with the love and care they have shown for both him and me. Christian now has an impressive scar 2 inches long. This is a picture of it a few hours after the op.