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Do you ever regret neutering?

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Lady Kelly

Lady Kelly

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I am starting to regret neutering Buddy now just because the poor boy has been through so much. Luckily I use this forum and each time I go to the vets its because I am armed full of info to tell them in order to make sure my pigs are fine. However, after this past week of painkiller and antacids for Buddy we have been back to the vets today. Sometimes he seems very perky and lively and then other times he hides away a lot more than normal. His poo's are now normal but he hasn't even had a handful of pellets in the past 5 days. Luckily he is eating the majority of his veg.

So we now have critical care to supplement what he is eating as he has lost a fair bit of weight (good job he was a chunky monkey before). Got to check his weight everyday over the next week and if he doesn't pick up then its back to the vets. She did check his teeth both front and back and there are no obvious problems and also no sign of infection around his wounds.

Good job for him that he is healing well so has been put back on wood shavings and hay and right now he is burrowed into the biggest pile of hay I could fit in there lol I just feel so bad for him
 
It really concerns me how many posts I see regarding post-neutering problems. I have had many boys castrated and you wouldn't even know they had had anything done unless you picked them up and looked underneath. They are as lively when I pick them up after surgery as when I drop them off, and they don't appear to have any discomfort or swelling. It's not a difficult operation so why so many problems? I can't help but wonder if it is down to the suturing material used. Simon uses disolvable stitches, but I will ask him exactly which one he uses.
 
Yes I had noticed a surge in these types of posts recently. When I had Peter done last year everything went very smoothly. These are disolvable stitches but I will ask my vets when I go back whether they have switched the suturing material in the past year at all. I suppose it doesn't help that I have only ever been able to estimate Buddy's age but I would still put him at young adult rather than elderly otherwise I wouldn't have put him through it
 
I don't regret getting Frazzle done because he had no complications thankfully. He also absolutely looooves living with his wife, they get on amazing. I was so worried at the time though and not sure I could do it again.
 
Seeing how bully boy Hywel is thriving with his harem, I do not regret putting him through neutering, but I very much wished that I had had him done by Simon instead of the local rescue's vet clinic because he had a very close shave!

Indirectly, he has been saved by Simon; if I hadn't had happened to have zithro-max handy (prescribed by my vet for Hywel's predecessor after a conversation with Simon) and the help of the forum people, he wouldn't have made it through the weekend because the operating clinic was totally clueless and wouldn't even give me an antibiotic when he was suffering from gut adhesions due to a band of swelling at the back of the operated area! mallethead

Hywel lost a lot of weight, too, and took quite some time to put it back on - that is not rare in post-op boars.
 
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To be fair, I had noticed more posts than normal on this subject....which does worry me as I want to get captain jack done also, so I will be very interested what the findings are.
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PopcornPigs said:
I don't regret getting Frazzle done because he had no complications thankfully. He also absolutely looooves living with his wife, they get on amazing. I was so worried at the time though and not sure I could do it again.
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Ha tell me about it, I forget how anxious you get worrying over the little fur babies. I know it will be worth it when he's got a wifepig and he's all loved up I just hate to think that he's suffered at all
 
I'm sure he'll forget once he gets some loving :))
I was so worried I had to stop myself crying when I dropped him off! Held it back til I walked out :p
 
No I don't regret neutering Rocket, especially after seeing how happy all three of them were together today. He was so lonely after Wally Whiskers passed away and having recently lost Yoshi too I couldn't cope with having another new piggie and carry on with two seperate cages. Now they're altogether and have loads more space. But then his op went smoothly and he was his usual bouncy self afterwards ( it was his ear infection weeks later that made him poorly ) so I can see how you'd feel that way though if Buddy's not recovering well. I do hope he perks up soon. x :laluot_29::laluot_29::laluot_29:
 
No regrets with my boys here, although they all went smoothly with no complications.

My regret with my boys is keeping them together as neutered boys! They were company for each other, got on well and what have you, but seeing Big Dave with a sow for the first time at 5 years old is amazing, he's turned into a different pig!


I'd never spay again though unless absolutely medically necessary....
 
Hi,

I had George neutered when he was 1 year old and everything was fine. I do have faith in my local vets when it comes to surgery as they are a big animal hospital and have a very good reputation. My family has used them since i was a child and never had any worries.
Luckily he had no complications post op and now lives with his 3 wives x) .

Helen x

PS; disolvable stitches were used for his op too
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
It really concerns me how many posts I see regarding post-neutering problems. I have had many boys castrated and you wouldn't even know they had had anything done unless you picked them up and looked underneath. They are as lively when I pick them up after surgery as when I drop them off, and they don't appear to have any discomfort or swelling. It's not a difficult operation so why so many problems? I can't help but wonder if it is down to the suturing material used. Simon uses disolvable stitches, but I will ask him exactly which one he uses.
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When Archie got his infection post neuter it was suggested that it may have been caused by the glue used. He had both disolvable stitches and a glue. Could be this maybe ?/.

Archie was drowsy, but happy when I picked him up. Apart from the abscess (which came about a couple of weeks after the surgery) he was absolutely fine. I don't regret having him neutered though as he is so happy with his girlies :)
 
I don't regret neutering but I possibly wouldn't do it again following the problems Boris has had, unless like others have said I made special effort to see Simon. I'm finding it quite hard to trust vets with the couple of run ins I've had in relation to other issues too. Boris got an abscess following the operation and it's been quite stubborn and persistent, I'm hoping now we are mostly over it because nothing seems to be infected anymore but it's been stressful and expensive! I don't think Boris would have lived happily with a male given he's at his most hormonal stage and was quite aggressive to other males so I'm hoping this will give him a better life in the long term.

Ed, who I got from Walsall, had no problems post neuter and continues to do well about a year on so I guess sometimes it's swings and roundabouts. Some of the complications must be down to technique I'm pretty convinced of that. It would be interesting to here what all these vets have done the same/differently.
 
I don't regret getting any of my foster ones neutered, the only thing I do regret is not walking out when I got to the vets to have a boar castrated and finding my vet wasn't going in due to being ill. I had 2 done that day and both had complications. I have never had a problem the 50 or so others I have had done. It's something that will never happen again.
 
I've never once regretted having my boars neutered. I've had Smudge done recently because I want to get him a girlfriend. Then vet was confident and one I trust. Smudge had excellent after care. And incidently, dissolvable stitches.
 
In a word - Yes!

The incidence of post-op complications is entirely dependent upon the vet concerned, their experience/choice of suture material/choice of technique/competence with piggie anaesthetics and post op recovery procedures.

My advice to anyone is to do your homework first. Check carefully with the nominated vet about their epxerience/methods etc
Most importantly - when you book your piggies in on the day, MAKE SURE IT IS STILL THAT VET WHO WILL PERFORM THE OP!

If you find the vet you wanted is not going to be performing the operation that day for whatever reason, bite the bullet and RESCHEDULE!

I was too much of a wimp - 5 pigs on one occasion done by a locum substituted at the last minute, and on a separate occasion at another practice, one pig was done by a new "grabby hands" vet wanting the experience. All ended up wth post-op complications including deep-seated abdominal abcesses, sever gut adhesions, sudden death and slow-resolving haematomas/seromas.

All the rest of my spays and neuters by my preferred vet(s) have gone like clockwork.

HTH
x
 
My boy was done on Friday, so far so good, hopefully won`t regret getting him done, it will be lovely for him to have some lady friends..x)
 
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