GA risks?

[bellagreendale]

My guinea pig has a tumour on one of her mammory glands, and while I originally thought I was going to say no to the offered surgery, the lump has doubled in size and I'm worried that soon she won't be able to carry on with her life. She's nearly seven so I know that the GA risk is even higher (one of the reasons I disagreed in the first place), but I was wondering if anyone knew exactly how risky it was? I'd love to hear of anyone's experiences with GA (and the age of the pigs involved, as her age is my main concern). Thank you

 

[TAN]

I think it depends on how long they are under for - 3 of my pigs have recently had a GA and one was quite a long and complicated surgery and they were nearly 4 - I think you would have to be very unlucky for a piggy not to come through it.

 

[bellagreendale]

Thank you so much for your reply, it definitely made me feel better about her GA. May I ask what the surgery was for (if you're okay with answering that is)?

 

[Midge&Panda]

Over the years our piggies have had a fair few operations. The oldest girl was nearly 5yrs ( a fair bit younger than yours). She had an abcess under the chin dealt with. She came through with absolutely no problems at all. The unfortunate side of g.a is about 6 weeks ago Albert underwent a g.a for dental work and although he came through the op there were complications afterwards and we had to put him to sleep. I don't think age has a lot to do with it (I may be wrong) but it all depends on the individual pig. Personally if she was my girl I would have the tumour removed. I would rather know that I had tried but then I have complete confidence in my vet. Whatever you decide will be right for you and your girl. Hugs to you both. xx

 

[Wiebke]

HUGS

It is always a toss up... and a very difficult situation!

Personally, I would opt for an operation, as that would at least give her the chance to make it, even if it is not a full guarantee for success. Over the years, I have lost several piggies in or shortly after operations (even young ones), so I am not saying this lightly as I have experienced the pain and the inevitable feelings of guilt when things didn't go to plan. But you will be facing those same emotions if you decide not to operate and have at some point to make the equally heart-breaking decision to let your piggy go; I have done that too, and it wasn't any easier being left with a major case of "what if...".

Whatever you decide, we all understand that you are making your decision based on your love and with your girl's wellbeing foremost in your mind; you won't fail her whichever way you go. You are always free to speak to your vet again on the phone about his assessment of the risks and chances before you are making your final decision.

That said, GA on small animals has become a lot better over the last few years, especially with experienced piggy savvy vets. One of my five year olds has been successfully through a full bladder op last November and an emergency spay in May despite being only 700g and quite fragile. She's still with me. I know of several really old piggies who had successful ops.

 

[scpiggy]

I recently had to make this decision with my 4 1/2 year old guinea pig, I chose to go for the operation and she pulled through despite it turning out to be a very extensive surgery and a hard recovery. Even though there was a chance she wouldn't have made it through the surgery I'm so glad I gave her that chance and she's still going strong.
It's not an easy choice to make and I wish you and your girl the best of luck.

 

[guineabecs]

Working as a vet nurse I have done the anaeasthetic on several piggies.*touch wood* I have never had one die under ga on me, but on admit owners are always warned of the higher risk because they are smaller than a dog or cat etc. Keeping them warm is one of the biggest problems but most places are pretty up on small animal ga's. I had one of mine operated on who was 8yrs old and she sadly died, while having a tumour removed from inside her bladder, but I was aware of the risks, and while it was upsetting without the op she would have got sicker quicker.
As I say, no op is without risks but you just have to weigh up the risks vs what she will gain Xx

 

[myermaid]

Yeah it does seem that the main concern is keeping them warm. I think it may be time to have another talk with the vet haha Thank you for your help!

 

[Abi_nurse]

All GA's carry a risk of course. I find that many owners worry where there pets get older, but we are getting much better and better at doing GA's and with a good vet then the risks are at a minimum. I recently GA'd my 6 and a half year old boar for a dental and he did well.

The problem we have with guinea pigs (and often rabbits), is that they are often very sick before we actually put them under, as often they do not come in until they are very unwell. This increases the risk a lot, as we all all know small furries are often great at hiding illness and often species like rabbits will have pseudomonas infections in the lungs without showing any outward signs and as you can imagine this will increase risk. There are lots of things to consider when placing a guinea pig under aneasthesia such as making sure the chest is raised (due to there large abdominal organs - can squash up into the lungs if positioned wrong) and as mentioned as they are small keeping them warm.

The main things i would consider before anethetizing an older guinea pig would be:
- is the surgery necessary - i would suggest in your case it is
- is my piggie healthy (if not get on top of any ailments pre operation)
- is my vet a piggie savvy vet (if not ask to be referred to a specialist etc)
- is my piggie eating well on the day? (sometimes gut simulants and syringe feeding pre GA can be beneficial)
- discuss the type of GA with your vet - there are a huge number of drugs both injectable and the gas that we can use stand alone or in a combination, a good vet will know the best ones to use for which procedure and age of piggie and what they are familiar with too.

Hope you can come to a decision. Good luck. If you need anything then just ask.

x

 

[TAN]

Thank you so much for your reply, it definitely made me feel better about her GA. May I ask what the surgery was for (if you're okay with answering that is)?

Two of my old ladies had a spay - and Noodles was up and scoffing ,peeing and pooing almost straight away - Nuggets had the long surgery - it was on my vet bill as 3 x surgeries(so I guess he was out for over half an hour) he had a lump the size of a walnut on his side that upon removal the vet thought it was cancerous as it had its own blood supply and everything - fortunately it turned out to be inflamed tissue and his real problem (unfortunately) was spinal disease - he is srill with me and has to have the chiropractor work on him