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Hysterectomy - Post Op Care & Lack Of Poops

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Poppy'sMum

Poppy'sMum

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Dear old Blighty UK
I'll tag @Wiebke as I know she has experience of piggy hysterectomies but if anyone has experienced this can you please advise what's normal? My Petal had hers on Monday, I collected her last night from the vets & she still isn't interested in eating for herself yet so I am syringe feeding her. She had had a lot of Critical Care, plenty of it & water & is on Emeprid & Zantac, Metacam, Tramodol & Marbocyl. She was pooping at the vets but tiny pellets, but normal colour etc. I know GA affects them & this is the 2nd GA she's had in the last 2 weeks as she had x rays & scans before we decided that this would be the final resort after a horrendous infection in her womb & massively enlarged ovaries (despite hormone jabs)left us no option other than PTS :( She seems bright eyed & is partitioned off from her friends at the moment so restricted for space but mostly she is in her bed watching them :) Any advice re poop or post op care gratefully received thanks :)
 
Is she pooping/peeing at all now? If not, that's the main worry as her system will start to shut down if food/water doesn't start flowing through her.

I don't have any experience with females so can't comment on the surgery. But, from having piggies go through surgery it seems like she's on a lot of medication. Have you been told what they're all for? I've been told that Tramadol can have negative effects on piggies, so it might be worth ringing your vet to discuss if all of them are needed.

I hope she gets better soon :)
 
It seems like you do have most things covered, only thing I can suggest is massage therapy though am not sure if that is wise after such a big op. I fortunately have not had to deal with a post op pig so am not the best to advise. Really hope you see some poos soon.
 
Yes she needs all the meds, the Emeprid & Zantac should get things moving but nothing yet :) She has wee'd though & doesn't seem to be in pain at all when weeing. I would usually massage to help things along but I have to be careful as I can't touch that part of her tummy so it's tricky :( I am going to sit her on my lap on the massage pad & see if that gets things going :)
 
Is she eating anything else herself, like hay, pellets, veg? Were you handfeeding throughout the night? It might be that she's not getting enough food into her so isn't pooping. It's surprising the amount of CC they need each day if that's all they're eating.
 
She had a tiny bit of veg herself but not really eating hay yet :( She has had about 60 ml syringe food since midnight already & is due another feed now :)
 
it can take a while for poos to come through depending on how much she's had to eat previous to the op. They are also likely to be very small and funny. Keep on hand feeding her to get things going again. That will eventually come through.

It can take 2-4 days just for the body to settle down after a major op like a spay and for the healing process to begin in earnest. Until then, interest in food can be very dodgy.

You can provide her with some rough cardboard and also give her a bit of poo soup to restock her guts.

My Cariad took half a day to find her appetite after her emergency spay, and she had about the smoothest recovery with no weight loss except for the missing body parts.
 
Thanks Wiebke :) I have already given her some newspaper & cardboard roll & she chewed them in the night, I wondered if that has bunged her up :) The vet was very pleased with how she has recovered so far & she knows I am experienced at syringe feeding so it was decided she is better at home seeing her friends asap :) She was pooing & weeing fine at the vets when I collected her last night :)
 
So the pre-op stuff has come through, just not yet your hand feed yet. I wouldn't worry too much. It sounds like you are getting a good amount in and she hasn't quite lost all appetite; it just needs time to work its way through a very churned up system.

It is always an anxious time, but you are doing all the right things to bring her through. Your good care will make all the difference, but it needs time to filter thTTrough her body. Twelve hours or even longer is about normal for the digestive process for new food to come through with piggies totally off their food. it will speed up once she is better and with regular feeds coming in.
 
Thanks Wiebke, I will be so happy to see some poops :D She's sitting on my lap on the massage mat at the moment; she loves it but she can't work out why her mummy is constantly looking at her bum lol :lol:
 
Don't get greedy! it is a sign that things are still working, so I would stop panicking. There will be more...
 
Yay! Seeing that first poop always makes me so happy. You can breathe a sigh of relief now, everything is still working fine :)

More poops please Petal!
 
Oh poor Petal. It does take a while. Its strange isn't it, that first poop after an op or illness is one of the happiest moments! The next one is when you see them eating on their own.

Good luck, sounds like you are doing all you can and she has a lovely mummy to look after her! Plenty of healing vibes being sent!
x
 
Thank you, all still a bit slow when normally she is a poop machine! She's just had some more food so I hope something else comes out soon as it is definitely going in the other end lol :)
 
WARNING
Please do not massage a guinea pig who has received major abdominal surgery....by whatever means - You increase the risk of post-operative adhesions forming in the abdominal tissues that can have long lasting effects on gut function.

Everything else is fine - just keep the food and fluids going in at regular intervals. It can be up to 48hours before poops start coming through regularly.
 
Is sitting her on the massage mat not a good thing @Pebble ? It only gently vibrates & she loves it, it doesn't massage as such? She has done a couple of tiny very light coloured but absolutely rock solid poos in the last hour.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Is sitting her on the massage mat not a good thing @Pebble ? It only gently vibrates & she loves it, it doesn't massage as such? She has done a couple of tiny very light coloured but absolutely rock solid poos in the last hour.
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I seriously don;t think it is a good idea PM. Sorry..but you would be vibrating (however gently) traumatised tissue/internal stitches and thus interfering with it's primary healing process.

Personally - I don;t risk it with my pigs after any type of surgery (inc neutering) They are in hospital cages for a reason - to keep down their level of activity in order to avoid trauma/irritation to the surgical site precisely to prevent adhesions forming and causing longer term problems in the future..

If they have gut problems during post-op - I rely on the cocktail you have already been given (and your vet is clearly really savvy about what to give!) to keep the guts moving along with plenty of syringed fluids. She should be fine without "mechanical" intervention

Massage is a good option for helping a piggie with ileus/bloat/gut issues - but ONLY if there has been no surgery involved.

I'm sure she'll make a good recovery - your vet has been very thorough in their post-op meds.


....Now can you please put that electric toothbrush DOWN (LOL!)

Hugs - I know you're worried. Give me a bell if you want to have a chat.

x
 
Awwww lol thanks Pebble :) I won't use the mat again then until she is fully healed, although she will get the right hump as it has a heat function too & we have been known to have a snooze together with it on lol :D I've never seen such tiny rock hard poos though, is that normal?
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Awwww lol thanks Pebble :) I won't use the mat again then until she is fully healed, although she will get the right hump as it has a heat function too & we have been known to have a snooze together with it on lol :D I've never seen such tiny rock hard poos though, is that normal?
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Yes, funny poos are perfectly normal. It takes a day or two for it all to normalise; your girl has not eaten for a while except lots of chemicals for the op so that needs to work it's way out... ;)
 
Thanks Wiebke, she is doing so well, she looks so much better than last week when I thought I was going to lose her. If I can get her to the end of this week & get normal poops etc I will be happy. She isn't wanting to eat any hay yet, is that normal? She's had GAs before but she never did poos like this & she was eating hay straight away before :(
 
Rock hard poos is indicative of substantive gut stasis (but not necessarily bloat which is mainly about gas) and possibly post-op dehydration

Give her 48hours post-op of the cocktail you are feeding her (plus syringing etc) before you start to really worry. Give syringe-fed fluids (20ml every 3hours) to rehydrate her....include diarolyte every other feed if necessary

Beechie's infamous "air-gun pellet explosion" in his carrier after 48hrs of no poos was a sight to behold (and I didn;t appreciate the emergency vets comments for wasting his time when he looked in the carrier to discover the "sudden production"!)
Heat is fine., It's the vibration that is the problem so early post-op.

x
 
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I have dealt with many post op spay piggies and they have all had a very quick recovery. However, they can seem a little less well the day after the op, but generally perk up completely by the next day. I would just keep giving syringe food, and offering the foods that she normally enjoys. Why is she on tramadol? I am thinking this could be slowing down the gut. I have always found metacam to be sufficient pain relief following spay. I agree with Pebble, that massage isn't good following surgery.
 
Ditto on the Tramadol. It's definitely not a medicine I would use unless absolutely necessary.

My guinea specialised vet was very reluctant to try it with my stone pig, but it was the absolute last choice for pain relief before his surgery. He said that I had to watch him like a hawk as it can affect them quite drastically.

I would definitely discuss stopping it with your vet.
 
I am taking her for her post op check in the morning so will definitely discuss Tramodol then. I think it was added in because she was in such severe pain before the op, she was on the max dosage of Metacam anyway & had a nasty womb infection which wasn't responding to all the antibiotics, including Zithromax which she reacted badly to again, as it always causes her bloat :(
 
She has done more poops tonight, still tiny & hard but I have managed to persuade her to eat some coriander sprigs so I am hoping this will get things moving :tu:
 
Poppy'sMum said:
She has done more poops tonight, still tiny & hard but I have managed to persuade her to eat some coriander sprigs so I am hoping this will get things moving :tu:
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Just be patient; there are only as many poos as food is going in. Keep on hand feeding. it shoudl get easier in the degree she is feeling better in herself.
 
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