Dental Jaw Abscess

[Sue and Smartie]

Geraldine's now got an abscess under her jaw. This follows on from a tooth problem a month ago which took some time to resolve. Erica at Little Pip's says it's possible the abscess has been brewing up for a while and was the cause of the original tooth problem. Kate the vet said similar.
Whatever the cause, there was a lot of pus in there yesterday which has now been drained out as much as possible (it was runny pus not the cheesy kind). I have antibiotics and pain relief for Geraldine but an abscess in that location is what I have always dreaded occurring with any of my pigs. I suppose I am lucky that this is the first one I've had to cope with in 14 years of piggy-keeping. Geraldine doesn't look well, she is also over 4 years old which puts her in the elderly category. Kate the vet was not overly optimistic about her chances, in fact if I had said to her yesterday that I thought she should be pts, Kate would not have disagreed with me. But she also said that draining the pus was not too invasive and she would support that course of action.
Geraldine is all of a sudden looking old & frail and I have to agree with Kate that she would most likely not survive any lengthy surgery.
It looks to me as if Geraldine has all the odds against her, obviously we are doing all we can to help her and give her a chance but it doesn't look good. We have to wait & see if the meds help her but I am only too aware of the difficulties in clearing up an infection in piggies.
Please keep fingers (& paws) crossed for our dear little pig.

 

[DMS260820]

My fingers are tightly crossed

 

[Merab]

Hope all goes well.
Keeping you in my thoughts

 

[rhymer]

Fingers crossed and sending healing vibes.
Hugs to you and your piggy.xx

 

[Wiebke]

All the best! It's definitely not my favourite location for an abscess, either!
My 6 year old Hywel had two of them, caused by an abscessed incisor...


It is absolutely vital that you flush the abscess twice daily with a mild disinfectant like saline solution, hibiscrub or very highly diluted F10 by squirting water into the opening with a syringe. The longer you can keep the abscess open (ideally 5-10 days at least), the besser as the chances of it healing from the inside out without trapping any spec of infection in it are much greater. After the first couple of days you will need scratch off the scab that tends to form over the opening. It is NOT a pleasant process, but absolutely vital.

What antibiotic have you been prescribed?

I am linking in @furryfriends (TEAS) , our 'Abscess Queen', especially with facial abscesses that are often connected to dental root problems. If she fails to answer (as she is a very busy lady running a sanctuary for piggies with chronic dental problems), we have permission to refer members to her via her website. She would appreciate it if you contacted her in the middle of day rather than in the evening hours.
The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary – Providing life-enhancing care for Guinea Pigs with extra needs

 

[Bill & Ted]

Fingers crossed for little Geraldine x

 

[Posyrose]

Oh you are going through the wars with Geraldine. Healing vibes being sent by the bucket load!

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

So what exactly has the vet done with the abscess? Has it been marsupialised? If not, how did the vet get the pus out? I am rather concerned that the vet is suggesting euthanasia, as we have dealt with many jaw and tooth root abscesses here at TEAS, on guinea pigs very much older than your piggy, with great success. Which antibiotic has been prescribed? It is very likely that the abscess is what caused the previous dental issue.

 

[Freela]

I've had two pigs with jaw/tooth root abscesses. One passed away (at the time we had an inexperienced vet who did not give her adequate antibiotics or instruct me in aftercare, had I known better and had a more experienced vet, I feel like we could have gotten her through it.) The other did fine with a more experienced vet after having the abscess lanced and drained, me cleaning it regularly, and an extended antibiotic course. Sundae (the one who did well with good care) had dental issues prior to the abscess puffing up, so it had probably been brewing for a long time. The important part is to keep on cleaning the wound and keeping it form healing over and redeveloping into an abscess and ensuring that she is eating adequately (although the abscess looks nasty, it probably feels better open than having a bunch of pressure when it was closed off.) Definitely ask questions, a lot of us have been there with this time of abscess with pigs. I would try a good course of antibiotics and keeping it well cleaned out before I even considered euthanasia.