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Midnight Is Having Surgery

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Freela said:
I think it's sometimes worse for us than for them because we can see how bad it looks! I know when I picked Sundae up from her abscess op, she was a MESS... she looked like she got in a fight with a lawnmower and lost. She had half her face shaved down the skin, the fur that was left was all covered with miscellaneous goo and antibiotic gel, she had a big visible wound that was open to drain... it was really terrible. Is the wound fully stitched shut, or are the stitches holding the drain in place? Or was the vet able to remove the entire abscess capsule and thus close the wound completely? One of my other pigs, Linney, had a cyst/abscess that ruptured on her back and wouldn't heal properly, and the vet was able to remove the entire capsule and just sew the skin over it... very easy because there was no aftercare to it. She did have dried blood and dead skin flake off the area while it was healing. The vet had basically put the stitches inside so she couldn't pull them out and there was a ridge of skin that eventually dried up and flaked off over top. With Sundae, she really did just have an open wound and it really did ooze/crust a LOT during the healing process, plus we had to keep irrigating the wound and squeezing out any new pus that was forming. So I would say crusting is really normal, I would only be concerned about frank bleeding from the wound, but ooze/pus is unfortunately par for the course. It's great if they manage to remove the entire capsule, but it's not always possible depending on the location. I know our vet said with Sundae that the abscess was large enough and in a delicate enough location that there was no way to remove it without damaging important nerves/blood vessels, and that even if it could be dissected out there would probably not be enough tissue along her jawline to close the wound. Eeek!
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Yikes! Luckily midnight doesn't look TOO bad. He is shaved who h looks kind of funny and all of his loose skin looks bad. But they were able to completely remove the capsule and stitched him up completely. The vet left a little "pocket" where if there is any pus etc, it can go into the pocket and ooze out but so far so good. His stitches are on the outside but he doesn't seem to be bothering with them. He seems better today, which makes me so happy!
 
gizzy said:
Hi , irene, l dont beleve there is such a thing as an expert , as an old friend of my says (guinia pigs are a very steep
learning curve , and nobody has all the answers, ) as every problem can have a diferant twist to it
Hopefully we can work as a team as so to speek and share the knolage we have acumalared .

in my opinion the best pro biotic is Fibraplex
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Yes I'm sure you're right but compared to me many people are lol! I can't tell you how many times this forum has helped me don't know where I would be without it! I knew absolutely nothing when I got my piggies! I've learned so much here and am very grateful!
 
lexi468 said:
Yikes! Luckily midnight doesn't look TOO bad. He is shaved who h looks kind of funny and all of his loose skin looks bad. But they were able to completely remove the capsule and stitched him up completely. The vet left a little "pocket" where if there is any pus etc, it can go into the pocket and ooze out but so far so good. His stitches are on the outside but he doesn't seem to be bothering with them. He seems better today, which makes me so happy!
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That sounds like what my Tim has, the vet called it marsupialisation I think.
 
lexi468 said:
Yikes! Luckily midnight doesn't look TOO bad. He is shaved who h looks kind of funny and all of his loose skin looks bad. But they were able to completely remove the capsule and stitched him up completely. The vet left a little "pocket" where if there is any pus etc, it can go into the pocket and ooze out but so far so good. His stitches are on the outside but he doesn't seem to be bothering with them. He seems better today, which makes me so happy!
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So glad he is looking happier today! Being able to remove the entire capsule is great... much less aftercare required! It can also take a day or so for the anesthesia to fully wear off. My pigs have often seemed subdued or groggy or off the first couple of days after surgery, but I think it's largely anesthesia-related. I don't know if you've ever had a general anesthesia, but I have and it took me a couple days to stop nodding off randomly afterwards, and I'm a whole lot bigger than a guinea pig! LOL!
 
Freela said:
So glad he is looking happier today! Being able to remove the entire capsule is great... much less aftercare required! It can also take a day or so for the anesthesia to fully wear off. My pigs have often seemed subdued or groggy or off the first couple of days after surgery, but I think it's largely anesthesia-related. I don't know if you've ever had a general anesthesia, but I have and it took me a couple days to stop nodding off randomly afterwards, and I'm a whole lot bigger than a guinea pig! LOL!
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Yes I had my appendix out in the fall last year and I was the same way! (I was also heavily medicated though). He's not eating or drinking as much today as I would like him to but the vet on call has been super helpful and said that as long as he's eating SOMETHING its okay. I've also been giving him a lot of cucumber to hydrate him and syringe feeding him water occasionally. The vet said he's acting par for the course and should be getting better everyday. Such a relief to have everybody's support and reassurance that I'm doing everything I can!
 
lexi468 said:
Hi, thank you so much! I do
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lexi468 said:
Yes I had my appendix out in the fall last year and I was the same way! (I was also heavily medicated though). He's not eating or drinking as much today as I would like him to but the vet on call has been super helpful and said that as long as he's eating SOMETHING its okay. I've also been giving him a lot of cucumber to hydrate him and syringe feeding him water occasionally. The vet said he's acting par for the course and should be getting better everyday. Such a relief to have everybody's support and reassurance that I'm doing everything I can!
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Yes it is important to remember that he has just in human terms had a general anesthetic and an operation and yet he has no understanding as to why and will not understand why he is now feeling like he is.

So lots of love and care is needed and time which is often the greatest healer of all.

So glad that you have a vet you can speak to and is able to reassure you that everything is going as it should be. Try to give him anything and everything that might entice him to eat right now. When my children or animals are sick it is the time that they get pretty much anything they want and waited on hand and foot. I actually think it makes being ill that little bit better for them (if that is actually possible) :lol!: if you know what I mean :xd:

Sending hugs to you both and let us know how he gets on xx
 
gizzy said:
Hi lexi, as long as he is enthusiasticly eating his hay, l would not be to worried
a pro biotic like Fibraplex should help his digestion , though if it is still in not eating
his pelets in a few days , withdraw the hay !
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I hope your little midnight is doing ok?

I just wanted to add, please do not under and circumstances withdraw hay. Hay makes up 80-90% of a guinea pigs diet and is extremely important for digestion and dental health. Withdrawing hay risks all of this, pellets do not have enough fibre to maintain a healthy gut alone and does not cause natural wear on their continually growing teeth. They should have hay available at all times.

Sorry to be a wine, but I just wanted to reiterate this.

x
 
UPDATE: Hi everybody! I just wanted to update everybody who is interested in Midnight's recovery :) He is doing wonderfully. Yesterday he started eating normally again. I woke up to the sound of him chewing on his log, a sound that I will never hate again. Today I brought him in to have his stitches looked at, just to be safe, and the vet said they looked totally fine, only a bit swollen which was normal, and part of his wound has already closed up! She took his temp as well and he didn't have a fever or anything. He's a champ, that's for sure :) I could not be happier. Thank you so much to everybody who supported us (Midnight and I) through this journey!
P.S. I did not take away his hay, it was the only thing he was eating for a bit so I really pushed it for the first couple days.
 
Thanks so much for all of the support from evrrybody! Today midnight ripped some of his stitches out and the vet game two option. I could either put him under again and they could stitch it back up or I could just let it heal naturally, cleaning it three times a day with the stuff they gave me (benzadine?). I decided that I didn't want to risk putting him under again. The vet said the only concern was the rest of the stitches coming out and higher risk of infection. He's still on the antibiotics, and I put a cut tube sock around the wound which he doesn't seem to mind. It doesn't look too bad as its already had a week to heal. Do you guys think I did the right thing?
 
Abi_nurse said:
There's no right or wrong in this situation. If you can stop anymore interference with the wound and antibiotics on board then you should be fine. Benzadine is iodine I believe.

Hope he heals well. Naughty little piggie.

x
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Thanks so much! It does look exactly like iodine.
 
Oh , he is a naughty piggie isn't he ! I think you're doing the right thing - don't have him put under unless you have to.
 
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