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My poor Polo :(

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4piggiepigs

4piggiepigs

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Almost 2 weeks ago i had been ill and got up to feed piggies veg and noticed my smallest (but not the youngest) piggie had a massive lump on her face, i thought abscess but got a friend to look at it she got really uncomfy and i went straight to vets to get it lanced and drained and have been flushing it for the last ten days, it had gone down loads and draining clear two days ago and was looking positive, i bathed her and the wound opened agan seeping more pus so went to my friends again last night and she said looks like she has two more lumps 8...8... back to vets today and she has lymphadonoma, he said its horse shoe shaped round her neck said an op would be too risky given how big it is where it is and how small she is, said it would be best to take her home for the next few weeks and spoil her, if he operated he can pretty much garuntee the outcome and he won't do an op on her he said he won't cause more suffering and hes not going to put her through it8...


The vets manner and care is the best we covered all options i left with sound advice and confident it is best for polo

I am ever so sad tho she is one of the fave piggies8...8... and the family (my mums dog) was PTS an hour after my appointment today as he had myopathy and it had got really bad (agressive through confusion of the paralysis)

our hammy had a stroke last week also and i took in two neglected ones.. its been a busy and stressful 2 weeks 8...
 
Oh no I am so sorry :( That's so sad. Big ((hugs)) for you both, make lots of fuss of her & treasure every moment x
 
that is so sad, make the best of each day xx sorry about your mums dog as well, give your mum my love x
 
Oh, I'm so so sorry. That must be awful for you, especially with having rescued two neglected hamsters and having your Mum's dog put to sleep.
Make the best of every minute you have and cherish it. I'll be thinking of you.
 
:( i'm so sorry, you have been through it recently! Enjoy every moment with her, hugs x
 
Big (((hugs)))

I am so sad that you are loosing Polo :(
It must be so hard for you right now.

My condolences, its very hard loosing pets, rip little hammy and Mum's dog

I saw your pics on fb of your new hamsters squalid living conditions, thank goodness they are in a better place with you.

Give all your furries a big hug.
 
I'll be thinking of you and Polo - big hugs and special cuddles for you both.

Suzy x
 
aww how awful for you all :(
Make everyday a good day, I'm sure Polo knows how much you love him xx
 
Really really sorry to read your awful news. I will keep you and Polo in my thoughts, I'm sure you'll make each day the best day for him. So sorry about your Hammy and your Mum's doggie also, RIP Little ones x x

Lots of love and huge hugs to you x x
 
I am really sorry about the horrible news on top of everything else!
 
oh no sorry to hear your sad news, poor polo, hope she will be comfortable all the time you have her home
things have a habit of happening all at once
RIP to your mums dog and your hammie :(
 
Posted on behalf of Pebble as she is unable to post just at the moment.

This does sound like horrible news - however I think it might be worth getting a second opinion as there are some details in your description that don’t add up.

As I understand it, Polo has presented with an abscess and now has several more lumps/abscesses around her neck. This would suggest that she has a bacterial infection called cervical lymphadenitis. This can be treatable with strong antibiotics such as Zithro-max although some abscesses may need to be surgically excised and this may not be possible for Polo depending upon their position.

What concerns me is that your vet is now saying that she has lymphadenoma - this is NOT the same thing and is NOT a bacterial infection. It isn’t treatable as it is a cancerous condition and whilst it presents as swollen lymph nodes in the neck and other areas, it doesn’t normally result in abscesses. So based upon my experience of having piggies who have suffered from each of these conditions it just doesn’t sound to me like this is what Polo has, especially given the abscess she originally presented with.

If you can get to see Simon Maddock at Cat and Rabbit Duston Northampton for a second opinion, it may be that a course of Zithro-max (Simon is one of the few vets who is prepared to prescribe this antibiotic) may sort this out for her. Obviously I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I do think it’s worth a second opinion in Polo's case.

HTH

x
 
I got the name wrong it is lymphadonitus , i went two weeks ago and had the abcess drained he said he hoped the lump was just swollen glands due to her being poorly and hoped they would go down with baytril and flushing the recent vet appointment we had found a third lump either side of her face under her neck and from examining them he thinks they are internal abcess that had leaked the fluid into the abcess that we drained, she's such a small piggie anyway but he said if he removed the lumps there wouldn't be enough tissue left to close, he also said i may find a vet thats willing to do it but he can pretty much garuntee the outcome and he won't cause more suffering on her with such poor odds when she can be at home and spoilt for the last few weeks,

He is not a specialist piggie vet but he is in it for the animals, he even did a biopsy on a friends piggie after she died suddenly just because he wanted to know why she died he said he couldnt not know and he didnt charge her (she had lots of abcess in her stomach),


My other vet (where my rabbits and hammies are) i probably would be open to suggestions but this vet i am confident he would do it if he thought there would be a reasonable chance she would survive. And that he covered every option
 
I really think it would be worth giving Zithro-max a chance. It has saved the lives of so many piggies here at the Sanctuary. Even really nasty, aggressive abscesses have responded so well to it.

Simon Maddock is a fantastic vet, and would be willing to either talk to your vet or see your piggie himself.

I notice you are in Peterborough. It isn't too far to travel to Northampton.
 
Polo is ok we are waiting to make sure she is strong enough and may operate depending on how she goes, vet said happy to prescribe the antibiotic but says it would only be useful after operating when the closed sacks (abcess's) have been removed, she is absolutely fine eating like a piggie and not losing weight, he said he wont operate as he really thinks its unlikely she will survive but did say we can look again in a few weeks, said i could find a vet that will operate but he doesnt think its in polos best interest it will just be a lot of suffering shes unlikely to survive and can be at home enjoying cuddles and her cage mates for longer, i couldnt get on the forum for ages
 
So glad to hear that Polo is still doing well. I can understand your vets reluctance to operate, but would also like to mention that Archie, who was very tiny, had major dental issues, and weighed only 600g, came through surgery to remove abscesses.

Surgery is always a risk though and only you can make the decisiion whether to go ahead or not

Polo sounds a very special piggie xx
 
If your vet is happy to prescribe Zithro max I would definitely give it a go as it worked wonders on Daisy. Even if the abscesses aren't operated on then the antibiotic may bring them down to a reasonable size or even better, it would make her more comfortable then. It's worth trying. Hope you are bearing up okay it must be hard knowing what to do, at the end of the day you have to go with what your heart tells you x
 
I definitely think it might be worth giving the zithro-max a go, as although it's unlikely to get rid of the abscesses it should hopefully stop them getting worse for now. Do you think your vet would be willing to speak to Simon regarding whether to operate or not? Simon has lanced and drained and removed so many abscesses from guinea pigs that he would be able to give some advice.

Simon Maddock - 01604 478888
 
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