Hi there. My little Pickles is going to be 5 this year. Recently she started losing her hair so I took her to the Vets at Pets At Home. They said she had an ovarian cyst that they could feel however I couldn't feel anything. They said they needed to do a full spay because this wasn't going to go away. I'm not sure I want to do that because I'm worried about her age and her going under, etc. She is eating and acting normal. Happy little girl, very alert, not in any pain, no discharge, just the thinning of the hair. I don't know what I should do. Any suggestions or has anyone else experienced this before? Thanks in advance.
Hi!
Age is less of a problem than having a good vet you trust. That is the key.
Please be aware that not all ovarian cysts are the same. The ones that cause the behavioural changes and sometime (but not always) the symptoms are generally hormonal ones. There is a certain risk that some could turn cancerous in old age.
Then there are the non-hormonal fluid filled ones which can cause trouble in the body if they grow too large or burst; but they don't cause any of the classic symptoms and go in many cases undetected without causing any problems. they are the most common of cysts.
In some cases a spay may be the best solution (especially if there are concerns about likely cancer) but if you have got major concerns, you can raise the alternative option of hormone treatment for especially hormonal cysts or draining for fluid filled cysts in the elderly and frail (the procedure doesn't require a full GA although it is of advantage if the procedure is done under scan).
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
That said, I am lucky to have access to a good operating vet, so I have a string of successfully spayed older sows. I am more for doing the procedure in any sow I have concerns about after losing my Heini to burst cyst at 3 years of age at the beginning of 2019. The cyst was a fluid filled cyst that had been vet checked but not raised particular concerns re. an emergency spay.
These are my spayed sows:
- Cariad at 700g and 4 years had already been through a large bladder stone removal op when her womb went wrong a few months later and she needed an emergency spay - despite all concerns, she sailed through it and lived for another year to reach five years, which was most respectable in view of her ongoing other medical issues.
- Iola was five years when she had her emergency spay for very fast growing fluid filled cysts, one of which had started adhering to the gut.
- Sisters Morwenna and Mererid had their spays last year, aged 5; Morwenna in June for a hard ovarian cyst which was going to turn concerous if left in and Mererid again for fast growing non-hormonal fluid filled cysts as an emergency last September.
- Hapus was coming up to 4 years when she had a planned spay for large cysts at the start of March this year.
Her sister Llawen is still on my waiting list but had to stand back as her cysts are not an emergency (yet). 5 year old Teggy is the other sow that is up for a spay for large cysts hopefully in autumn; she may now need the op before Llawen.
All sows have made a good recovery and have lived for more than a year or longer after their spay. Mererid and Morwenna as well as Hapus are still with me.
I hope that this helps you?
PS: We do our best to answer any threads on this forum as soon as we come on in view that we are doing this for free in our fee time. You can help us attending to the most urgent threads first by putting your concern into the title. I usually answer threads that come under 'other' last.