• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Need To Decide, Operation Or Not! Please Help

Status
Not open for further replies.
jammybaby

jammybaby

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
470
Reaction score
13
Points
255
Location
lancashire
Hello there, I'm in desperate need of help deciding what to do for the best for squeak my first and oldest pig, she's 3 and a half years old, she's brain damaged from an early inner ear infection, and has a wobbly head but manages and eats as well as any other healthy pig, with added character, last year she got 2 lumps and after a visit to my vet, she diagnosed them as being perfectly harmless, having said this she said she might get more, and could get bigger. Now I am stuck, they both have got bigger slightly in the last 9 months, one of the bigger ones is under her front leg ( arm pit ) and I'm worried it going to restrict her getting about.
So what I'm trying decide, is , do I get them/it removed before she gets any older? Do they tolerate surgery well! Will she come out of it ok In your opinion. Please help, I don't know what to do for the best with her condition.
The vet I use is very good with cavys, but that don't make me worry bout my girl any less.
Any replays will be greatly appreciated and I'm sure a lot of you may even of been in a situation like this, thank you, from Kelly and squeak aka wobbles :)
 
Oh I am sorry, I've not been in this situation at all, but as with all animals especially little ones surgery does carry risks, you will have to weigh up if her quality of life is good, she's in no pain. You know your piggie best you will know if she's not right. Vets tend not to string you along, and if you know you can trust him follow his advice, but go with your instinct. Good luck to you and wobbles. Sending you lots of love from me and my boys x
 
One of mine has just had successful lump removal from the same place as yours & she is 3 years old next month. Under the armpit are lymph nodes so it's good to get it removed if at all possible. What does your vet recommend?
 
I have had to make the same decision with my 3 year old girl Minky. He had 3 neck abscesses between May & August & had surgery to remove them. It was only after changing my vet prior to the 3rd op which this time was successful & the abscess has never come back. Then in October she got a head tilt which was caused by the inner ear infection. She was x-rayed & a small white mass showed up in her inner ear area. She was treated on different meds, sometimes as many as 6 at a time till March with ups & downs in improvement. I asked for another x-ray in March & the same whit mass showed. I asked about operating but my vet suggested there could be more chance of further damage because of where this mass was situated. As Minky has got a great quality of life & is still capable of bossing her companions about I decided to stop treatment as this was often causing more problems to her. She's been off meds for nearly 2 months now & has not deteriorated at all. She's put weight on 8 of the last 10 weeks & is thriving even though it is funny sometimes watching her having to turn around again if she misses something. she only seems to be able to turn one way. Apart from that, as the old saying goes "she's as fit as a butcher's dog".

Before making a decision. Think these 2 things over. Has she got a quality of life & could the operation do more harm than good. At the end of the day it is your decision.
 
I would have liked to post something here tonight to help you - because I believe I have a lot of information . However i am very tired and it would take me up to an hour to construct my post properly. Sorry but I shall PM you instead.

x
 
I agree with @Stewybus: you have to weigh up her quality of life against the risks. With small furries it's difficult to predict how they will react to GA. I've recently had two of my boys neutered, very sucessfully (both 3 years old), but I travelled 30 miles to get them done by an excellent guinea vet, who has neutered 100s of piggies, as my local vet is not very cavy savvy (well worth it IMO). Does your vet have experience with GAs in pigs? If not it would be worth checking out the vet finder on here. Don't know if that helps. It's a tough decision to make. x
 
If you've got an excellent piggy savvy vet @Elwickcavies please forward details to be added to our Vet Locator. I use Dominika at Jacqui Paterson's in Stockton. She's neutered dozens on piggies as well as spaying lots of piggies & bunnies Bunny Burrows rescue. I haven't heard of anything going wrong with any of these & the stitches are so neat on the spayings.
 
It is not an easy decision to make; a lot depends on how good your vet is and whether you have access to a good one. My specialist is quite a way away in Northampton and I have to go there by train, but he has successfully operated on several of my elderly (over 5 years) piggies where there was a good chance of recovery and quality of life afterwards.

As one of the lumps looks like it is a lymph node, it may be worth seeking a second opinion. 3 years is not yet so old. There is unfortunately always the risk that lumps can come back or that more can appear, but a good vet is prepared to talk you through all the pros and cons.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/
 
She's already on there @Stewybus, Judith at First Vets in Forest Hall, Newcastle. She does all the neutering for the North East Guinea Pig Rescue and is great (very neat suturing too!)
 
That means we're well covered for piggy treatment in the north east with Deborah also at Gilmoor Vets in Spennymoor & Durham.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top