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Operation And Aftercare

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catasintiger

catasintiger

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice for our Prezel who has a lump on her neck which needs to be removed. The vet has told us it is high risk but that if we don't do it it may well get bigger and obstruct her breathing and he will not be able to operate if it gets much bigger. She's booked in for her op on the 6th and we are worried sick. She is only 3.5years and we are not ready to loose her without a fight. Had anyone had anything similar done? The vet has told us it is high risk :-(

We are planning for her coming through the anaesthetic and want to have everything on hand to nurse her back to health. I've read a couple of articles and threads but I'm confused about the combination of meds etc needed. If I got the Oxbow critical care for Herbivores and the Bio Lapis sachets would that give her enough or would she need vitamin c as well? Does anyone have a tried and tested combination?

Any advice at all would be much appreciated! We are quite experienced owners but we have never had to put a piggy through an operation before so we have a lot of questions!

Here she is with her best friend Pixel:

DSCF0048.jpg
 
Aww! What lovely girls - I have a Pixel too :) I'm afraid I can't offer any helpful advice as I'm only experiencing a post-op piggy myself for the first time today but just wanted to send good luck vibes and healing wheeks from us all here! x
 
Awww bless its good to hear your little one has come through the op though! Did you do anything to prepare for the op? Normal food and veggies etc?

Let me know how yours is getting on fingers crossed all will be fine
 
I separated my boys for the night but they didn't like it so I put them back together the next day. All I can suggest is make sure the wound is clean and that Pixel is eating and drinking normally :)
 
I am very sorry; it is always an anxious time.

How experienced is your vet? Would you consider having her seen by Simon Maddock from the Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic in Northampton for a second opinion, especially as you are scheduled for a rather long wait? Simon is one of the best operating vets in the Midlands when it comes to piggies and has operated successfully on several low weight and/or elderly piggies of mine. They have all just sailed through their own risky ops and have eaten on their own either straight away or very soon after. Simon Maddock is listed on our piggy savvy vets locator on the top bar.

I know for a fact that he has operated on neck lumps in guinea pigs a number of times before. It very much depends on the nature of the lump and how far it has spread in terms of short or long term recovery, but the sooner you can have it seen to, the better! Has your own vet got an idea what it could be?

Personally, I find that mushed up pellets go down best when a piggy is off its appetite; they taste familiar. Whatever probiotic you want to use is fine; bio-lapsis is a solid allrounder. You can get Oxbow vitamin tables, but in an emergency, 1/8 - 1/4 of a human tablet is doing the trick.

You may find these threads here helpful, but if things go well, you may not need them!
http://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/
 
Thanks Wiebke, we will try and get her seen by Simon then, our own vet is an exotics expert and he has always done well by our pigs but a second opinion would be most welcome especially as we have never come across anything like this with other pigs ourselves. Our own vet ruled out abscess and sebaceous cyst to start with but he said he will know a lot more after the op when we can send of a sample. The good news is the Pretz seems to be completely unaware of the lump and it is not causing her distress when we feel around it, he weight is stable and in all other respects she is healthy - no other health problems that we know of.

She loves the wagg optimum pellets so i think we'll go with that and I'll get some of the bio-lapis as a back-up. Both hubby and i have taken the week off after the op so we'll be keeping a very close eye on her afterwards, we just hope she makes it through. Is there anything we can do in the run-up to the operation to make sure she is in tip top shape when she goes in?
 
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