Ovarian cysts – looking for experiences/advice please

[Julezfm39]

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some advice from anyone who has dealt with ovarian cysts in a sow.

My piggy Nevaeh (2 years old) was first seen about 5 weeks ago when the vet suspected ovarian cysts because of bilateral hair loss around her flanks. She was seen again almost 3 weeks ago by a small animal vet specialist (in the same practice) and the ultrasound confirmed 2 cysts, 2cm x 1cm in size. He has recommended surgery (full spaying) as the best option. He has done a c-section on sows before but not a spay, so he said he’d send me the details of an exotic animal specialist (he’s been on holiday and hasn’t done so yet). I’m just trying to figure out the best way forward. I trust my vet as he’s very skilled and caring but I’m really scared about surgery.

Nevaeh weighs around 890g (I’m weighing her daily), is eating hay and drinking normally and is generally behaving like herself, though she’s not eaten as much of her greens today.

If you’ve been through this, how quickly did you need to make a decision once the cysts were diagnosed, and how did your piggy recover from treatment or surgery?
Thank you so much

 

[Claire W]

I’ve never had a sow of mine spayed but if Nevaeh isn’t showing significant signs of being unwell, there’s no rush to have her spayed.

It’s a big operation that requires skill so I’d rather wait for the vet who is more experienced rather than going with the vet who’s never carried out the surgery. But there’s plenty of members who have had sows spayed successfully and will be able to offer further advice.

Good luck x

 

[Julezfm39]

Thank you for your advice! I’m going to chase my vet tomorrow for that specialist recommendation / referral. Nevaeh is munching on her usual lettuce tonight and she’s her normal self so I’ll keep monitoring her closely x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some advice from anyone who has dealt with ovarian cysts in a sow.

My piggy Nevaeh (2 years old) was first seen about 5 weeks ago when the vet suspected ovarian cysts because of bilateral hair loss around her flanks. She was seen again almost 3 weeks ago by a small animal vet specialist (in the same practice) and the ultrasound confirmed 2 cysts, 2cm x 1cm in size. He has recommended surgery (full spaying) as the best option. He has done a c-section on sows before but not a spay, so he said he’d send me the details of an exotic animal specialist (he’s been on holiday and hasn’t done so yet). I’m just trying to figure out the best way forward. I trust my vet as he’s very skilled and caring but I’m really scared about surgery.

Nevaeh weighs around 890g (I’m weighing her daily), is eating hay and drinking normally and is generally behaving like herself, though she’s not eaten as much of her greens today.

If you’ve been through this, how quickly did you need to make a decision once the cysts were diagnosed, and how did your piggy recover from treatment or surgery?
Thank you so much

Hi

Unless you are dealing with a fast growing ovarian cyst, ongoing considerable weight loss or disruptive 'non-stop seasons' behaviour that puts a real strain on a group or a pair, you generally have a few weeks to make up your mind and enquire with the vet you have been referred to.

There are two different ways to operate ovarian cysts. The less invasive is the removal of ovaries via two small cuts from the back (ovariectomy = cutting out of the ovaries) or the removal of the whole reproductive tract including the womb (full spay, usually from the front).

It very much depends on the situation and your vet's personal preference since the duration of the operation can play a role in how the GA is tolerated as well as the operation cost.

I have lost one 4 years old sow in a botched op at my local old-fashioned general vets 16 years ago (they had missed a second large cyst in the pre-op and also gassing in the gut caused by the cysts so the weight loss from the operation meant that Fflur couldn't be woken up). With much better diagnostics and experience with GA in guinea pigs that is a mistake that is quite simply no longer happening these days.

Against that I have five successful full spays of sows aged 4-5 years (two of them which lived to 8 years) with an experienced spaying vet. One of the sows needed an emergency spay because a grossly enlarge, potentially cancerous fluid-fill womb just half a year after an emergency bladder stone op in a sow who was just over 700g but sailed through without any weight loss at all and lived a normal lifespan for another to 5 years of age despite needing regular bladder flushes.

It is a more major operation but it can be life saving, especially if you are facing a likely risk of potentially cancerous or very fast growing cysts.

Sow Problems 'Down Below' (Ovarian Cysts, Super-seasons, Womb Infection, Pregnancy & Mammary Tumours)

 

[Julezfm39]

Thank you, that’s really great advice and reassuring to know that this type of surgery has a much higher success rate nowadays. I’m very sorry about your sow, though, who passed away 16 years ago .
Nevaeh is her usual self but I’m checking her a lot. I think I’m just so terrified of anything going wrong after the devastating losses I suffered with my 3 boys a year ago after that stay with a boarder - hard to believe it’s been a year .
I’ll push the vet to give me the details I’ve asked for while doing my own research into exotic vets in the area

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, that’s really great advice and reassuring to know that this type of surgery has a much higher success rate nowadays. I’m very sorry about your sow, though, who passed away 16 years ago .
Nevaeh is her usual self but I’m checking her a lot. I think I’m just so terrified of anything going wrong after the devastating losses I suffered with my 3 boys a year ago after that stay with a boarder - hard to believe it’s been a year .
I’ll push the vet to give me the details I’ve asked for while doing my own research into exotic vets in the area

HUGS

What you went through would shake anybody right to the core as it is everybody's worst nightmare.

We are still here for you for practical and moral support. It's perfectly normal to have the jitters after a major upset. We all have them to some degree and you are entitled to have the big ones. I just wish that you didn't have to go through all of this.

 

[Julezfm39]

HUGS

What you went through would shake anybody right to the core as it is everybody's worst nightmare.

We are still here for you for practical and moral support. It's perfectly normal to have the jitters after a major upset. We all have them to some degree and you are entitled to have the big ones. I just wish that you didn't have to go through all of this.

Thank you so much.. it was a horrendous time and a year later I’m still not at peace with it. This forum was such a strong support to me as I was struggling through it. I just can’t bear another loss, hence why I’m so afraid to let Nevaeh go through an operation

 

[Merab]

I’ve had sows with ovarian cysts.
The important thing is that you are confident with the vet who would perform the surgery.
Mine all did well after their ops.
There are also injections to deal with the problem.
I have no experience of that but @GPTV does and can share her experience.

I’m not surprised that you are still feeling unsettled by your triple bereavement last year.
Grief takes time, especially under the traumatic circumstances you had to deal with.
You are still grieving.

The Blue Cross does have people who are experienced in pet bereavement and help those whose grief is difficult.
If there is one near you, you could think about reaching out to them as well an the support we can always offer

 

[Julezfm39]

I’ve had sows with ovarian cysts.
The important thing is that you are confident with the vet who would perform the surgery.
Mine all did well after their ops.
There are also injections to deal with the problem.
I have no experience of that but @GPTV does and can share her experience.

I’m not surprised that you are still feeling unsettled by your triple bereavement last year.
Grief takes time, especially under the traumatic circumstances you had to deal with.
You are still grieving.

The Blue Cross does have people who are experienced in pet bereavement and help those whose grief is difficult.
If there is one near you, you could think about reaching out to them as well an the support we can always offer

Thank you so much.. I’m sorry I haven’t had time to reply yet. Yes, I’m still so full of sadness from what happened to my darling boys last year. I miss them so much every day. You’re right that I could seek some bereavement support. I’ve found it really hard to process my grief.
The exotic vet specialists that my own vet recommended are both a couple of hours away and without a car it would be really difficult. I do trust my own vet, I’m just worried that he’s not spayed a guinea pig before

 

[Julezfm39]

@GPTV Could you share your experience please? Thank you

 

[Eriathwen]

If I remember correctly the first piggy with cysts of my current groups, was my vets first piggy spay. It was quite a few years back now so I can't remember..but either way he's a fantastic surgeon and she did really well other than some adhesions that knocked her appetite out for a week but she recovered well with some help.

Ive had upwards of 15 spayed at this point, some were very fragile too, enlarged hearts, neurological issues, clotting disorders etc and all recovered well. There's been a few complications, like the adhesions, suture reactions, medication reactions.. we haven't lost a single one, the majority came back like nothing had happened.

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck @Julezfm39. Hoping for a speedy recovery for Nevaeh

 

[GPTV]

@GPTV Could you share your experience please? Thank you

Oh no! I'm sorry I did a long detailed reply &it's either not posted or I've posted in the wrong place!
I'll try again xx

 

[GPTV]

Have you considered HCG hormone injections?
They don't work for some types of cyst but both my piggies RB Ellie & currently Tiggy (6yrs approx.) have had them.

Tiggys were at the beginning of the year & her hair has grown back on her sides considerably... although Wendy does keep barbering her so it's grown back more in some places than others!

I'll try and find my threads later if you'd like me to?

Ellie (6yrs) had 2x injections 10-14 days apart,then another 2x about 12months later her cyst reduced dramatically within a month, it was approx.walnut sized & you couldn't feel it after the injections .
She also had persistent uti's & genital bleeding. But only had one bad bleed after the injections,then none afterwards.
Hope this helps?
Xx

With Ellie she was 6yo &the vet said she wasn't confident enough to operate on her to spay her or drain the cyst. She told me it was palliative care.
However I'd been researching here & kind of assumed it was cysts. So I asked her what she thought of the injections, she hadn't heard of them with guinea pigs, the HCG chorulon hormone injections are normally with cattle.

She asked if I'd wait for her to make a phone call & rang the drug supplier.
They gave her the dosage and more information on treatment.
She was happy to try it if I wanted to.
Ellies injections were about £20 each plus appointment fee, the vet gave her an ultrasound to diagnose the cyst - I don't think she charged me for that, although it's a few years ago now.
Tiggys injections were this year I'll try to find find the receipt, possibly £25-£30 each now. Although they're not an exotic vets and are reasonably priced generally
I have heard of members on here being charged approx. £60 per injection though!

Here's some info...

Post in thread 'Ovarian cysts?'

Sep 27, 2023

Afraid I don't know how the vet knows if a cyst is hormonal or not.
My rainbow bridge piggy Ellie was 6yo &she had persistent UTI's ,she also had blood around her genital area
It was thicker, deep red undiluted looking blood, it seemed to happen mostly when she was pooping, Ellie had quite a few antibiotics, the UTI would heal up and then a short while afterwards it would come back again.

The cyst was diagnosed with a conscious ultrasound scan, she had a little shaved patch & i actually watched her have her ultrasound, it was quite fascinating watching everything moving about and i...

• GPTV

• 

A different thread

Post in thread 'Elderly with ovarian cyst'

Mar 30, 2023

@Sara’s Piggies Here's a quote from one of my previous posts about Ellie my 6+ year old piggy who had HCG injections.
Click on the expand wording to read the whole quote.

Hiya sorry I've not been on here much lately, I've not had the chance to read through the rest of the thread yet.

But yes Ellie had the HCG Chorulon injections.
2 injections 7-10 days apart both given in her rump (she shrieked a bit with both, but forgot seconds afterwards with scoffing veggie bribes in her face!)
Ellie was 6yrs old, had persistent genital bleeding & ongoing uti's. She had a conscious...

• GPTV

• 

I don't know if it's similar to Ellie my RB piggy, but Ellie kept getting UTI's they'd just about clear up with antibiotics, then as soon as she was off them UTI's would come back.

After a few weeks of this, her diluted blood in urine UTI's turned more to more concentrated blood coming from her genitals mostly when she pooped.

Turned out that she had a walnut sized ovarian cyst, discovered by conscious ultrasound.
She had 2x hormone injections of HCG chorulon 10-14 days apart and only had 1 bad bleed afterwards. Then no more bleeding at all.

She was 6yrs old at the time & had another round of 2 jabs a year later. As her cyst had started growing again. We lost her a year later aged 8yrs to various health issues.

As long as its not cystitis/infection related - Would it be possible to discuss with your vet whether the hormone injections could be an option to clear up the UTI's long enough to spay her as she's still quite young & that would solve her cyst problems for good

Slightly off at a tangent.. But Tiggy had 2x different URI infections at once, so after treating with a Sulfatrim alternative for weeks, she had a swab test done and one of the infections was resistant to it, so she followed with Baytril for a couple of weeks and now she's ok

So the swabbing for different infections & change of antibiotics definitely worked for her

Fingers crossed they both improve soon and healing vibes being sent your way
Xx

Here are some quotes from previous posts I've made.
I think Wendy my last girly with ovarian cysts had 3x rounds of 'overine?' hormone injections as the HCG chorulon were difficult to obtain 'it was something like that anyway '
Her cysts were massive though, they both reduced after the first and second injections,but the left one grew back considerably after 6-7wks so we tried another 3rd injection & they were still growing, so my vet did an ovarectomy she said they were approx 4.5cm &2.5cm diameter, all went well, no problems, I collected her in the afternoon and she passed away about 5pm, the vet was shocked as it had gone so well.
Wendy was approx 5.5yrs old . Otherwise fit & well.
Fingers crossed your little lady gets sorted, perhaps discuss with the vet their thoughts on hormone injections first before the surgery alternative.
Also gauge if you trust your vets experience with surgery if you decide on that.xx

 

[Julezfm39]

Here are some quotes from previous posts I've made.
I think Wendy my last girly with ovarian cysts had 3x rounds of 'overine?' hormone injections as the HCG chorulon were difficult to obtain 'it was something like that anyway '
Her cysts were massive though, they both reduced after the first and second injections,but the left one grew back considerably after 6-7wks so we tried another 3rd injection & they were still growing, so my vet did an ovarectomy she said they were approx 4.5cm &2.5cm diameter, all went well, no problems, I collected her in the afternoon and she passed away about 5pm, the vet was shocked as it had gone so well.
Wendy was approx 5.5yrs old . Otherwise fit & well.
Fingers crossed your little lady gets sorted, perhaps discuss with the vet their thoughts on hormone injections first before the surgery alternative.
Also gauge if you trust your vets experience with surgery if you decide on that.xx

Thank you so much.. I’ll read your other replies. I’m so sorry to hear about Wendy I have an appointment with a different vet today. One who has specialised experience in guinea pig spaying. I’ll see what he advises. I feel so worried about it all. My little girl is only 2 and I would be inconsolable if anything happened to her xx

 

[Julezfm39]

A little update.. I saw a new vet today who is an Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery. He’s experienced in ovariectomies and will perform minimally invasive flank surgery on my darling Nevaeh. I’m going to call back tomorrow and book the surgery.. I’m scared but I know it’s the best option. She’s otherwise healthy, eating well and so I feel confident it will be a success.. I know there are no guarantees with anaesthesia on small animals, but Marcos said that the surgery will take him about 30 minutes. When it’s booked they’ll obviously help me prepare Nevaeh and bring the right things to the surgery. I know that post-op care is critical so I’ll make sure I am fully prepared

 

[Julezfm39]

If I remember correctly the first piggy with cysts of my current groups, was my vets first piggy spay. It was quite a few years back now so I can't remember..but either way he's a fantastic surgeon and she did really well other than some adhesions that knocked her appetite out for a week but she recovered well with some help.

Ive had upwards of 15 spayed at this point, some were very fragile too, enlarged hearts, neurological issues, clotting disorders etc and all recovered well. There's been a few complications, like the adhesions, suture reactions, medication reactions.. we haven't lost a single one, the majority came back like nothing had happened.

Thank you for reassuring me! The vet I met today is an experienced surgeon with piggies and I trust him, so I’ll get the surgery booked in for early next week