Ovarian Cysts?

[TraceyE]

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping for some advice about one of my Guinea Pigs from anyone who has been through the same thing. I have a Vet appointment coming up and I am trying to gather as much information as possible. I am just coming out of the other side of treating her for Corneal Ulcers. She had one in each eye which I thought was a little unusual? I’ve also noticed that she has some hair loss on her sides, at the back end and I have been comparing her weights that I’ve noted down over the past 2 years and she has lost a reasonable amount considering she is a small Piggy anyway. (She is 3 ½ years old) But she has kept quite a rounded shape to her abdomen area. Well I’ve done some searching on the internet and I’m wondering whether she may have Ovarian Cysts. Has anyone had a pig with these before? If so how did the problem get diagnosed? Was it by Ultrasound scan or Xray? I’m wanting to know whether she would have to have an anaesthetic for either of these or whether it’s possible to do it without (given the associated dangers) Also would she need to be shaved? I have come across a couple of articles about giving Hormone injections to shrink the Cysts rather than opting for surgery and that it has been quite successful. I have no idea what sort of costs would be involved in the process. If anyone has been in this situation and can shed any light on it for me it would be much appreciated.
Thanks for reading.

 

[LeahsPiggies]

2 of my girls had ovarian cysts last year, Pringles' was diagnosed just by the vet feeling her abdomen (you could pick up the cyst through her skin and feel it) and Pebbles had an x-ray and an ultrasound, both which didn't show cysts, but when she was opened up under anesthetic they found 2 small cysts. Pringles had 3 rounds of HCG injections which cost around £90 in total which didn't shrink the size at all, so she had to have just her ovaries along with the cysts removed, this cost around £100. Pebbles also had a full spay which cost £120 as her surgery was more invasive (she had a full spay and a uterine mass removed aswell as the cysts). Both of them were so much better afterwards!
They displayed symptoms such as fighting more, Pebbles was bleeding down below, they were both very lethargic and off their food and miserable in general which is why I took them to the vets.

Both of them were 3 1/2 at the time and got through the anesthetic and ops fine! They were done by Molly Varga who is a professional exotic vet.

 

[gizzy]

Hi there , l have had pigs with o systs , but it was to long ago for me to give you any usfull imfomation.
But if you type guinea pig overian cyst , there is a an imfomation fax sheet by guinea links

 

[TraceyE]

Thanks gizzy, yes i have been reading the info on guinea lynx as well as a few other sites & have found them useful. I was just rather worried about the prospect of anaesthetic for diagnosing the problem & also concerned whether an operation would be to much for her to go through, so i am encouraged to hear that Pebbles and Pringles coped well with the procedure. Thanks for sharing your experience Leahspiggies. I have managed to find an experienced guinea pig vet not to far from me, so fingers crossed she will be able to confirm or dismiss my hunch that it is cysts. I have treated for mites as a precaution although the skin is not broken or sore. She is eating well & is the first to wheek for veggies when she knows it's time, but her weight has gone down regardless. I think she is showing slight dominant traits but nothing much, she gets along very well with her 3 female companions & i have never witnessed any fighting.

 

[gizzy]

The anasstetic for diagnoses ,
If it is x ray you are talking about then l have 2 experanses

Vet 1 was a great vet, and she would throuh cation to the wind an put on safty gloves and hold the pig (l know should not be done , but she was a tuly carring vet.

Vet 2 has a methord for taking top view plates , which can somtimes higlight a syst !
Build a small enclser with sand bags and put the pig in, though only good with a relertivly laid back pig.

 

[gizzy]

I see you are in surry, is it ann omara the vet you see,

 

[TraceyE]

Yes i am seeing Anne, not met her before but found her recommended on guinea lynx.

 

[helen105281]

I am going through this at the moment with my Mrs Fuzzy and we are getting her scanned to start with. This can usually be done conscious but so can some xrays. She is a heart pig so there is additional risk with her having even a whiff of gas. I think hers are small as she is being very dominant and I have heard that this is a sign of small growing cysts whereas with larger cysts there tends to not be the standard symptoms but other signs such as gut issues as they press on other organs. She also has crusty nipples but no hair loss. I am going to opt for injections to start with if she does have them. My late Terk had them for an ovarian tumour and they kept it at bay for a year. I think her injections were £17 each (for 3) and I have been told that a scan at my vets is £40. The tummy does need to be shaved for a scan.

@GPTV has lots of experience on this.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Various pigs of mine have had cysts in the past, a good vet will probably tell easily from feeling their abdomen & usually the injections are recommended. I paid a consultation fee with the first jab but subsequent ones are just the cost of the jab, about 20 ish pounds from what I remember, & usually mine have the second & that sorts them. Sometimes only one injection is needed & they are spaced a fortnight apart. You shouldn't need the ultrasound scan first but they are done conscious & they shave the belly first. Out of all my hormonal piggies all have had success with the jabs, ony one had a full spay as she had a womb infection & bladder issues. Mostly the symptoms are crusty nipples, a lot of mounting their piggy friends & some hair loss on the sides of their tummies, but not always all 3 symptoms appear.

 

[gizzy]

@TraceyE from what l remember Anne O is one of the best guinia pig vet in the country . I would feel quite safe leting her opperate on my pigs
Another thing springs to mind , maybe ask Ann if your sow would be a suterbal candidate for the flank insision of o cyst removel

Far safer than going in thro the tummy

 

[TraceyE]

Hi Helen, sorry to hear you to are having issues. I think i would definitely prefer to try the injections first if cysts are confirmed, good to hear that both you and Poppy'sMum have had success with these. i just hope that if it is cysts they show up on scan/x rays as it sounds as though they can be missed as in Leahspiggies case. Hopefully i will be in good hands with Anne though & if it comes to it i will discuss the possibility of going for a flank incision, thanks gizzy.

 

[GPTV]

I had Ellie who was about 6.5+ yrs at the time. She kept suffering reoccurring urinary tract infections with blood &sometimes heavy bleeding when she pooped.
None of the other classic signs such as -hair loss, crusty nipples &dominant behavior.

my vet told me my only option was to spay- but she wouldn't do a spay on such an old piggy! Due to general anaesthetic risks etc.

It was determined it was an ovarian cyst by a non intrusive,reasonably cheap ultrasound scan. The shaved patch on her belly was about 2x4inches in size, but it didnt bother her & didn't take long to grow back. Ellie was fully conscious throughout the scan &I was fascinated watching all the movement &bits n pieces at work!
A walnut sized lump was found.

So I suggested after research (mainly on here) could the (hcg)chorulon hormone injections be tried?

The vet researched it a bit &spoke to the drug manufacturer to find out dosage etc whilst I was there.
Its actually a cattle licensed drug. But a signing of a disclaimer/permission solved that.

The drugs were ordered&came 2-3days later. 1injection into the leg muscle (&lots of wheeking!) &some cucumber.
Then 7-10days later a repeat of the process.
Ellie had no bleeding after that &it was about March 2014 I think.

The jabs were £20 ish each I think maybe less &there was a possibility of having a 3rd but the vet didnt in the end.

Consultation fee,metacam painkiller for a few days if needed &ultrasound so not even expensive considering. But well worth it

The cyst didnt seem to shrink at first but the bleeding stopped.

Make sure she has a painkiller if needed, apparently ovarian cysts are very painful in humans &most painful when growing. Might make her more comfortable.
Ellies 2 consultations,jabs, ultrasound &metacam came to no more than £60 at the time.

Although my vet isn't an exotics specialist &doesn't charge steep prices.


about a year later Ellie had a second batch of two injections as she was puffing up & the cysts seemed to have started growing again, she was over 8 years old & was happy munching away & enjoying life right til the end
...when i lost her to multiple health issues. the lump seemed to disappear in about a month after the injections & she had a better condition to her coat afterwards too. she seemed far more happy, relaxed & content after the jabs too

I know others have had no joy with these but in my case it worked wonders &I would definitely try again. (i've not heard of any bad side effects... just a screaming Diva pig for a moment or two... but other than that pretty much risk free )
sure theres something else, but i'll update later if i think of it.

Good luck with your furball baby &let us know how you get on.

Speedy recovery from the girls & I.xx

 

[Muffin&Crumble]

Our Crumble has just had surgery for her ovarian cyst. She had very enlarged nipples and was rumblestrutting day and night, her sister Muffin was getting really nervous of her. We took her to a specialist vet in our area who diagnosed Crumble's cyst just by feeling her tummy, and recommended a spay - downside was we would have to get Muffin spayed at the same time as keeping her intact would have caused fights all over again. The surgery took place a week ago today and with pain medication cost £205 for both of them altogether. Although it broke my heart to leave them at the vets last week, it turns out the surgery was life-saving for Crumble - the cyst was the biggest the vet had ever seen, and full of fluid to the point it looked like it was about to burst.

Watching them recover hasn't been fun in all honesty - they were very quiet for the first couple of days, and we had to take all their fun toys and shelves away so there was no risk of them bursting their stiches. Also, Muffin became very distressed whenever Crumble came near her in their hidey hut and would squeal like I'd never heard before - she was just bored and not feeling right so didn't want to be bothered with anyone.

After midweek passed they really turned the corner, a couple of little popcorns and wheeking for their breakfast and tea again. We've put their hutch back together yesterday and I think we're pretty much back to normal :-)

It has been such a stressful time and I'd hate for any other piggy mummy to go through it - but weighing everything up we know we've done the right thing.

 

[Florrieberry]

Our little Florrie has recently been successfully spayed for O cysts. She is only 13 months old. Developed symptoms of weight loss, mounting, hair loss and crusty nipped at 11 months of age and our old vet discounted cysts due to her young age . I pushed for scan (shaved but no anesthesia ) and guess what.. Cysts so moved vets to specialist at Rose Cottage, Runcorn. Ken could feel it straight away without a scan and we tried the 3 hormone injections, which worked for about 2 months, symptoms subsided and weight went back on. Then she started putting even more weight on and losing more hair, the cyst was back with a vengeance and I was concerned about delay. Ken was off and Jen advised spay, which I am so glad we did when we saw the size of what was removed! She lost 120g of ovary! They kept her in overnight to ensure she was eating well, came home and stayed with 1 of the others (who went with her to keep her company) in a separate cage with no ramps while stitches healed, then after a post op check a week later she went back in the big cage and was back to bounding up and down the ramps. Her nips are returning to normal, bald patches growing back, and she is 100% fit! The hormones work for some but not for ours. The important thing is to have a vet who you trust 100% for advice.
Our spayed piggie lives with 3 other sows (non spayed) and a neutered male and they get in as well since she was spayed as before, so don't understand why anyone would need to spay any of the others.

 

[Florrieberry]

Our little Florrie has recently been successfully spayed for O cysts. She is only 13 months old. Developed symptoms of weight loss, mounting, hair loss and crusty nipped at 11 months of age and our old vet discounted cysts due to her young age . I pushed for scan (shaved but no anesthesia ) and guess what.. Cysts so moved vets to specialist at Rose Cottage, Runcorn. Ken could feel it straight away without a scan and we tried the 3 hormone injections, which worked for about 2 months, symptoms subsided and weight went back on. Then she started putting even more weight on and losing more hair, the cyst was back with a vengeance and I was concerned about delay. Ken was off and Jen advised spay, which I am so glad we did when we saw the size of what was removed! She lost 120g of ovary! They kept her in overnight to ensure she was eating well, came home and stayed with 1 of the others (who went with her to keep her company) in a separate cage with no ramps while stitches healed, then after a post op check a week later she went back in the big cage and was back to bounding up and down the ramps. Her nips are returning to normal, bald patches growing back, and she is 100% fit! The hormones work for some but not for ours. The important thing is to have a vet who you trust 100% for advice.
Our spayed piggie lives with 3 other sows (non spayed) and a neutered male and they get in as well since she was spayed as before, so don't understand why anyone would need to spay any of the others.

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