Ovarian Cysts

[ILoveGilbertTheGuineaPig]

Hello all,

My girls had their first vet visit today! It was just a wellness check since I've had them for about 2 months now and I really wanted a vet's opinion on their body condition and just overall health. They did great! (I mean they hated it, but they got through it! And they got a bunch of treats from the vet) The vet said Eclair is a bit on the thin side but she's okay with it as long as she doesn't lose any weight. I also got to look in their mouth and did you guys know they store some of their food in there to snack on later? Not like hamsters with their pouches but they basically have chewed up food stored in there and I thought it was really cool. Now I understand why they'll be sitting there chewing when they're not eating their poop or near their food bowl.

Anyways, I asked the vet if she recommended spaying them to prevent ovarian cysts, and I was kind of expecting her to say no because I thought it'd be a pretty risky procedure, but she said she did recommend it and that it's an easy procedure. She also said she's seen pigs as young as 3 years old who get ovarian cysts. I get great student discounts since I go to their vet school and it's an amazing hospital so I'm not worried about the safety of the procedure itself (as long as they're recommending it and sound confident about it which they are). The procedure for both of them would be about $500 total which honestly isn't that bad if it'll save them in the long run, but as a broke vet student, obviously I would prefer to save as much money as possible. I was wondering how many of you have had pigs with ovarian cysts and if you've had them spayed - how did everything go? Was it a smooth recovery? Is it bad if I don't do it and kind of wait it out and if they DO get ovarian cysts, then do the procedure? I have a feeling I'm going to end up doing it for peace of mind, but I kind of am also hoping someone will tell me that they don't think it's necessary. But just be honest! Thanks!

Also, here is a little picture of them waiting for the doctor...Eclair is hiding haha.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all,

My girls had their first vet visit today! It was just a wellness check since I've had them for about 2 months now and I really wanted a vet's opinion on their body condition and just overall health. They did great! (I mean they hated it, but they got through it! And they got a bunch of treats from the vet) The vet said Eclair is a bit on the thin side but she's okay with it as long as she doesn't lose any weight. I also got to look in their mouth and did you guys know they store some of their food in there to snack on later? Not like hamsters with their pouches but they basically have chewed up food stored in there and I thought it was really cool. Now I understand why they'll be sitting there chewing when they're not eating their poop or near their food bowl.

Anyways, I asked the vet if she recommended spaying them to prevent ovarian cysts, and I was kind of expecting her to say no because I thought it'd be a pretty risky procedure, but she said she did recommend it and that it's an easy procedure. She also said she's seen pigs as young as 3 years old who get ovarian cysts. I get great student discounts since I go to their vet school and it's an amazing hospital so I'm not worried about the safety of the procedure itself (as long as they're recommending it and sound confident about it which they are). The procedure for both of them would be about $500 total which honestly isn't that bad if it'll save them in the long run, but as a broke vet student, obviously I would prefer to save as much money as possible. I was wondering how many of you have had pigs with ovarian cysts and if you've had them spayed - how did everything go? Was it a smooth recovery? Is it bad if I don't do it and kind of wait it out and if they DO get ovarian cysts, then do the procedure? I have a feeling I'm going to end up doing it for peace of mind, but I kind of am also hoping someone will tell me that they don't think it's necessary. But just be honest! Thanks!

Also, here is a little picture of them waiting for the doctor...Eclair is hiding haha.

Spaying very much depends on the vet. Some are much happier with it than others. Ovarian cysts can start as early as the onset of adulthood (about 1 1/2 years) but one member had an even earlier one. In my experience, the problem ones start most commonly between 2-4 years of age.

All the best if you'd like to go for it!
Tips For Post-operative Care

PS: I've had so far four spayed sows but am saving up for yet another spay of a potentially cancerous cyst.

 

[Swissgreys]

Our vet specializes in keyhole spays in young pigs, and to be honest if the price was reasonable I would totally have my girls done.
Sadly the price is insane, so it isn't an option for me right now.

Many years ago one of my girls needed an emergency spay for a persistent womb infection and to be honest the recovery was rough. She was older and an ex breeder piggy which didin't help, but the thought of doing it as a non emergency would always be my first choice.

 

[ILoveGilbertTheGuineaPig]

Spaying very much depends on the vet. Some are much happier with it than others. Ovarian cysts can start as early as the onset of adulthood (about 1 1/2 years) but one member had an even earlier one. In my experience, the problem ones start most commonly between 2-4 years of age.

All the best if you'd like to go for it!
Tips For Post-operative Care

PS: I've had so far four spayed sows but am saving up for yet another spay of a potentially cancerous cyst.

For the ones that you did spay, was it because they did develop ovarian cysts or was it for preventive measure? How old were they and how did the recovery go? Lots of questions

 

[ILoveGilbertTheGuineaPig]

Our vet specializes in keyhole spays in young pigs, and to be honest if the price was reasonable I would totally have my girls done.
Sadly the price is insane, so it isn't an option for me right now.

Many years ago one of my girls needed an emergency spay for a persistent womb infection and to be honest the recovery was rough. She was older and an ex breeder piggy which didin't help, but the thought of doing it as a non emergency would always be my first choice.

Thank you for the input! Was she able to recover completely in the end?

 

[Wiebke]

For the ones that you did spay, was it because they did develop ovarian cysts or was it for preventive measure? How old were they and how did the recovery go? Lots of questions

Two I adopted from a sadly now defunct rescue with a spaying policy and the other two were one sow with massive fast growing cysts and one with a womb that had gone wrong (fluid filled grossly enlarged womb/borderline pyometra and a potentially cancerous lump in the womb).

 

[Wiebke]

PS: All of my spayed sows made a full recovery.

 

[VickiA]

I have had 5 sows spayed. 2 for ovarian cysts and 3 for other issues (pyometra and persistent bleeding). The 2 performed laparoscopically for cysts recovered very quickly. The other 3 had a full spay with open surgery and took longer to recover. But all of them recovered well. It is a much less invasive procedure if done laparoscopically. I trust my vets implicitly and would not hesitate to spay a sow if I thought it was in her interests to do so.

 

[Merab]

I had a piggy spayed last year as she developed ovarian cysts.
She’s recovered well and is back to her usual chunky, happy self.
A bit stressful for me and the first few days were a bit rough but the vets were great and as soon as we got the right amount of pain meds everything picked up quickly
Whatever you decide hope it works well for you

 

[ILoveGilbertTheGuineaPig]

I have had 5 sows spayed. 2 for ovarian cysts and 3 for other issues (pyometra and persistent bleeding). The 2 performed laparoscopically for cysts recovered very quickly. The other 3 had a full spay with open surgery and took longer to recover. But all of them recovered well. It is a much less invasive procedure if done laparoscopically. I trust my vets implicitly and would not hesitate to spay a sow if I thought it was in her interests to do so.

Wow! How many sows have you had in total? Just trying to get a sense of the likelihood of this happening...It's so difficult since it's pretty much a spontaneous thing!

 

[ILoveGilbertTheGuineaPig]

I had a piggy spayed last year as she developed ovarian cysts.
She’s recovered well and is back to her usual chunky, happy self.
A bit stressful for me and the first few days were a bit rough but the vets were great and as soon as we got the right amount of pain meds everything picked up quickly
Whatever you decide hope it works well for you

Yah I think it will definitely be a stressful time...If I were to do it, I'm not sure if I should do them together or separately...My vet also said I will have to separate them during recovery so that they do not lick each other which makes sense, but I also feel like it would help them out if they had each other's moral and physical support. I'm glad your piggy is doing well!

 

[VickiA]

Yah I think it will definitely be a stressful time...If I were to do it, I'm not sure if I should do them together or separately...My vet also said I will have to separate them during recovery so that they do not lick each other which makes sense, but I also feel like it would help them out if they had each other's moral and physical support. I'm glad your piggy is doing well!

I’ve never separated mine after surgery. I’ve had them go into the vets with their buddy for company and then I’ve had them with their buddy while they recover. They do better with company to be honest.
I’ve had numerous sows over the years. If I’m honest many of them have had ovarian cysts that have not caused problems so it’s only the ones who’ve had health issues or behavioural issues that I’ve had spayed.

 

[Deleted member 131797]

I’ve had a sow sprayed by a non cavy savy vet whose first spraying it was (I wouldn’t recommend this, but it was my first pig and I didn’t know better!) she recovered very well and quickly once I learned to be a bit assertive in syringe feeding her and giving her meds (I was too scared at first).

However, every pig is different and surgery is surgery and things can go wrong, especially with the anaesthetic so that’s the risk you have to be prepared for. I once had my boar neutered and they found an intestinal prolapse where the intestines had started dying off so his simple neutering became a massive surgery and on top of that he then had a bad reaction to the stitching glue and his entire belly wound infected and split open and it took weeks of syringe feeding, meds and vet trips and so many times he was on deaths door... (he’s still happily zooming around now, 3 years later) what I’m saying is... no surgery is simple or should be taken lightly. You may lose your piggie and you must be able to accept that if that happens.

I definitely wouldn’t do both at the same time in case you have two pigs with complications.

I’ve never separated for surgery - my boy was on his own already though as I got him 4 days before having him neutered so he was separate from the girls already.

 

[Wiebke]

700g Cariad with her group husboar Bryn during post-op recovery. Bryn was with Cariad at the vet during the op, too, and stayed with her all the time. Cariad went to join her group as soon as I was sure that she was eating normally and able to hold her weight on her own, which was 24 hours after the op. Being with her friends in her usual home was hugely important for nervous homebody Cariad.
19/04/13, day 1 post-op
Breakfast with Bryn




Happy back home for dinner!