Pesky Abcess On Throat

[lauralucy]

Hello

Just after some advice if possible. I have 2 young piggies around 5 months old. One (ruby) has an abcess on her throat.

Vet says it is one with lots of pockets ( I'm not sure if this is an actual thing) she has had 2 courses of antibiotics and 2 trips to the vet to try lancing and draining. It's still here :-(

I'm meant to be syringing it out with iodine (very hard with a wiggly piggy) and also squeezing the pus out.

Squeezing I can do even if she screams the syringing not so well. Today she would not be bribed and I don't blame her and pancaked.

What would you suggest? Vet is not happy to operate again as previous times didn't work. But I can't syringe it and squeezing doesn't make a lot of difference.

Sorry for waffling. I hope someone can help x

 

[lauralucy]

Side hole



Front hole

 

[lauralucy]

Pancaked piggy

 

[Poppy'sMum]

My piggy Ziggy had an abscess in the same place, Simon Maddock at the Cat & Rabbit clinic removed it as a whole capsule & I didn't have to do any washing out. I'll tag @furryfriends (TEAS) for you as she is most experienced with abscesses

 

[Wiebke]

How long has the hole been open and what antibiotic is he on?

Can you peel the scab off the hole (not at all pleasant, but very necessary); it should be done 1-2 times a day and you have to be very tough with your piggy. As long as there is pus sitting beneath the scab, the abscess has not healed up yet.

My Hywel is currently rcovering from his second abscess on his throat that started out as a dental root abscess on a lower incisor, but has unfortunately gone into the jawbone which is why it keeps coming back.
This is Hywel with his first crater a couple of days post-op:


A marsupialised abscess (i.e. an abscess that has been stitched open and left to drain/flush ) needs to heal from the inside out and needs to be kept open and flushed for as long as possible, ideally a minimum of 5-10 days or longer, depending on how deep it is. If it heals shut before that, it may need to be reopened, otherwise it is likely to come back as the infection is going to build up again.

Could you get to the Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic in Northampton? They have saved my Hywel's life when my local vets were unable to re-open his abscess, which had healed shut far too quickly.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic - Home

@furryfriends (TEAS) @MintyAndGarry (TEAS)

 

[lauralucy]

She currently isn't on antibiotics the hole had been open about 10 days. I do peel the scab off and try and squeeze it twice a day.

It is still leaking pus on its own.

 

[Wiebke]

She currently isn't on antibiotics the hole had been open about 10 days. I do peel the scab off and try and squeeze it twice a day.

It is still leaking pus on its own.

if you can, please try to flush it still and contact your vet for more antibiotics until after all signs of an abscess have disappeared. Hywel was on a strong antibiotic for 4-5 weeks and I was told to finish the full course.