Post Castration Hernia Prognosis

[Hils]

Hi, my guinea pig developed a post-castration hernia. It was operated on but two days later the swelling is still present and he's obviously not his normal self (he's very stressed when we are near him, although after what he's been through I guess that's understandable?). He is eating, drinking, pooing and weeing as normal but I was wondering if anyone knows what the prognosis is for hernias in guinea pigs and if anyone has experience of the swelling continuing after the operation. Thanks in advance.

 

[Janice C]

There can be quite a bit of swelling for at least a few days until the area starts to heal. Swelling can be the body's way of protecting the area that's been operated on plus special enzymes are sent to the area to get rid of any blood and fluids that are collecting. He's eating, drinking, pooing and weeing so all sounds promising. Quite normal not to want interaction with us for a few days - just needing his own space to recover!

 

[Hils]

There can be quite a bit of swelling for at least a few days until the area starts to heal. Swelling can be the body's way of protecting the area that's been operated on plus special enzymes are sent to the area to get rid of any blood and fluids that are collecting. He's eating, drinking, pooing and weeing so all sounds promising. Quite normal not to want interaction with us for a few days - just needing his own space to recover!

Thank you so much Janice C, it's been an awful week, taking a healthy guinea pig and giving him two massive operations. We did lots of research and thought we were doing the best for him, but I wish now we'd never gone for castration. We'll continue monitoring. The wound looks clean and he's an eating machine so hopefully the bulge will go down in time.

 

[Hils]

We've just seen he has pulled out one of his stitches and is red raw so its back to the vets for the third general anaesthetic in a week and re-stitching. I feel absolutely awful that we've put the poor guy through this.

 

[Hils]

It's hard to believe it's been a year since I posted this message. It was a really worrying time. Luckily Norman made a full recovery and now has a beautiful lady friend to keep him company. Thank you Janice C for your support. Xx

 

[Sophie B]

Aww! Very glad to hear this!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Oh that’s great, it was worth it after all. Gosh they just us such scares don’t they!

 

[Merab]

Congratulations on Norman’s lady.
Pictures please

 

[Hils]

As requested Merab's Slave. Norman is black, ginger and white and Bramble is the brown one.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Oh that is such a lovely happy ending x

 

[Merab]

They are both so gorgeous

 

[Posyrose]

What a lovely couple - well worth all that trouble!

 

[VickiA]

Beautiful couple. Lucky Norman finding such a lovely lady pig.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, my guinea pig developed a post-castration hernia. It was operated on but two days later the swelling is still present and he's obviously not his normal self (he's very stressed when we are near him, although after what he's been through I guess that's understandable?). He is eating, drinking, pooing and weeing as normal but I was wondering if anyone knows what the prognosis is for hernias in guinea pigs and if anyone has experience of the swelling continuing after the operation. Thanks in advance.

Hi! Has he been seen by a vet or is this your own diagnosis?

Hernias are one of the rarer neutering op complications. If depends on what has slid through a gap in the muscle wall. If it is just fat and tissue, then your boy can live with it. If at any point a piece of gut is getting trapped in the hole, then there is only one thing you can do - put him to sleep asap as it is excruciating. right now you need to keep a close eye on him in case more stuff is sliding through.

My Nosgan has developed a hernia months after his neutering op. My vet advised against operating as it could cuase more problems than it would solve and would be rather difficult in an already operated area.
Anyway, the hernia is still there nearly two years on, but it has stabilised and is a little smaller. It is not impeding him. However as a consequence Nosgan suffers from mild impaction (not as bad as he doesn't have a large anal sac) and his penis tends to have a very fast build-up of smegma, so much to his dismay he has to be serviced very regularly.

Includes a list of possible post-op complications:
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts

 

[Hils]

Thanks Wiebke, this all happened last year, it definitely was a hernia, in fact a double hernia. Apparently guinea pigs need to be sown up differently from rabbits after neutering and some vets don't know this. He was operated on a second time by a more senior vet and has recovered well. Needless to say we have moved to a different vet practice now! I had so much support on the forum that I just wanted to post an update to tell everyone he was fine. Thank you for your advice though - it's lovely to hear Nosgan is doing well too.