Post Neuter Abscess Advice

[LittleMissPiggie]

I had my boars neutered last week. One is doing really well but the other swelled up at the incision site. I originally thought this was just post op swelling but then it popped and lots of yellow liquid gunk came out.

He is still happy playing , eating and pooping.

I cleaned him up with saline water and gave him some loxicam before taking him to the vet. The vet also managed to get a lot of gunk out of the wound.

The swelling has gone right down but some gunk is still coming out when squeezed. I’m continuing to clean with saline water.

He is now on Baytril for the next 5 days along with Loxicam. I’ve researched pig abscesses and it seems it’s something that might re occur?

I naively thought a pig neuter would be a breeze ; I didn’t realise abscesses were a common occurrence otherwise I would never have neutered . He needs a cage mate so I plan to pair him with one of my sows.

My question is: what is the next step if the Baytril doesn’t work?

If he needs more surgery to remove the abscess , how much roughly am I looking at cost wise?

What is the survival rate of such operations? I’ve lost a small furry to anaesthetic before and I’m worried about putting him through another op for him to die anyway .

 

[Merab's Slave]

Micah developed a scrotal abscess after neutering but the vet said although it happens it's not very common.
He had a second op a week after his neutering and was right as rain afterwards.
If memory serves it was about £60 including meds but this was nearly 2 years ago.

Hope your boy recovers well now.

 

[Flutterby]

Any post of abscess I've had in my pigs I've always had treated at the vets. The optimal treatments I've found without having to have the whole thing removed in another surgery is to have it lanced and then keep it open at home so that you can flush it out and give antibiotics. Once the abscess stops draining for a few days the incision is allowed to heal and I've never had a problem since. Some vets will just prescribe antibiotics but abscess walls are extremely thick and they don't tend to get through to treat the infection. Have you discussed with the vet about continuing with cleaning the abcsess/squeezing to keep it draining until the infection clears?

 

[Swissgreys]

I haven't ever dealt with a post neuter abscess, but all the others I have had have done well after being opened and flushed (directly into the abscess cavity) twice a day, allowing to slowly heal from the inside out.
Like @Flutterby this has always worked really well, and although it's a bit messy and unpleasant has also always avoided the need for further surgery.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Baytril tends not to be very effective against abscesses. The best antibiotic for treating them is zithromax but not all vets are familiar with it as it is not licenced for animals but it is something your vet could look into it you ask them.

I had a boar neutered last year who had a lot of unexpected post opp complications, which was a surprise as my vet is very good and very experieced and the opp itself went very well. My piggy seemed to be sensitive to everything, in brief the anaesthetic caused gut stasis and he completely stopped eating, his wound site seemed to cause him pain and he chewed it and opened it and developed an abscess, he had a second opp to have it debrided and restitched and the abscess flushed. The abscess could not be surgically removed because it was just puss filling the space where his testicle had been and therefore not encapsulated, so he was given zithromax which cured the abscess but stopped him eating again. He had to have a prolonged course of pain relief and gut motility drugs as well as a lot of syringe feeding and took 6 weeks to get his normal appetite back.

As it was a post opp complication my vet did not charge for the second opp or the extra follow up appointments, just some of the meds. Oh and the piggy made a full recovery

 

[LittleMissPiggie]

These replies are helpful.
The vet didn’t mention anything about opening and flushing the wounds. They’ve scabbed over now and I’ve just been told to give Baytril and Loxicam for 5 days. The swelling has gone down a lot and he is active , happy and eating fine. I had read on here that Baytril is a bit useless and I’m concerned it will come back. He is due back at the vets after 5 days .