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Post Neutering Complications

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Posyrose

Posyrose

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Having had a guinea pig (Harry) die last year following abscesses after castration, I was very anxious about having my boar Pip neutered, but I wanted him to have a wifepig. I sought the advice of Aidan Raftery at Ashleigh (recommended exotic) vets who he said that he experiences v few complications with the op, so I went ahead and he did the op last Monday.

He was fine for several days
afterwards but on Sat he developed a lump on one side, but was eating drinking and popcorning, so I started to hand feeding and giving Fibreplex to supplement his diet, also adding Avipro to his veggies. He was maintaining a stable weight

On Sun, for my peace of mind, even though he seemed fine and was popcorning etc, I took him to the vets who gave him an antibiotic injection and I continued hand feeding him, but this morning he was very poorly; his poos were tiny and soft and he wasn't well at all.

I have taken him to the vets where he will be staying for 24 hrs for hand feeding, fluids and gut motility drugs. They are not sure what the lump is, but I'm pretty sure it's an abscess. Because of their uncertainty they can't really take proper action so I have asked for the lump to be aspirated. If this had been done sooner for Harry, I think he would have had a better chance.

Please could you send him kind thoughts to encourage him to get better very soon. Also, there are some exceptionally knowledgeable members on this forum, so if anyone has any advice about what I should do, or ask the vet to do, to improve his chances, please let me know. Much of my care has been informed by this forum, so thank you for doing so much already. One 'tip' I think I've heard is that Zithromax is good for abscesses, but have also heard that it can be particularly tough on gentle tummies; any thoughts on this would be great.

I am beside myself not only because he is so ill, but also with guilt that I put him through this, when it was not an essential op. I won't be castrating any pigs in the future; it's just not worth the risk. I know everyone's guineas are special, but this is an exceptionally affectionate, chatty and kissy boy and I couldn't bear it if anything happened.
 
Oh I am sorry you are going through this :( I have had 3 pigs on Zithromax post op, only one didn't tolerate it very well, but she is fine with Marbocyl. I think at this point draining the abscess keeping it flushed & clean plus the gut motility drugs & syringe feeding are the best things to be doing. Hopefully someone more experienced with castrations will be able to help you more. Fingers crossed for your poorly boy.
 
I'm really sorry to hear that Pip is poorly. Fortunately I've never been involved with post-op problems after neutering. I looked after 5 foster boars last year during their 6 week post-op period and all were trouble free. We eventually adopted the last one before he was due to return to the rescue.

I have had a little experience with Zithromax which was ineffective on Minky's head tilt but I've heard that it is really good for abscesses. When Minky was on it she developed a form of oral thrush & was put on a 14 day course of Itrafungol which had her eating properly after 36 hours. Her mouth had been severely ulcerated. If it is an abscess and you want to use Zithromax (Azithromycin) & your vet hasn't used it before then please ask him to contact Simon Maddock at the Cat & Rabbit Clinic, Northampton who can advise dosage.
 
I am going through a similar situation with my 4 1/2 year old sow Izzy. I took her to the vets on Thursday because she had hair loss & was losing weight. The vet said she had ovarian cysts & needed to be spayed. I questioned this due to her age & the fact she was poorly. I felt putting her to sleep may be kinder. She basically bullied me in to having her spayed there & then. Izzy is at home, she can hardly walk & until today I have had to syringe feed her. Only now will she eat on her own & has just started eating her veggies & hay. The wound looks ok so I have to take her back this week to get her checked. I really thought these last few days I was going to lose her. She may still not make it ad she is struggling to walk & to be honest she has been so miserable the last few days that I felt really bad for letting them operate & not having her pts. I am not letting them mess with her again & will never put a small animal through it again. I really hope your boy will be ok. Sending you lots of positive thoughts for both of you xx
 
Rory is due to be castrated in a few weeks - absolutely bricking it, my vets gave me loads of information and out of all the castrations they have done only two had after op complications. Still nervous, but its the best thing. I don't want him by himself any longer then he needs to be. I have got plenty of metacam for him, a cage to recover in… Touch wood there won't be any complications.

I hope your little man feels better in himself soon! Much love from me and my girls and little man
x
 
Oh gosh, I am so sorry you are going through this.

I'm afraid I have no advise but just wanted to send healing vibes. Please do not beat yourself up, you have jyst been unlucky xx

I hope that Izzy feels better soon too xx
 
Claire W said:
Oh gosh, I am so sorry you are going through this.

I'm afraid I have no advise but just wanted to send healing vibes. Please do not beat yourself up, you have jyst been unlucky xx

I hope that Izzy feels better soon too xx
Click to expand...
 
Jane Denyet said:
I am going through a similar situation with my 4 1/2 year old sow Izzy. I took her to the vets on Thursday because she had hair loss & was losing weight. The vet said she had ovarian cysts & needed to be spayed. I questioned this due to her age & the fact she was poorly. I felt putting her to sleep may be kinder. She basically bullied me in to having her spayed there & then. Izzy is at home, she can hardly walk & until today I have had to syringe feed her. Only now will she eat on her own & has just started eating her veggies & hay. The wound looks ok so I have to take her back this week to get her checked. I really thought these last few days I was going to lose her. She may still not make it ad she is struggling to walk & to be honest she has been so miserable the last few days that I felt really bad for letting them operate & not having her pts. I am not letting them mess with her again & will never put a small animal through it again. I really hope your boy will be ok. Sending you lots of positive thoughts for both of you xx
Click to expand...

Hi Jane, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry that Izzy is not having the best of times after her op. Normally she will get better day by day but will need monitoring while she's recovering. If you can, please weigh her daily because weight loss is the best indicator that something is wrong. If it does go down then please continue syringe feeding her mushed up pellets, recovery plus or critical care which will help keep her weight stable. Is she on any meds at present?
 
Stewybus said:
Hi Jane, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry that Izzy is not having the best of times after her op. Normally she will get better day by day but will need monitoring while she's recovering. If you can, please weigh her daily because weight loss is the best indicator that something is wrong.
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Thanks I will weigh her today & every day. I am taking things one day at a time & hopefully she will be ok. She is hopping on her back legs rather than walking. She has been sleeping a lot & not at all active. The most improvement is that her appetite is getting better.
Claire W said:
Oh gosh, I am so sorry you are going through this.

I'm afraid I have no advise but just wanted to send healing vibes. Please do not beat yourself up, you have jyst been unlucky xx

I hope that Izzy feels better soon too xx
Click to expand...
 
Stewybus said:
I'm really sorry to hear that Pip is poorly. Fortunately I've never been involved with post-op problems after neutering. I looked after 5 foster boars last year during their 6 week post-op period and all were trouble free. We eventually adopted the last one before he was due to return to the rescue.

I have had a little experience with Zithromax which was ineffective on Minky's head tilt but I've heard that it is really good for abscesses. When Minky was on it she developed a form of oral thrush & was put on a 14 day course of Itrafungol which had her eating properly after 36 hours. Her mouth had been severely ulcerated. If it is an abscess and you want to use Zithromax (Azithromycin) & your vet hasn't used it before then please ask him to contact Simon Maddock at the Cat & Rabbit Clinic, Northampton who can advise dosage.
Click to expand...
check how

Thanks Stewybus; I didn't know it was called Azithromycin as well; he might be on this now - I'll ask when I next check how he is doing. The good news is that he now eating on his own, but is also being hand fed.
 
Jane Denyet said: Thanks I will weigh her today & every day. I am taking things one day at a time & hopefully she will be ok. She is hopping on her back legs rather than walking. She has been sleeping a lot & not at all active. The most improvement is that her appetite is getting better.

Is she with companions or by herself. Sometimes it is good to give her a little supervised time with companions especially at meal time when she will probably eat more because of competition. It's also good to give her a few extras by herself so that you know she's getting plenty. It does sound like she's a bit sore but it's only to be expected after an op like this.
 
Jess said:
Rory is due to be castrated in a few weeks - absolutely bricking it, my vets gave me loads of information and out of all the castrations they have done only two had after op complications. Still nervous, but its the best thing. I don't want him by himself any longer then he needs to be. I have got plenty of metacam for him, a cage to recover in… Touch wood there won't be any complications.

I hope your little man feels better in himself soon! Much love from me and my girls and little man
x
Click to expand...

I do hope you have better luck than me. I really hope Rory's op goes smoothly.
 
Posyrose said:
check how

Thanks Stewybus; I didn't know it was called Azithromycin as well; he might be on this now - I'll ask when I next check how he is doing. The good news is that he now eating on his own, but is also being hand fed.
Click to expand...

One is the actual name of the drug & the other is a brand name. I found this when I took my vet's printed prescription to the chemist. They only had the Azithromycin & not Zithromax so had to phone my vet to OK it.
 
I am sorry you are both having such a tough time. You have had some good advice above, the only thing I will add is the importance of pain relief. Posyrose, I would assume Aiden has this covered, but Jane - did the vet send you home with any Metacam or Loxicom?

I get Zithromax as Azithromycin too as our vets don't stock it but can give us a prescription for the pharmacy.
 
helen105281 said:
I am sorry you are both having such a tough time. You have had some good advice above, the only thing I will add is the importance of pain relief. Posyrose, I would assume Aiden has this covered, but Jane - did the vet send you home with any Metacam or Loxicom?

I get Zithromax as Azithromycin too as our vets don't stock it but can give us a prescription for the pharmacy.
Click to expand...
Yes she has metacam, septrin & was taking Zantac & emeprid for the first couple of days
 
That's good then, is her poo output ok now? Is she still not walking very well?
 
helen105281 said:
I am sorry you are both having such a tough time. You have had some good advice above, the only thing I will add is the importance of pain relief. Posyrose, I would assume Aiden has this covered, but Jane - did the vet send you home with any Metacam or Loxicom?

I get Zithromax as Azithromycin too as our vets don't stock it but can give us a prescription for the pharmacy.
Click to expand...
I was quite surprised that Aidan felt that the 'long acting' pain relief injection would be enough. I insisted on having a bottle of metacam as well.
 
Did he really? am surprised too. Amir the vet I volunteered with for a while in Broxbourne always sends the pig home with pain relief after surgery. Glad you got the Metacam as a pig in pain will not eat.
 
helen105281 said:
Did he really? am surprised too. Amir the vet I volunteered with for a while in Broxbourne always sends the pig home with pain relief after surgery. Glad you got the Metacam as a pig in pain will not eat.
Click to expand...

I am so glad that I got the metacam. When I dropped him off for his op I specifically asked for him to be discharged with some, but had to 'remind' them of this. They gave it to me with no problem, but the nurse said she thought it was unnecessary. He wasn't discharged with antibiotics either, which I had expected. Again, he was given a 'long lasting' injection.
 
Jane.

That is to be expected. The walking is a worry though.

I am wondering if it is best to start your own thread unless admin are able to move the relevant bits from this one? Then we can help you easier.
 
Hope Pip is getting better soon. What a terrible time you are having

*hugs*

~ Amy
 
Thanks everyone for your good wishes. He's still with us this morning and still eating a little by himself and pooing better. I'll know more this afternoon when the exotic vet has assessed him.
 
Azithromax should help.Could you tell me was he stitched or glued? I know I keep saying this but I have had many boars neutered and have never had an abcess if they have been glued.
 
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