Post Surgery Infection

[flinklater01]

Hello,
My Guinea pig (Drucilla) had a lump removal under her chin about three weeks ago. They apparently managed to remove the abscess intact. Straight after the surgery, she was on baytril and metacam for a week. The vet took her off the baytril after a week as it was stopping her from eating. A week after this (two weeks from the surgery) the wound opened up and the vet thought it looked infected so we started baytril again.

Since then, the wound has become more infected and has now got some release of puss. We have another vet appointment tomorrow but I was wondering what worked for everyone else?

The baytril isn’t minimising the infection and it is getting worse.

I will post some photos of the wound (1 week after surgery), when it opened and one now.

Any advice will be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[RescueBoyMum]

Hi, what a cute piggie! Did the vet check that her teeth were ok? As it could be a tooth root abscess which has developed into the jaw. Just a suggestion. I’ve had one pig with a tooth root abscess which gave him a lump like that. Just a suggestion from my experience.

When he had it removed, it wasn’t stitched back up fully, but left as a Marsupialisation with a hole for it to drain. This is to allow it enough time to heal the infection on the inside. I had to pack the hole with flamazine cream. Hope she gets better soon.

 

[flinklater01]

Hi, what a cute piggie! Did the vet check that her teeth were ok? As it could be a tooth root abscess which has developed into the jaw. Just a suggestion. I’ve had one pig with a tooth root abscess which gave him a lump like that. Just a suggestion from my experience.

When he had it removed, it wasn’t stitched back up fully, but left as a Marsupialisation with a hole for it to drain. This is to allow it enough time to heal the infection on the inside. I had to pack the hole with flamazine cream. Hope she gets better soon.

We believe the abscess was a result of a prolonged streptococcus infection that we have been fighting for a while.

I think the vet didn’t leave the wound open as they believed that they had managed to remove the whole abscess.

I do wish they had done the marsupialisation as at least we would be able to have a bit more control over it! I hate to think she will possibly need another operation!

 

[Truffolo]

Yes, it might need flushing. I've never dealt with an abscess, but several people on here have nursed piggies post op. I hope someone comes along with first hand experience. I hope your piggy gets better soon

 

[Truffolo]

Drucilla is very beautiful

 

[weepweeps]

I’m sorry you are going through this.

I was going to say Zithromax is a very good antibiotic for abscesses. I’ve used it for a piggy before. It was a long 6 week course. It did stop his appetite so he had to be syringe fed.

But I’ve no idea if it will help with streptococcus bacteria.

If there is a release of puss then I’d gently squeeze it and try as much as you can out.

Good luck at the vets.

Is she on a good amount of painkillers

 

[flinklater01]

I’m sorry you are going through this.

I was going to say Zithromax is a very good antibiotic for abscesses. I’ve used it for a piggy before. It was a long 6 week course. It did stop his appetite so he had to be syringe fed.

But I’ve no idea if it will help with streptococcus bacteria.

If there is a release of puss then I’d gently squeeze it and try as much as you can out.

Good luck at the vets.

Is she on a good amount of painkillers

I will have a chat with the vet about Zithromax, I’ve head of others using it and having some success. I'm more than happy syring feeding so Thats not too much of an issue.

She is on metacam at the moment but I may discuss upping the dose or using a split does.

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck

 

[GuineaDobbin]

Drucilla is a stunner!

I've had a few abscess pigs. I found antibiotics fairly ineffective on their own, regular flushing with some kind of antiseptic solution combined with regular clearing of any major goop was the way to go. I've used dilute hibiscrub, dilute f10, saline solution or plain water depending on the location and what I had at the time.

A syringe to get some hydraulic action going inside the thing to penetrate deep is helpful, as is vaseline to keep the wound open. If she is enjoying her snacks, distraction or reward may be in order.

Re-opening the wound (especially as it has partially done that itself) should be quite easy and doable under local anaesthetic, which will be much safer than sedation and general.

Don't panic, I've had a boy with one in just the same spot, he did just fine once cleaned and healed up.

 

[flinklater01]

Drucilla is a stunner!

I've had a few abscess pigs. I found antibiotics fairly ineffective on their own, regular flushing with some kind of antiseptic solution combined with regular clearing of any major goop was the way to go. I've used dilute hibiscrub, dilute f10, saline solution or plain water depending on the location and what I had at the time.

A syringe to get some hydraulic action going inside the thing to penetrate deep is helpful, as is vaseline to keep the wound open. If she is enjoying her snacks, distraction or reward may be in order.

Re-opening the wound (especially as it has partially done that itself) should be quite easy and doable under local anaesthetic, which will be much safer than sedation and general.

Don't panic, I've had a boy with one in just the same spot, he did just fine once cleaned and healed up.

Amazing thank you. It’s great to hear that your boy has done well! I am washing with dilute f10 at the moment and the vet has send a swab off of the puss to see what antibiotics may work but I think flushing it is doing a lot of good on its own!