Emergency Should I have surgery done on my guinea pig?

[Lydia Marie]

I had just gotten home from vacation today, and I went to check on my two guinea pigs. I realized that one of my guinea pigs had a big mass underneath her. There was also blood in the cage. I knew it could be serious, so I took her to the vet. The vet told me that it was a tumor on her mammary gland. She gave us the option of going to another vet to get it removed, but said it would be risky to do so. Now I don’t know what I should do. Should I risk the surgery or not? My guinea pig is acting just fine and is eating and drinking. I really don’t know what I should do. Can anyone tell me if the surgery is worth it? The mass just came out of no where and now I’m scared that it will get worse. It seems like I could have prevented this because I have seen blood in the cage a few months before. I called the same vet and they said it could be a virus, and I sent a stool from my guinea pig to have it tested. They sent some medicine to me and I gave it to both of my guinea pigs so the other one wouldn’t get sick too. The blood seemed to go away after that. Then just about a week or so ago my mom realized a little blood in the cage and we thought nothing of it. After that everything was fine until I got back home. We had people taking care of them, but they never said anything about any blood to us. Sorry to make this so long, but I’m just really worried about my guinea pig and what to do about the mass.

 

[Sleeksmama]

I would wait and observe! The surgery is VERY risky because of the anesthetic... so wait and see... keep giving her the meds and go to the other vet to get a second opinion! A third opinion wouldn't hurt either!
Hope this helps!
Good luck!

 

[Sleeksmama]

I had just gotten home from vacation today, and I went to check on my two guinea pigs. I realized that one of my guinea pigs had a big mass underneath her. There was also blood in the cage. I knew it could be serious, so I took her to the vet. The vet told me that it was a tumor on her mammary gland. She gave us the option of going to another vet to get it removed, but said it would be risky to do so. Now I don’t know what I should do. Should I risk the surgery or not? My guinea pig is acting just fine and is eating and drinking. I really don’t know what I should do. Can anyone tell me if the surgery is worth it? The mass just came out of no where and now I’m scared that it will get worse. It seems like I could have prevented this because I have seen blood in the cage a few months before. I called the same vet and they said it could be a virus, and I sent a stool from my guinea pig to have it tested. They sent some medicine to me and I gave it to both of my guinea pigs so the other one wouldn’t get sick too. The blood seemed to go away after that. Then just about a week or so ago my mom realized a little blood in the cage and we thought nothing of it. After that everything was fine until I got back home. We had people taking care of them, but they never said anything about any blood to us. Sorry to make this so long, but I’m just really worried about my guinea pig and what to do about the mass.

I would wait and observe! The surgery is VERY risky because of the anesthetic... so wait and see... keep giving her the meds and go to the other vet to get a second opinion! A third opinion wouldn't hurt either!
Hope this helps!
Good luck!

 

[Betsy]

Tagging in some health and illness experts for you
@Jaycey, @Abi_nurse, @Wiebke

 

[Abi_nurse]

I would wait and observe! The surgery is VERY risky because of the anesthetic... so wait and see... keep giving her the meds and go to the other vet to get a second opinion! A third opinion wouldn't hurt either!
Hope this helps!
Good luck!

I would have to disagree with the 'very' risky part here I'm afraid, sorry Sleeksmama. I have aneathetised hundreds of guinea pigs now and never lost one in surgery. However... we have lost pigs in coming days who are very poorly (those who were not eating, had gut stasis, systemic infection prior to the anaesthesia, this is not the case with your piggie here). Please don't be scared into thinking that anaesthesia on guinea pigs is so risky. In healthier pigs it's not. Statistics from 20 years ago was a 3.8% risk of death and I'm hoping that now this is much improved.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1467298716308261?via=ihub

Do you have a photo of the mass at all? If it is ulcerated etc then this will be more of a risk than no surgery as it will introduce infection and cause pain etc. I would potentially (if not ulcerated and bleeding, in which case much better to remove) - get a needle biopsy done of the mass to see what it is. You need to know what sort of tumour you are dealing with to decide what to do. If it's nasty it must come off, (of you need to decide what you want to do) if it isn't (and isn't causing pain or risk of infection) then you might be able to leave it be.

Hope this helps.
Abi

 

[Wiebke]

I had just gotten home from vacation today, and I went to check on my two guinea pigs. I realized that one of my guinea pigs had a big mass underneath her. There was also blood in the cage. I knew it could be serious, so I took her to the vet. The vet told me that it was a tumor on her mammary gland. She gave us the option of going to another vet to get it removed, but said it would be risky to do so. Now I don’t know what I should do. Should I risk the surgery or not? My guinea pig is acting just fine and is eating and drinking. I really don’t know what I should do. Can anyone tell me if the surgery is worth it? The mass just came out of no where and now I’m scared that it will get worse. It seems like I could have prevented this because I have seen blood in the cage a few months before. I called the same vet and they said it could be a virus, and I sent a stool from my guinea pig to have it tested. They sent some medicine to me and I gave it to both of my guinea pigs so the other one wouldn’t get sick too. The blood seemed to go away after that. Then just about a week or so ago my mom realized a little blood in the cage and we thought nothing of it. After that everything was fine until I got back home. We had people taking care of them, but they never said anything about any blood to us. Sorry to make this so long, but I’m just really worried about my guinea pig and what to do about the mass.

Hi!

HUGS

Please see another vet ASAP if your vet is not keen to operate; unfortunately it is going to be a make or break operation - the sooner you do it, the more of a chance your piggy has.

A blood filled mammary tumour can blow up very quickly seemingly out of nowhere.

My Rhosyn had one like yours, only that it hadn't burst yet. It was either operate or have her die from sepsis within two weeks. The speed at which it was growing was truly shocking; it trebled or quadupled within 24 hours. You could basically watch it growing!
Unfortunately for her, she was found to have a very irregular heartbeat in the pre-op check, which turned it into a very high risk operation. The operating vet did get the whole tumor out, which by then had spread under the skin towards her genitals, but Rhosyn's heart sadly gave way right at the end of the operation. Without that extra complication she would have however survived and lived a few more years.

My 5 years old Morwenna had a spaying operation just two weeks ago in order to remove a pre-cancerous ovarian cyst. She is recovering well.

Fingers very firmly crossed! I wish I could have kinder news, but this is one of these things where you can't dither or where there are any easy choices. It is however, not any fault or neglect of yours; just bad luck that it blew up while you were away!
Tips For Post-operative Care

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

I’ve had two of my pigs have mammary tumours removed, Cissy had one and Tonks has had both in the last year. Of course surgery is never risk free but my girls came out of it just fine, I guess it depends how good the vet is so I’d look for a more piggy savvy vet.

It sounds like a pretty urgent matter (same with my Cissy, nothing was there until she had an enormous mass suddenly) but don’t worry too much, as long as the vet is good it’s not as risky as you might think. I don’t regret having it done for my girls!

Good luck

 

[alpacasqueak]

I’ve had a similar op done with my Jess, she had a mammary gland cyst that was full of fluid, when it was full was huge!
I trusted my vet completely and she got through the op great, when I went to pick her up she was eating away and running around like nothing had happened! Despite a rather large scar and missing a nipple! Definitely don’t regret it either!
Hope all goes well with your piggy x

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

I'm thinking you are in the USA? Have a look on Guinea Lynx for recommended vets in your area Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List and see if you can find one who is more confident on diagnosis & surgery for guinea pigs than your current one. I would get a biopsy done first as Abi_nurse suggests, if there is time. If you have to go for surgery, there is always a bit of a risk but a good vet will minimise that. How old is your piggie?

 

[Lydia Marie]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Sadly the mass is already ulcerated. I definitely will try to go to another vet as soon as I can. The tumor is pretty nasty looking, so I will try to get her there soon. There aren’t many vets in my town that are specialized with guinea pigs, so it might take awhile for me to get my pig to one. The mass doesn't look any bigger today, so hopefully it doesn’t get any worse. My pig is only 3 1/2 years old, so is it common for guinea pigs to develop tumors at the age?

 

[Sleeksmama]

I would have to disagree with the 'very' risky part here I'm afraid, sorry Sleeksmama. I have aneathetised hundreds of guinea pigs now and never lost one in surgery. However... we have lost pigs in coming days who are very poorly (those who were not eating, had gut stasis, systemic infection prior to the anaesthesia, this is not the case with your piggie here). Please don't be scared into thinking that anaesthesia on guinea pigs is so risky. In healthier pigs it's not. Statistics from 20 years ago was a 3.8% risk of death and I'm hoping that now this is much improved.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1467298716308261?via=ihub

Do you have a photo of the mass at all? If it is ulcerated etc then this will be more of a risk than no surgery as it will introduce infection and cause pain etc. I would potentially (if not ulcerated and bleeding, in which case much better to remove) - get a needle biopsy done of the mass to see what it is. You need to know what sort of tumour you are dealing with to decide what to do. If it's nasty it must come off, (of you need to decide what you want to do) if it isn't (and isn't causing pain or risk of infection) then you might be able to leave it be.

Hope this helps.
Abi

I agree about the anesthesia being only moderately risky in some cases... however you need to take everything into balance... (not saying you weren't). I am saying that I would visit another vet for a second opinion... before proceeding with the rather risky surgery. (Because death toll is high than, say, a dog) And I agree... A needle biopsy is a excellent choice!
Also a photo would be great!

 

[Sleeksmama]

Hi!

HUGS

Please see another vet ASAP if your vet is not keen to operate; unfortunately it is going to be a make or break operation - the sooner you do it, the more of a chance your piggy has.

A blood filled mammary tumour can blow up very quickly seemingly out of nowhere.

My Rhosyn had one like yours, only that it hadn't burst yet. It was either operate or have her die from sepsis within two weeks. The speed at which it was growing was truly shocking; it trebled or quadupled within 24 hours. You could basically watch it growing!
Unfortunately for her, she was found to have a very irregular heartbeat in the pre-op check, which turned it into a very high risk operation. The operating vet did get the whole tumor out, which by then had spread under the skin towards her genitals, but Rhosyn's heart sadly gave way right at the end of the operation. Without that extra complication she would have however survived and lived a few more years.

My 5 years old Morwenna had a spaying operation just two weeks ago in order to remove a pre-cancerous ovarian cyst. She is recovering well.

Fingers very firmly crossed! I wish I could have kinder news, but this is one of these things where you can't dither or where there are any easy choices. It is however, not any fault or neglect of yours; just bad luck that it blew up while you were away!
Tips For Post-operative Care

A second vet opinion is a must! Also it is not a guaranty that is a mammary tumor but it is very likely... I which case her life is in danger! Do not mistake one of these for a abscess! Sending prayers, hugs and healing thoughts your way!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Sadly the mass is already ulcerated. I definitely will try to go to another vet as soon as I can. The tumor is pretty nasty looking, so I will try to get her there soon. There aren’t many vets in my town that are specialized with guinea pigs, so it might take awhile for me to get my pig to one. The mass doesn't look any bigger today, so hopefully it doesn’t get any worse. My pig is only 3 1/2 years old, so is it common for guinea pigs to develop tumors at the age?

It all depends on whether there is genetic predisposition or not; the same as in humans.

Fingers firmly crossed! The point in favour is that your piggy is still at the peak of its life when it comes to operation recovery compared to an older piggy.
I have included a link for post-op care at home in my last post.

 

[Sleeksmama]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Sadly the mass is already ulcerated. I definitely will try to go to another vet as soon as I can. The tumor is pretty nasty looking, so I will try to get her there soon. There aren’t many vets in my town that are specialized with guinea pigs, so it might take awhile for me to get my pig to one. The mass doesn't look any bigger today, so hopefully it doesn’t get any worse. My pig is only 3 1/2 years old, so is it common for guinea pigs to develop tumors at the age?

Tumors can happen any age... but older pigs are more prone in many ways! Fortunately your pig is in her prime so the odds are in her favor! Also keep the ulcerated area clean and hydrogen peroxide is a great cleaner and anti bacterial to help fight a bigger infection! It works very nicely for flushing a tumor ulcer free from nasty bacteria! Getting her to the vet ASAP is crucial! Just keep is clean as possible until you get to the vet!
Best of luck!

 

[Merab]

I can’t add to the debate but wanted you to know that I am holding you in my heart at this anxious time

 

[PERFECT G PIGS]

I had just gotten home from vacation today, and I went to check on my two guinea pigs. I realized that one of my guinea pigs had a big mass underneath her. There was also blood in the cage. I knew it could be serious, so I took her to the vet. The vet told me that it was a tumor on her mammary gland. She gave us the option of going to another vet to get it removed, but said it would be risky to do so. Now I don’t know what I should do. Should I risk the surgery or not? My guinea pig is acting just fine and is eating and drinking. I really don’t know what I should do. Can anyone tell me if the surgery is worth it? The mass just came out of no where and now I’m scared that it will get worse. It seems like I could have prevented this because I have seen blood in the cage a few months before. I called the same vet and they said it could be a virus, and I sent a stool from my guinea pig to have it tested. They sent some medicine to me and I gave it to both of my guinea pigs so the other one wouldn’t get sick too. The blood seemed to go away after that. Then just about a week or so ago my mom realized a little blood in the cage and we thought nothing of it. After that everything was fine until I got back home. We had people taking care of them, but they never said anything about any blood to us. Sorry to make this so long, but I’m just really worried about my guinea pig and what to do about the mass.

I would get it checked out with an exotic vet.

 

[munchmonster]

I hope everything works out in a good way for you and your piggy. It must be a very worrying time for you. Me and my piggies are sending you our warmest thoughts. Keep us updated if you can xx