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Spaying an older sow

G

Gwenie

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello,
I would like to know about owners who had their older sows (from 7-8 years old) spayed.
My sow is going to be spayed on Tuesday as her uterine mass is leaking from her vulva (it has stopped for now, but could start again). The vet will remove the uterine and the ovaries (which are polykystics).

I know it's risky (due to the operation in itself and also her age) and I had a guinea pig die after the surgery twelve years ago, so I'm quite apprehensive.

I'm trying to find some experience from previous posts with the search mode, but if someome has gone through that and would like to share how it went...
 
My best wishes too!
I had an older sow where iirc just the ovaries were removed. She survived the operation but died a few days later. On the other hand, I didn't have as much information and knowledge on caring for a piggy after an operation as since reading here on the forum, and I always had trouble with syringe-feeding, which didn't help. (I don't have any piggies atm).

Maybe @Wiebke or @Piggies&buns have experience?
 
Hi

Sorry about being late to the party. The alert must have missed me or disappeared quickly in a wodge of alerts.

My oldest spayed sows were all five years old but the operation was in each case successful.

The two older piggies who I had operated were for burst cyst removals in two 6 year olds (the second one was just two weeks short of her 7th birthday. Both lived past their 7th birthday.

I don't think I have heard about a successful spay in a sow that old, considering that it is a very major operation. But if you have had the operation already, I sincerely hope that it has gone well.
 
Thank you to both of you for your answers.
No, she hasn't already been spayed. The surgery is on Tuesday. She is 7 years and 9 month old, and the uterine mass and ovarian cysts were diagnosed a year and a half ago. Everything was fine until now.

I'm really scared to lose her, but the only other option is to let her continue losing blood, so I prefer to try the surgery when her physical condition is still good, instead of seeing her decline with the loss of blood and the risk of infection.
They weren't able to see on the ultrasound if the mass had ruptured or if it is just leaking a bit of blood, but my vet told me that she wouldn't have recommanded the surgery if her health wasn't as good as it is now. So, I really hope everything will be fine for her and she will recover from the surgery.
 
Gwenie said:
Thank you to both of you for your answers.
No, she hasn't already been spayed. The surgery is on Tuesday. She is 7 years and 9 month old, and the uterine mass and ovarian cysts were diagnosed a year and a half ago. Everything was fine until now.

I'm really scared to lose her, but the only other option is to let her continue losing blood, so I prefer to try the surgery when her physical condition is still good, instead of seeing her decline with the loss of blood and the risk of infection.
They weren't able to see on the ultrasound if the mass had ruptured or if it is just leaking a bit of blood, but my vet told me that she wouldn't have recommanded the surgery if her health wasn't as good as it is now. So, I really hope everything will be fine for her and she will recover from the surgery.
Click to expand...

Please see it as a make or break operation and as buying her a chance of more life. Operations at this age can occasionally come off but many sadly don't.

I don't like raining on your parade but I am asking you for your own sake in case things don't come off to go into this with your eyes wide open.

Here are our operation pre- and post-op care tips: Tips For Post-operative Care
 
That's exactly as I see it.

I know the risks and that's why I'm so afraid of this surgery. I already had two younger females (4 and 5) die of this kind of surgery years ago (one during the surgery and one during the post surgery care), that's why neither her nor her friend had been spayed when the vet diagnosed them ovarian cysts.
 
This kind of surgery has never been a success yet in my case, as the two females who died years ago were the only two I had spayed. So I'm not doing it with unreasonnable expectations and I don't see where in my post it shows I don't know the risks (it is clearly written in the first message). But now, I don't really have an option, so I prefer to let her have the surgery even if I don't like it.
 
Gwenie said:
This kind of surgery has never been a success yet in my case, as the two females who died years ago were the only two I had spayed. So I'm not doing it with unreasonnable expectations and I don't see where in my post it shows I don't know the risks (it is clearly written in the first message). But now, I don't really have an option, so I prefer to let her have the surgery even if I don't like it.
Click to expand...

I am glad that you have worked all that already out for yourself. Most people are coming on here wanting confirmation for their choice or any help to make their piggies live longer against the odds.

Personally, I can't remember a full spaying operation at that old age, and most certainly not a successful one. I know of a couple of boars being successfully neutered very late in life but not sows. I wish I had better news.

I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed for your girl, though.
 
The surgery was this morning. She woke up, is still tired, not eating by herself, not pooping. All normal things considering what she went through. She is a bit more alert than when the vet called me at the beginning of the afternoon.

Her temperature is normal again, so she was moved to a normal box this evening, after having spent her time since the surgery in a heated one (don't know the word in english).
She's taking well the syringe feeding the assistants are giving her and doesn't show any sign of decompensation after the surgery.

She's staying at the clinic for the time being, and they will monitor her closely.
I will know tomorrow if I can bring her back home or if the vet prefers to keep her another day.

So we still need to be cautious, but it is encouraging.
 
This sounds encouraging and I’m glad she’s taking the feed. All the best for a good recovery.
 
The vet called me this noon.
She started to eat a little bit alone (but the assistants are still syringe feeding her to complement what she eats alone) and has pooped a little.
They are keeping her another night because she is on antibiotics (she has an inflammation in her digestive system) and pain killers, and they wanted to let her have the antibiotics by IV for a bit longer.
I should be able to bring her back home tomorrow afternoon.
We still need to be careful for about ten days as there are risks of decompensation after the surgery, but for now she's on the right track.
 
Fingers crossed for a good recovery for her! She sounds like a very tough old girl! It's always scary to do surgery, especially with an older girl, but in this case I think this was your best gamble to buy her some more time with you.
 
I hope she does ok. You and the vets are doing your very best for her and she is clearly very loved by you. Fingers crossed.
 
She stayed at the vet. Her temperature dropped this afternoon and she was moving less.
They put her back on antibiotics and inside a heated box. I was able to spend some time with her and she accepted to eat some vegetables.
 
I’m glad you were able to see her and that she sounds comfortable and warm. You are doing all you can. It must be very hard.
 
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