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Surgical removal of abscess

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Freela

Freela

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My pig Linney had an abscess on her lower back, above the grease gland. The abscess was lanced about two weeks ago and she was put on an antibiotic. As of today, the abscess still has not resolved and since the layer of skin over top of it scabbed up and fell off, we can actually see the encapsulated abscess under the skin. The vet thinks that the best option is to put her under a general anasthesia and quickly remove the entire encapsulated abscess, then stitch the skin over it again to close it up. I agree this is probably the best course of action, since lancing/draining plus two week of antibiotics still have not cleared it up. However, I'm obviously nervous about her having a general anasthetic, and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what the recovery is like (ie. what signs of complications or problems should I look for when she comes home?) I have to drop her off tomorrow morning... I'm a bundle of nerves, especially since we lost one of our other piggies last month due to septicaemia related to an abscess in the bone of the jaw. Any advice or experience to share?
 
We discovered an abscess on our boy last night (which burst within an hour :( ) The emergency vet we saw advised us that Boris may need the same treatment as Linney if antibiotics don't clear it up

I have no experience of anasthesia but send very best wishes to Linney for a safe operation and a quick recovery xx
 
Hi

Was the abscess drained and flushed daily or did the vet just lance it and leave to the AB. The encapsulated abscess should have been removed the first time, just sticking a pin in it and hoping for the best seldom works first time.

Regards

SGP
 
Yes, the first time it was lanced and drained and then I flushed it two or three times a day with sterile saline and kept squeezing it. She's had a couple of follow ups and the vet said that if the lancing/cleaning/antibiotics were going to work they would see more improvement by this point. It was a pretty large abscess and I'm wondering if there were multiple pockets in it.
 
Sorry to hear that Linney is poorly and needs an op.

Hopefully someone with more experience can help you more (I'm afraid don't have any experience of post-op care).....but from what I've read on here, it's very important to keep piggy warm and ensure that they start eating as soon as possible, to keep them hydrated and keep their digestive system going with as little disruption as possible.

If I were you I'd take some of Linney's favourite veg and food along with her, asking that they let her have it afterwards. I'd also check with the Vet that they'll be syringe feeding her, from straight after the op. Not sure which products you have in Canada but they should have some special recovery foods like Critical Care or Science Recovery, specifically to feed post-op. If you don't already have some at home, make sure you ask the Vet to give you some to take with you, when you collect her, in case her appetite doesn't return straight away and syringe feeding is necessary (as is often the case).

If Linney doesn't usually live indoors then I'd definitely bring her inside to recuperate. Whilst caring for a post-op piggy, some people choose to keep piggy on their own, sometimes in a smaller than usual cage, so you can enforce rest. If she usually lives with other pigs, perhaps let her have some companions next door, so she can still communicate with them and be comforted by that, whilst staying away from the hustle and bustle. I guess it depends on how she's feeling (and acting) when she comes home and how big her wound is. She may well be up and about as usual straight away - I hope so!

What type of bedding do you usually use? If you don't already, I'd use fleece until she's better, changing it regularly.

Hope all goes well and she's better soon x
 
I agree with what Missy has said re. post op care, especially regarding the feeding. She should be eating fairly quickly after the surgery, along the lines of minutes rather than hours, so if she's not interested in food by the time she comes home, I would syringe feed sooner rather than later. The sooner she regains her strength, the sooner she will start to pick up and get back to normal; sometimes it just takes a little bit of a boost with syringe-feeding to get them back on their feet.

Pain relief may help in the first few days, especially if her appetite is low.

Good luck, update us and and when you can. :)
 
Thanks everyone! She is at the vet's right now, I am supposed to pick her up in an hour or so. I'm assuming that the surgery must be done by now and since they only call if something goes badly she must have made it through so far. The vet did request that I send her some food so they can coax her to eat post-op, so I sent a bowl of pellets and a big plastic bag of timothy hay for her. If she is not eating normally by dinnertime I will hand feed her just so that she doesn't lose weight or get in poor condition... I'm hoping I won't need to because she is generally a very good eater! Fingers crossed that all goes well... we love our Linney, she is the sweetest piggy!
 
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