Remy Medical

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Mon Dec 30, 2019 10:21 am


Remy, my sweet blind guinea pig, formed a pea-sized lump on her rump near her spine a few months ago. There’s been no symptoms at all, she will let you touch it with no reaction, still eats great, etc. During a checkup, the vet felt it, and said since it was smooth it would have to be an abscess or a tumor. After a fine needle aspiration, the vet said it was definitely not a tumor, must be an abscess, and prescribed two weeks of antibiotics. After two weeks there’s been no change. The vet now wants to sedate and drain it. Does anyone have any experience with this? I’ve never had one sedated. I am in the medical field, and I know humans with abscesses tend to have symptoms (pain, burning itch in the area etc). Is it odd that she had symptoms with her abscess?

Thank you!

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Dec 30, 2019 12:21 pm


What antibiotics were given? You might see if there's anything helpful here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/lumps.html

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Mon Dec 30, 2019 5:45 pm


She was given Bactrim for two weeks.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Dec 30, 2019 7:41 pm


That would have been my drug of choice for abscess. Does it seem hard, or is it soft and squishy? Does it seem to move around any when palpated?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Dec 30, 2019 8:29 pm


" After a fine needle aspiration, the vet said it was definitely not a tumor, must be an abscess..."

What did he find? Why decide not a tumor? Can you send a clear crisp photo?
Image

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Tue Dec 31, 2019 1:49 am


It’s hard and deep under the skin. I would take a picture, but from the surface you can’t really see it at all. All her hair is intact over it and it doesn’t protrude upward, you can just feel it when you run your finger down her back.

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Tue Dec 31, 2019 1:50 am


The vet never said what she actually saw, she just said that she put the liquid from the FNA under the microscope and believed it to be an abscess and was not worried about it being a tumor.

Lisa12

Post   » Tue Dec 31, 2019 5:43 am


Can I ask you (our formation is on the skin-it looks like not under), anyway, aint it true that liquid can come from tumor, too?

I ve read that chances that pig die under anesthesia is 5% cca, with dog is 0,17%..so thats bad.
I ve also read that pigs are the worst to be put under from all rodents cause of their nostrils and Airways(sorry my english is not pro so i hope you understand what i mean) and its the most likely pig Will stop breathing.

My pig for example have stuffed nose, but you can clean stuffed nose prior at least i think.

And I ve been also trying to find if pigs can die because of stress as *our-or whateve*vet said its extreamly stresfull -gas anasthesia;like they have it-i watched how they do it with rats and rabbits, its awful. IT doesnt look normal.. it made me sick. Even our dogs vets said this is .. a bit odd.:S

However some vets do it like they do it with dogs and cats(pills and gas), but as Lynx pointed out that is not considered the safest. If I understandits more risky and less stressful.

I guess at some point you have to say alright whatever, i ll take the risk. Or drained it without anasthesia as our vet failed(or open it he didnt even tell exectly what he was trying to do it was so lame at least for me.) Hope this helped you i found information on net from researches and statistics.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:22 am


GreysGuineaPigs -- that doesn't really scream "abscess" to me, just from what you describe, but I'll be interested to hear what the vet determines it to be. We had something similar (at least, from the description) that turned out to be scar tissue; presumably from an old war wound (this was a male, who apparently had a companion at one time before we adopted him).

Some sort of cyst would be another possibility.

As far as sedation, I would think that a light 'whiff' of isoflurane would be sufficient for something like this. You might clarify that with your vet prior to the procedure, though. Is he/she experienced with exotics? The risks of sedation increase with the amount of time the patient is under, but for something non-invasive like this, it should be fairly straight-forward and quick.

GPIG

Post   » Wed Jan 01, 2020 3:00 pm


What Sef wrote above sounds like common sense. If it's an abscess, should only need some very light anesthesia and not for long. I wouldn't dwell on the statistics too much. If it's something needed to better the health of your GP and you believe your vet is competent, it sounds doable. However, you do need to be sure your vet is competent.

There is a risk of course, but there is always risk with surgery, be it animal or person.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 01, 2020 7:17 pm


Since Lisa12 is in Slovenia, I think she is extra worried about veterinary practices.

Using a vet with lots of successful surgeries on small animals should minimize the potential for problems, although every surgery carries risks.

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Thu Jan 02, 2020 5:41 pm


Update: I took Remy for a second opinion at another exotics vet. That vet described the lump as soft, although it feels hard to me, she said that it was a lot softer than some she’s seen. She agreed cyst or abscess, and it would have to be removed. She said best case that it wouldn’t get smaller, worst case scenario it gets bigger and causes issues with the nerves near her spine. She recommended to have it removed and agreed with the other vet she should be put under light anesthesia, as the entire procedure should be no more than 30 min, typically around 15 minutes. The vet is doing it an hour before the clinic opens on Saturday to eliminate stress from barking, other animal smells, etc. Since she doesn’t typically do procedures/surgery on Fridays or Saturdays, there should be no other animals there that would be there from overnight observations either. Even better, the two vets have corresponded with each other per my request and agree on the proper anesthesia medications/doses...which makes me feel a little better that both agree on what would be proper anesthesia protocol for this procedure. I’ve hounded both vets to death, especially since I don’t have much experience with either of them personally, but luckily they’ve been very patient with me, as this is the first time I’ve had to have one of mine under anesthesia. I personally have seizures every time when I come out of anesthesia, so that probably does not help my anxiety surrounding putting Remy under either.

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