Hobbes' Medical Thread

CalvinandHobbes

Post   » Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:37 pm


I just found out my guinea pig Hobbes has a bladder stone. He is almost 5 years old, and has been very healthy aside from this. It started off with a UTI, but after two days of antibiotics with no improvement I took him back in and did x-rays and sure enough there it was. I'm torn about what to do...my options are essentially surgery or euthanasia.

The surgery is about $1,000 including before and after care where I live. I've been reading a lot about bladder stones, and it seems like they reoccur pretty often after surgery - sometimes very quickly. I want to do this for him. It will be tough on me financially but I can make it work. But I'm hesitant to move forward with it if it's likely they will reoccur. I can't afford to keep putting him through surgery, and for his sake I don't think I'd want to.

They wouldn't be able to perform the surgery until Monday. He's pretty miserable and isn't eating or drinking on his own, so I'm syringe feeding him Critical Care and continuing to give his pain meds and antibiotics. So far I'm keeping his weight up. Any advice would be appreciated.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:45 pm


That sounds expensive to me. And I question the before and after care. I've just taken my pigs in, waited while they had surgery, and then took them home. Nothing before or after, especially before. Is there another exotic vet near you?

CalvinandHobbes

Post   » Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:59 pm


From what I understand they meant x-rays and medicine as far as before and after care, although I haven't seen an itemized quote yet. I will definitely look at that before moving forward. I live in Denver, vet care is really expensive here. There aren't a lot of other experienced exotic vets, and typically the vet I go to is on the less expensive side, but I'll check around and see if I can get a few more quotes.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Dec 24, 2020 2:41 pm


Planned Pethood has an exotic vet on staff.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:08 pm


Did they give you any pain meds? I am sorry you are in this situation. If he is in pain, waiting could be problematic. I trust you will monitor closely and also ensure he is able to pee alright. A blockage would be the biggest danger.

I am hoping for the best for you both. The holidays is a hard time to have medical problems for both pets and humans.

CalvinandHobbes

Post   » Sat Dec 26, 2020 5:26 pm


Yes, they gave me pain meds and antibiotics which I have been using. They do seem to be helping now, he's starting to eat a bit on his own and seems to be in less pain. So far, no sign of blockage. I called Planned Pethood on Thursday but they denied me, said they have no availability for surgery.

I'm nervous to move forward with surgery; several owners have told me they regretted it as it was traumatic for their guinea pig and they ended up having more stones a short time later. Does anyone have any idea what the likelihood of recurrence is? I've done some research but most sources just say recurrence is likely and that within 1-2 years most guinea pigs will develop stones again.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Dec 26, 2020 7:34 pm


I wish we could tell the future. Our decisions would be so much easier.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Sun Dec 27, 2020 1:11 pm


We've had 2 pigs die from surgery for a stone blockage, one from the surgery, one from later complications (Lucy & Brownie). We've had 3 other pigs who had stone surgery (Pepper, Carly & Grace). Pepper & Carly each had a stone that was too large to pass. Grace had one stuck in the urethra which they were able to extract with an instrument - not much in the way of recovery.

After that, each pig's vet approached the problem of recurrent stones in different ways, all aimed at getting stones to pass before they got too large. You can read through those 3 pigs' emergency threads to see what was done.

In summary, one was given diazepam to relax the urethra, another was given a diuretic to encourage drinking/water intake, and Pepper was given sub-ques to increase her fluids. She didn't have much longer to live at this point because of a tumor obstructing her esophagus. Carly had multiples masses in her abdomen. Grace had stasis and an elongated root that was slow to be diagnosed.

So the last three died of something unrelated to stones.

CalvinandHobbes

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:37 pm


Thank you for the feedback and advice. A quick update on Hobbes: After looking around a bit, I found another exotic vet recommended by a few guinea pig owners in the area. They quoted me $580 - $800, which was quite a bit lower than the first place I went to, and the vet seemed very knowledgeable when I brought Hobbes in for an exam.

He had the surgery today. Everything went well; I brought him home about an hour ago. He's groggy but otherwise doing well. The vet prescribed pain meds, but no antibiotics. Is this unusual? I asked them about it when I picked up Hobbes, but they said he didn't need any. I know antibiotics are typically prescribed after surgeries for cats and dogs, but wasn't sure if it was different for guinea pigs so I didn't question it further.

He's also been prescribed hydrochlorothiazide (a diuretic) and potassium citrate to try and reduce the risk of recurrence. Hopefully he continues to recover well and we don't have to deal with any more bladder stones for a while.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2021 9:51 pm


I don't know how unusual it is to not have antibiotics prescribed to a guinea pig after a surgery. Presumably there was no infection involved with the stones, and the surgery should have been done under sterile conditions. But people aren't always prescribed A/Bs after surgery, so perhaps it's not that uncommon.

One problem with recovery after surgery can be the antibiotics themselves. They cause gut disturbances in many pigs. And the combination of moving less after the surgery plus GI problems can make recovery really rocky for a lot of pigs.

What I'd do is keep the cage scrupulously clean so the incision site can get infected from the poop and urine, and watch the pig like a hawk. If he seems to feel ill, or is acting abnormally, get him back to the vet ASAP.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2021 9:55 pm


(I was writing this as bpatters posted) Surgeries ideally are clean, aseptic procedures. I recall a doctor who did my gallbladder surgery saying antibiotics were not needed. So ideally all went well and there is nothing to get infected. Some vets err on the side of safety and prescribe them. A neuter is a site that can be more easily contaminated and it seems to me more vets will prescribe antibiotics for neuters. Where was the incision made?

It is very important to read Talishan's advice on managing pain and post operative care. Some of her advice is on the page below with a link to more complete info.
https://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html

What were your post op instructions? Are you to start the hydrochlorothiazide and potassium citrate soon or wait until he's recovered?

CalvinandHobbes

Post   » Sat Jan 16, 2021 12:19 am


Okay, that makes sense. My only concern was that he did have a UTI leading up to the surgery. The UTI was initially diagnosed a couple weeks ago, which was a few days before they did x-rays and found the bladder stone. The first vet I went to prescribed a 10-day course of Baytril, which Hobbes finished, but a few days after the antibiotics stopped he started showing the same signs of pain and blood in his urine. It got fairly bad in the days leading up to the surgery. But maybe that was just due to the bladder stone itself and not the infection?

Thank you, Lynx. I read some of Talishan's advice a few weeks ago while considering surgery, but it was good to reread the whole thing. In answer to your questions: The incision is on his lower abdomen. The vet had me start the hydrochlorothiazide and potassium citrate a few days before the surgery. Post-op she prescribed meloxicam and gabapentin for pain, with similar instructions on feeding, keeping the cage clean and monitoring the incision site. He's been eating well so far; I did supplement with some critical care tonight. I have the next three days off work and plan to monitor him closely.

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