Violet's medical thread

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bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Jan 07, 2016 6:57 pm


If you've got any pedialyte, most pigs will willingly drink that from a syringe.

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Zaphy

Post   » Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:47 pm


I don't, but I do have Critical Care which she seems to really like. Do you think it would be as effective as Pedialyte for hydration if I watered it down a lot?

edit: small update, she just scratched her shoulder and then wheeked when she heard me cut a bit more pepper. When I brought it over she stood up on her hind legs for it like normal! Small things, and I know she's still likely to get worse in the next day or two before she gets better, but it makes me feel better when I see bits of her personality/normal pig behavior break through the perpetual thousand yard piggy stare.
Last edited by Zaphy on Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:58 pm


Yeah, anything that gets fluids in her will work.

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Zaphy

Post   » Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:26 pm


That definitely did the trick haha, she sucked down about 13 ccs of watery Critical Care just now greedily. I do have a question: should I keep feeding it to her till she loses interest, or would it be better to space it out to a certain amount every couple hours or so?

Also, she just pooped and peed for the first time since coming into the house(she did a little of both on the way home in her carrier)! Woohoo! It is normal for the poops to be irregularly shaped at first, right?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:50 pm


Feed her as much as she''ll take whenever she's eating it. If you can get 100 cc per day in her, that would be great.

And yes, it's normal for the poop to be an odd shape until she gets back on her regular diet.

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Zaphy

Post   » Fri Jan 08, 2016 7:04 pm


Does this swelling look abnormal? Here's two images of Violet yesterday a few hours after she came home:
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and here are two from this afternoon (about 24h after the last pictures):
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and if it helps, a profile angle from this afternoon as well:
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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jan 08, 2016 8:47 pm


Have you considered calling your vet and asking him over the phone if it would be normal to have some swelling post surgery?

He is such a cute pig! Let me know if you'd like your pics added permanently to this thread for future readers.

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Zaphy

Post   » Sat Jan 09, 2016 2:47 am


I did end up calling actually, and made an appointment for tomorrow. They didn't say if swelling was expected or not. :/ Golly I hope I'm doing everything right.

You are welcome to add the photos permanently if you feel up to it!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Jan 09, 2016 8:28 am


I'm thinking some swelling would be normal. I imagine your vet will be looking closely to monitor for any signs of infection. Sometimes a wound is left open to be flushed daily with a warm saline solution to allow an infection to heal from the inside out. If the pocket of infection is removed surgically in its entirety, it may be sutured.

Let us know how things go!

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Zaphy

Post   » Sat Jan 09, 2016 3:56 pm


Just got back from the appointment. The swelling was an abnormal amount, so they whisked her off for another surgery to put in a drain. Man I hope everything goes okay.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Jan 09, 2016 5:43 pm


Frequently drains are put in that one is supposed to use to flush an open wound. It helps keep things clear and allows healing from the inside out. I expect because there is a drain, it is now not totally a sterile situation and hope your vet is having you flush the wound. It is generally done with a curved tip syringe and warm sterile saline solution (like what you would use on contact lenses - you can get it from a drug store).

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Zaphy

Post   » Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:37 am


Violet is back from the vet! She... is in a lot of pain. The vet gave me permission to up her painkiller dose a little, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be doing the trick. So I'm just making sure to push Critical Care and water, I've been wetting down her lettuce and pepper, which she is still as enthusiastic about eating as she can be, to try to give her a bit more hydration. Her weight has gone down today, from around 990g yesterday to sticking pretty consistently around 950g today. She's still making an effort to eat her hay, but I can tell she's not able to eat quite as much.

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The vet told me to massage the drain area with a clean warm compress 5 times daily to keep stuff moving out. Will that accomplish the same thing as flushing it with a syringe? It wasn't till the vet had moved on to his next appointment that I remembered to ask about flushing, and the tech that was there just kind of shrugged her shoulders about it. I'm worried that it won't be as effective.

If I should be flushing the wound, is this the proper technique for doing so in this video?

Also... thank you all so, so much for all the help and advice you've been giving me. I don't remember if I've said so, but these pigs are my first pets, and this is the first time I've had to care for a pet post-op. I am so, so, so terrified that I'm going to accidentally kill her by doing the wrong thing or neglecting to do the right thing. I feel a lot better about making a decision after I've had a chance to hear your opinions about the situation. Thank you so much for being willing to listen to me and share your experience with me.

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