mammary tumor removal and anesthesia on senior guinea pig

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue May 05, 2020 8:26 pm


Sounds like a plan to me. I wouldn't want a vet who had done fewer than 10 surgeries on guinea pigs to operate on one of mine!

Buprenorphine really zonks a pig out. I'd want to know the pig was coming out of that fog before introducing a pain med in any quantity.

Luna1

Post   » Thu May 07, 2020 4:54 pm


Ok, here is an update from the second vet. She did an x-ray and said that the lungs look clear, heart looks good, waiting to get back results from bloodwork. If they look good, he is scheduled for surgery on wednesday (6 days from now). I hope his tumor won't grow too much by then :(

She only looks at exotics, and gave me more confidence. But, she said she doesn't prescribe antibiotics for after surgery, and I thought they all did that to prevent infections, or help fight them?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu May 07, 2020 5:27 pm


Not always. Antibiotics often cause guinea pigs to completely lose their appetites, at best, or develop pretty serious GI problems, at worst. I imagine she'll give you instructions, but the main thing you should do is keep follow the wound care instructions and keep his cage scrupulously clean.

What kind of bedding do you usually use?

Luna1

Post   » Thu May 07, 2020 6:23 pm


I told her not to give baytril for sure, since that one caused him pretty bad GI problems couple years ago. He used bactrim when he was 6 months old, and that one didn't cause any problems back then.

I use fleece with a towel under it, and soft paper bedding from small pet select (only on the kitchen part of his C&C cage). I was thinking of only using fleece/towel after surgery, and change it twice a day maybe? What do you recommend?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu May 07, 2020 6:48 pm


I think the fleece and towels would work fine as long as you do change them both. And I'd probably either put smaller pee pads wherever he pees and poops the most and change them more frequently. With no antibiotics on board, you don't want that incision line to get infected.

Bactrim wouldn't be a very good choice for something like this. It mainly treats anaerobic bacteria -- the ones the don't grow in the air. It's why it usually works well for bladder infections.

Luna1

Post   » Fri May 08, 2020 1:23 am


I also forgot to mention, I found a second much smaller mass above the first one (which is under his nipple), the doctor said she will probably remove the mammary gland. Do they usually just remove the tumor? Is this much more invasive to remove the whole gland?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri May 08, 2020 9:06 am


What your vet plans to do sounds reasonable. I don't think it will affect the surgery or healing process significantly.

Luna1

Post   » Tue May 12, 2020 11:32 am


Tomorrow is the day of the surgery...I am so nervous, and I hope this is the right decision. He seems so happy and healthy now, but the tumors do feel a bit bigger. I hope he makes it through this with all my heart...

I read the section about hand feeding and bought wheat grass, unflavored pedialyte, and also unsweetened all natural cranberry juice for making the critical care if he doesn't eat by himself after the surgery, and if he doesn't eat critical care with water. I have never given pedialyte or cranberry juice these to him before, should I be worried about giving them now? Also, do you dilute the cranberry juice?

Thank you for all your advice, I really appreciate having a forum like this.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue May 12, 2020 3:30 pm


My $.02 on cranberry juice. It's useless in a guinea pig. Their urine is naturally basic, and it would take a hell of a lot to push it over into acidic, which is the purpose of drinking cranberry juice.

I'd stick with the pedialyte. Most pigs love it.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue May 12, 2020 9:11 pm


You could dilute the unsweetened cranberry juice by 50% (one part water, one part juice) if you wanted to. It is likely pretty strong. You mentioned using it to mix critical care? That sounds interesting. I hope he likes it (not many guinea pigs get a chance to try some).

I hope the surgery goes well.

Luna1

Post   » Wed May 13, 2020 12:35 am


I was reading the section about hand feeding which had a link to this discussion:

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1412

That's why I got pedialyte and cranberry juice, in case I need to hand feed him, and he doesn't like critical care when mixed with water.

Thank you Lynx, I hope so too!

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed May 13, 2020 3:15 am


Definitely want to dilute it if it's the concentrated stuff. To help with Critical Care palatability, you can try warming it just a little in the microwave--no more than just a few seconds. Warming it seems to improve the taste and texture of it. Good luck!

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