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£185 for abscess treatment - gulp - might as well just hand my paypacket to the vets!

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Teejay

Teejay

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Hi all, I took one of my sows to the vets last night, as I noticed a pea-sized lump under her chin when I was giving her a chin-rub recently.

The vet managed to aspirate some pus, so, yep, definitely an abscess.

Cost for treatment last night was £38.46. That was for the consultation and for a short course of two antibiotics (Baytril and Flagyl).

However.....that wasn't the end of it......the vet recommended surgical removal of the abscess at a cost of......gulp.....££185....:{

I tried to persuade the vet that we should try antibiotics first (the short course of two antibiotics she was given last night are just to be taken for cover in the run-up to surgery), but she was adamant that it wouldn't be fair to cut into the abscess to drain it without anaesthetic (although another vet at the same practice did exactly that when Coco, another of my sows, had an abscess in the same place when we first got her).

So, can anyone beat that cost for abscess treatment? To be honest, that kind of money is hard to come by just after Xmas, but if we have to have it done, then we have to have it done!

Opinions very welcome, even if it's just to faint at the cost, like I almost did! LOL! Tracey x
 
Ouch, treated an abscess on my cats side recently the size of a golf ball, only cost £56 total, just kept taking the scab off till it had drained completely and began to heal, now she just had a tiny scar, that was just before Christmas. Probably different for piggies tho I don't know x
 
Paid my Dec- January vets bill on Friday:£186.80
Then picked up Yoshi's thyroid meds yesterday so add on another £30.36.
Vet wants to do an exploratory biopsy next which could set me back another couple of hundred quid with the labs etc. Oh, I don't want to think about it! :{
 
*faints*
wow, thats very pricey :...
Hope you find a better cheaper deal and that your piggie makes a good recovery! xx
 
Our vets are a good exotic vets and they really do put the extra effort in to figure out what's going on when a piggle has problems so they probably do earn it. Our last vets weren't small animal specialists and I wish I'd known about our current ones when Mr M was having problems, he'd probably still be around today 8... and I wouldn't have minded a big bill for that!
Luckily Yoshi's meds will last 6 months because he has to have such a teeny tiny dose ( 0.01 ml ) . The last blood test was pricey because he had to have a G.A, full blood test AND a seperate T4 test ( although they did get the results back the same day so at least you don't have to wait like you do on the NHS ).
 
i work in a vets and have seen much higher bills for abscesses...however it does seem expensive for something that was pea sized?
Also - cat and dog anaesthetics are less risky than in guinea pigs/rabbits etc..they require far more monitoring and often more nursing hence the difference in price !
 
wannabepiggymum said:
i work in a vets and have seen much higher bills for abscesses...however it does seem expensive for something that was pea sized?
Also - cat and dog anaesthetics are less risky than in guinea pigs/rabbits etc..they require far more monitoring and often more nursing hence the difference in price !
Click to expand...

I was wondering about the high price of G.A etc for piggles, the extra monitoring would explain it. Thanks.
 
Would it be worth considering alternatives like a course of zithromax; this is a strong antibacterial antibiotic that is especially good with nasty abscesses? It is not an antibiotic that should be given lightly, but it is well worth a thought if the alternative is an operation.
If your vet wants more information about zithromax, this vet here, Simon Maddock, has researched it and can be contacted by your vet: http://www.inorthamptonshire.co.uk/profile/457491/Northampton/Cat-and-Rabbit-Care-Clinic/

I don't want to panic you, but I lost one of my first piggies after an operation to remove a suddenly blown abscess on her neck - despite the operating vet (not a specialist, I hasten to add) being very confident that she'd got it all at the time, the infection went further into the body. :(
 
Thats a relatively average cost for that. I would say however that a pea sized abscess should resolve with antibiotics and shouldnt need surgical removal unless it isnt resolving or it is to do the a dental abscess. Jumping straight for surgery sounds a bit unecessary.

What vets do you go to?

x.
 
Ouch! It is expensive. I can't really compare dollars and cents because I'm in Canada and our currency is different, but I can tell you that having an abscess surgically removed from Linney's back cost me about $220 Canadian, and that didn't include the antibiotics or the earlier vet appointment to lance and drain it which was about $100 and failed to clear it up.
 
wow that's alot!

That's the thing, I didn't realise when I took on piggies that their vet bills are actually higher than my dog that's huge!
 
harold_the_pig said:
Ouch, treated an abscess on my cats side recently the size of a golf ball, only cost £56 total, just kept taking the scab off till it had drained completely and began to heal, now she just had a tiny scar, that was just before Christmas. Probably different for piggies tho I don't know x
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Hiya! Yes, very different for piggies; their pus is thicker so doesn't drain easily which means that they often come back again and again x
 
AndreaJane said:
Paid my Dec- January vets bill on Friday:£186.80
Then picked up Yoshi's thyroid meds yesterday so add on another £30.36.
Vet wants to do an exploratory biopsy next which could set me back another couple of hundred quid with the labs etc. Oh, I don't want to think about it! :{
Click to expand...

Yikes! What benefit would the biopsy be to Yoshi? Do you sometimes wonder whether vets just like to do unnecessary treatments to satisfy their own curiosity? I do wonder sometimes......
 
Not a bad cost, Harry was £200 all in for abscess related op. He got his removed surgically and it was the end to months of reoccurring infection and antibiotics which meant he was miserable and loosing weight. Two post op and he was a different pig.
I know every pig is different but my vet told me th same lancing and draining required anasthetic so we might as well go in and remove the bugger and wave goodbye once and for all.
 
Wiebke said:
Would it be worth considering alternatives like a course of zithromax; this is a strong antibacterial antibiotic that is especially good with nasty abscesses? It is not an antibiotic that should be given lightly, but it is well worth a thought if the alternative is an operation.
If your vet wants more information about zithromax, this vet here, Simon Maddock, has researched it and can be contacted by your vet: http://www.inorthamptonshire.co.uk/profile/457491/Northampton/Cat-and-Rabbit-Care-Clinic/

I don't want to panic you, but I lost one of my first piggies after an operation to remove a suddenly blown abscess on her neck - despite the operating vet (not a specialist, I hasten to add) being very confident that she'd got it all at the time, the infection went further into the body. :(
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Wiebke; food for thought. I did feel really uncomfortable in the vets last night....I felt very 'put on the spot', and the vet kind of forced me to book the appointment for the operation there and then, even before I'd left the consulting room.

I specifically asked if there was an alternative, but the vet was adamant that any other course of treatment wouldn't be fair for Popsy. Of course I don't want one of my precious piggies to go through any more discomfort than needs be, and I know that cutting through the skin to the abscess would no doubt be very painful, but surely the abscess can be excised under a local anaesthetic and then treated with antibiotics?

I've just been chatting to a boarding customer, and she's recommended that I seek the advice of a local well-respected rodentologist (Paul Johnson, does anyone know him?). She's been to him in the past for dental guinea pigs and rabbits, and she recommended him highly. Apparently he worked closely with Peter Gurney and also works closely with Venda (?) at the Cambridge Cavy Trust.

The vet I saw last night is an 'exotics' specialist, and I do trust her and respect her opinion, but I did feel that she was a little bit too quick to jump to the scalpel option rather than try somethin more conservative in the first instance.

Tracey x
 
Yep I'd definitely go to the rodentologist to see what his opinion is before going for the surgery just for a second opinion. Hope Popsy feels better soon x
 
Abi_nurse said:
Thats a relatively average cost for that. I would say however that a pea sized abscess should resolve with antibiotics and shouldnt need surgical removal unless it isnt resolving or it is to do the a dental abscess. Jumping straight for surgery sounds a bit unecessary.

What vets do you go to?

x.
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That's my thinking too.....I use Manor Vets in Birmingham and I se Marie Kovac, who's the exotics specialist there. x
 
PiggiePal said:
Yep I'd definitely go to the rodentologist to see what his opinion is before going for the surgery just for a second opinion. Hope Popsy feels better soon x
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Yeah, I've pretty much decided to call him tomorrow with the hope of getting to see him over the weekend, and then I'll postpone the op til early next week (it's currently booked in for Friday).

I don't think postponing the op for a couple of days will cause any harm, especially bearing in mind she's already on antibiotics so the abscess is being 'treated' to some extent. Popsy certainly doesn't seem to be in any pain, I can prod and poke around the abscess and she's not in the slightest bit bothered (she actually seems to enjoy the chin rub!) and she's eating, drinking and behaving completely normally.

Tracey x
 
I was quoted £88 to remove an abscess - they wouldn't even try anti-biotics they just wanted to go right in an operate - i did ask about zithromax and was dismissed flat out - they wouldn't even discuss the possibility of using it.

i went elsewhere and my girl was put on 3wks worth of baytril - she was given the all clear just before xmas and the abscess hasn't returned yet (fingers crossed it doesn't)

My girl had what felt like an abscess on top of an abscess (it felt like two lumps joined together) and this was situated where your voice box would be - so would have been very painful to try and 'open-up' without some form of anaesthetic.

One of my boys had an abscess about 9months ago on his back and they just opened it up while i watched on - they drained it and it's never returned and i never needed any anti-biotics for it.

I would certainly want to try some anti-biotics first and then weigh up the options if it didn't improve....
 
Not sure what the total for Cameo's abscess treatment was... it got added in with the £2000 grand total!
 
Sodapops said:
I was quoted £88 to remove an abscess - they wouldn't even try anti-biotics they just wanted to go right in an operate - i did ask about zithromax and was dismissed flat out - they wouldn't even discuss the possibility of using it.

i went elsewhere and my girl was put on 3wks worth of baytril - she was given the all clear just before xmas and the abscess hasn't returned yet (fingers crossed it doesn't)

My girl had what felt like an abscess on top of an abscess (it felt like two lumps joined together) and this was situated where your voice box would be - so would have been very painful to try and 'open-up' without some form of anaesthetic.

One of my boys had an abscess about 9months ago on his back and they just opened it up while i watched on - they drained it and it's never returned and i never needed any anti-biotics for it.

I would certainly want to try some anti-biotics first and then weigh up the options if it didn't improve....
Click to expand...

Coco had three abscesses in her neck when we first bought her, one on top of the other. In fact, it was only after the first abscess was treated and cleared up that we noticed there were two more lurking beneath the larger one. Those abscesses were treated by lancing and antibiotics (i think she had two back-to-back courses of Baytril in the end), and the bill only came to £70-odd (which the pet shop paid).

Like I've already said, though, if Popsy needs to have an operation, then she;ll have an operation, no matter how much it costs, but there's something that's bothering me about jumping straight to the surgical option, which is definitely the most risky (despite the vets protestations that there is very little risk with giving guinea pigs anaesthetic rolleyes)

Tracey x
 
that's precisely the reason i went elsewhere - i felt a little odd about jumping straight in with an op and not trying anything else first. Obviously I'm like you, if they need it done then by all means regardless of cost - i just felt un-easy, although that could have been down to the fact that my boys abscess was treated very easily and quickly and so i assumed they would deal with my girls abscess in the same manor ")

it's worth getting a second opinion if you feel un-easy about it - if they come to the same conclusion then at least you know it's the best course of action to take :)
 
Teejay said:
I feel a bit embarassed about grumbling about £185! What was the £2000 bill for? Blimey...:...

x
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I got her spayed. They found a lump whilst doing the op, so that was removed and sent off for analysis. Removing the lump meant that she had a prolonged anaesthetic, which she didn't come round well from. She was at the vets for 3 days/2 nights recovering. When she came home, she wasn't eating but I was syringe feeding her. She then started passing bloody urine, so back to the vets. She was put on antibiotics which wreaked havoc with her GI tract, she didn't eat on her own for 3 weeks and was backwards and forwards to the vets for treatment, urine samples, xrays to rule out bladder stones, having her teeth filed (spikes growing where she wasn't eating), hospitalisation a few days/nights a week so that I could go to uni, sleep(!) etc. After the UTI/cystitis cleared up, she then got an abscess under her spay wound - more antibiotics, more problems eating, more time hospitalised etc.

The good news is that she's absolutely fine now!
 
Hi everyone
I'm slightly alarmed at the direction this thread is taking and I think I need to put something up for people that come and read this in future who might get the wrong end of the stick


Firstly I do know Paul and he a great rodentologist - as such he can deal with dental examinations and skin conditions BUT he is NOT a qualified vet.

Only a qualified vet can
a) prescribe antibiotics and other prescription only medicines
b) perform any type of invasive surgery on an animal.

I think it is also worth mentioning that your current vet features in my Top 10 UK cavy savvy vets and she is the one I recommend to anyone in the West Midlands

Secondly - the way an abcess is treated will depend upon the location of the abcess and whether it has casified (hardened) or can be drained. This will also determine whether a whiff of gas is needed to drain it or it is done without. An abcess near the throat area is high risk compared to on the back/flank (ie guinea will be put under) and also could be indicative of cervical lymphadenitis and therefore removal might be a better option than trying to treat with antibiotics. (I have had an outbreak in my pigs of cervical lymphadenitis and there is only one sure fire way to stop it spreading/cure the guinea pig and that is to surgically remove the infected area and treat with antibiotics)

Thirdly - the only licensed antibiotic for guinea pigs is baytril. Vets have some leeway by prescribing other meds under the cascade system which is complicated and I wont go into it here- however they have to be seen to be doing this properly. I know we have had good result with zithromax here on the forum but it is way down the choice of anitbiotics on the cascade system for guinea pigs (oral septrin followed by penicillin injections - yes penicillin injections - come higher up the list) and consequently many vets wont take the risk of going straight to zithromax from baytril.



I can completely understand why you would want a second opinion - I often seek a second opinion regarding my pigs. However if you want a second opinion (and price) on the relevance of the surgical option - I think you would be better going to see Simon Maddock at Cat and Rabbit in Dunston Northampton who is very reasonably priced and also very happy to prescribe zithromax. I honestly don;t see how a rodentologist can help you in this case.

HTH
x
 
I agree with the last post each vet has different reasons for operating or not. Harrys was a neutering complication and in an area that surgery gave much much better chances of success. I trust my vet hugely and he is very cavvy savvy. Harry also was given the opportunity on antibiotics but the absess only got bigger. He was also on two kinds, baytril and flagyl. For both aneorobic and aerobic bugs.
Please get a second vets opinion if your uncomfortable with her advice. I will say though piggies are very very good at hiding illness, I thought Harry was ok pre op but after he recovered he was a different pig, so try not to delay whatever root you choose to go down.
 
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