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general anaesthetic for abcess

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FriendlyFox

One of my guineas has an abcess on the side of her face. I took her to the vet and she tried to examine her teeth, but couldn't see them as they were covered in food. Then she tried to put a needle in the abcess but couldn't because she was squealing and wriggling about. I have to take her again tomorrow and they will try again without anaesthetic but if not, they will give her some gas to make it easier to examine her and lance the abcess.

Do you think it's ok to give a general in these circumstances or should I insist they don't? The vet knows I'm not keen so they will try and do it without. I'm not sure I have a lot of choice? What do you think?

Thanks
 
I'm not 100% certain but I think gas is a safer option than anesthetic. I think there is a quicker recovery time. There are many people on this forum who had had piggies with abscesses so I'm so they will be able to help you more than me. With regards to checking a piggie's teeth this can be done without anesthetic using buccal pads.
 
abcesses

never had abcess trouble but hopefully these links are helpful to you
http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=136
http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/abcess.htm
on the peter gurney site it saids to wrap piggy into a towel and have its back against you to examine abcesses and teeth. hoping this has helped.
please keep us posted on how she goes.
and welcome to the frorums from me and the girls from oz:rose:rose sending hugs and healing vibes your wayxx>>>xx>>>
 
Thanks for the links and vibes! I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully piggy will be fine...
 
rw3399 said:
I'm not 100% certain but I think gas is a safer option than anesthetic. I think there is a quicker recovery time. There are many people on this forum who had had piggies with abscesses so I'm so they will be able to help you more than me. With regards to checking a piggie's teeth this can be done without anesthetic using buccal pads.
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Gas IS aneasthetic!.
 
FriendlyFox said:
One of my guineas has an abcess on the side of her face. I took her to the vet and she tried to examine her teeth, but couldn't see them as they were covered in food. Then she tried to put a needle in the abcess but couldn't because she was squealing and wriggling about. I have to take her again tomorrow and they will try again without anaesthetic but if not, they will give her some gas to make it easier to examine her and lance the abcess.

Do you think it's ok to give a general in these circumstances or should I insist they don't? The vet knows I'm not keen so they will try and do it without. I'm not sure I have a lot of choice? What do you think?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Try and find a vet that knows more about gps.Abcess cannot and must not be drained with a needle.It needs to be lanced with a scalpel blade,and drained.There is no need for aneasthetic.You will have to keep the wound open for a few days to allow any remaining pus to drain,and you will need to backflush with warm salt water or Hibiscrub,2 or 3 times a day.
 
gas is a lot safer! if your piggy has a bad reaction to inject-able anesthetic then there is no going back! with gas you just take the mask off
 
That's what I got confused about, like when humans can be injected anesthetic for ops or have gas. I don't really know much about it when it comes to animals - that's why I got confused.
 
I had 5 abscesses taken out on my guinea pig. Three he was completely out for under general anesthesia. I only trusted an exotics vet who specializes in only small furry critters (and a few others!) She was wonderful and didn't bat an eye about putting him under. I would only trust an experienced vet who only treats exotics. Two were actually surgeries so he had to be out. The others were lanced and he had to be sedated because he wouldn't stop kicking and screaming! He came through it all fine. You have to trust that your vet knows what he/she's doing. Good luck and keep us informed!
 
Thanks all for the advice...it turns out piggie probably doesn't have an abscess so I didn't have to make a decision about surgery after all!
But they still don't know whats wrong. They didn't get any puss out when they put a needle in, only blood. They thought it could be a haematoma (bruising/blood filled sack) but they couldn't draw much blood off and it was quite thick.
So I have to give painkillers and antibiotic and see if the swelling goes down. If not, she might still need to be opened up to see what it is...fear it may be a tumour :(
 
Just to clear up the gas/ GA thing....

Humans believe they are injected with anaesthetic, but they are injected only with a cocktail of drugs to enable an intubation to take place. Anaesthetic gases are then used through the tube to keep the patient unconscious. Humans only feel the needle but, unless we are talking LA here, they will always be intubated to allow the gas in.

The best gas for pigs is Isoflurane or Sevoflurane - both of which are used for humans.
 
I was confused because when I had my last operation they knocked me out with gas from a mask because they could not get the needle in. I have seen with programmes on tv when some animals have a mask over their face for a few seconds/minutes to knock them out and I wasn't sure if that was the same for piggies. Thanks for that Lindsay - very helpful for me and I'm sure plenty of other people (and their piggies).
 
Humans believe they are injected with anaesthetic, but they are injected only with a cocktail of drugs to enable an intubation to take place. Anaesthetic gases are then used through the tube to keep the patient unconscious.
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About anaesthetics..just for accuracy..when they put a needle in to anaesthetise people, it is an anaesthetic they inject (usually propofol), which works very quickly, and then they usually keep the person anaesthetised using an inhaled gas. Or they can sometimes use a gas to put people to sleep,and keep them asleep, if they can't use the injection for some reason. (sorry to be picky, I'm a pharmacist!)
 
Propofol and Midazolam often! And they are very nice!

Inhalation inductions are still used for kids often as they are not so co-operative and their hands are chubby, so finding a vein can be tricky. Adults also can have inhalation inductions in some circumstances.

I'm fussy on this one too - I worked in anaesthetic dept for four years.
 
I'm taking my guinea to the vet tomorrow for a check-up. I think the lump is likely to be a tumour as it hasn't gone down at all with 4 days of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory...so don't think it's an abscess, also I don't think it's painful.
Has anyone had a guinea with a tumour on the face? Is it possible to remove it or would it be best just to leave it alone? She seems her normal self and eating and drinking fine.
 
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