Mammary Tumour Removal

[Dilly's Piggies]

My 5 year old sow is having a lump removed from just underneath her right nipple this coming Wednesday, it is diagnosed as a mammary tumour. The exact name of this lump is not yet known, it will be tested after being removed to see if it's malignant or benign. I'm absolutely terrified of her going in for surgery, since I've had a piggy die before when she went in for malocclusion surgery, but she had a heart attack/seizures before she was even anesthetized, she panicked, it was completely unnecessary and traumatic for her and myself, I now have huge anxiety with handing my piggies over to the vets. They are exotic animal trained vets and they have operated on many Guinea Pigs, but I still don't trust them after losing my other girl, I know this kind of thing can't be helped and it's unpredictable but I can't help the lack of trust I have, I just hope they are kind and gentle with my piggies when I leave the building. This time I have insisted that one of her cage mates go with her, I have 6 sows but she is closest with my 2nd eldest, 1 year old Willow, so Willow will go with her for the entire day for moral support and companionship. I will be packing them a little survival kit, with some pellets, hay and their favourite veggies from home, plus a blanket with the home smell on it and a snuggy bed to hide in, I just hope my effort and precaution will be enough to make recovery easy and straightforward for her. I love this girl more than words can describe and I've had her since she was young, she means so much to me and I really don't want anything to go wrong.

So please does anyone have any advice for me regarding this and any suggestions for aftercare, when she comes home, what sort of things can I do for her to make her as comfortable as possible and help her recovery go well? I hope she will come home to me alive and happy.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Can I ask whereabouts the vet is that you are using? You don't need to name them She will need to be kept in a warm indoor environment afterwards, sectioned off if possible from any cagemate so you can monitor wees/poos but so she can still see them. Usually I reunite them the next day. Are you ok with syringe feeding? It's best to start as soon as she comes home

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Can I ask whereabouts the vet is that you are using? You don't need to name them She will need to be kept in a warm indoor environment afterwards, sectioned off if possible from any cagemate so you can monitor wees/poos but so she can still see them. Usually I reunite them the next day. Are you ok with syringe feeding? It's best to start as soon as she comes home

Thank you for your very fast response...

It's close to Lincoln central, the closest vet to me, they mostly see cats and dogs but they do have exotic specialist vets there that tend to the small animals and other species, the vet I saw today was an exotic vet and it was he who diagnosed the mammary tumor, and I presume it will be him also performing the surgery, however I'm not 100% sure, I hope it will be him though as he seemed very knowledgeable and experienced, plus my piggies liked him.

All of my piggies are kept indoors anyway, in a large C&C cage, so I can easily partition it, I was going to do this anyway as I'm sure Cookie will want her space to rest and recuperate after the stress of surgery, she will be tired, plus there are 4 10 week old babies in the cage that will drive her crazy and possibly pull at her stitches/wound which nobody wants. I will be asking for a sachet of critical care from the vet just incase she will go off her food, I'm completely okay and experienced with hand feeding so that's not an issue. I will tweak the heating up a little bit more, I won't want her to overheat though, so I will provide her with a heat pad or hot water bottle to keep her warm in her snuggy bed.

So I should feed her critical care as soon as she gets home even if she's eating by herself? I've heard piggies can drop weight after surgery so some extra nutrition and calories from hand feeding won't hurt, right?

 

[Poppy'sMum]

That all sounds fine, yes I would also give her critical care for a few days afterwards until she starts eating a lot more by herself. Weigh her daily at the same time. Your vet should give you antibiotics, preferably Marbocyl or Zithromax afterwards & gut motility meds such as Emeprid & Zantac & most importantly pain relief like Metacam. I would also ask for Tramodol, I have found this very effective pain relief & it can be given alongside the Metacam & you can alternate the doses so she will be comfortable 24 hours a day Monitor her poop output closely as that will tell you if her guts have slowed down at all. I would ring & check he will be doing the surgery, if he's an Exotics specialist then he will prescribe all of the above without any problems, normal vets will stick to Baytril & low doses of pain relief, but this is a major op that requires good pain relief or she will stop eating very quickly. I would syringe feed during the night for the first one or two nights, that way you can also keep an eye on her too

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

That all sounds fine, yes I would also give her critical care for a few days afterwards until she starts eating a lot more by herself. Weigh her daily at the same time. Your vet should give you antibiotics, preferably Marbocyl or Zithromax afterwards & gut motility meds such as Emeprid & Zantac & most importantly pain relief like Metacam. I would also ask for Tramodol, I have found this very effective pain relief & it can be given alongside the Metacam & you can alternate the doses so she will be comfortable 24 hours a day Monitor her poop output closely as that will tell you if her guts have slowed down at all. I would ring & check he will be doing the surgery, if he's an Exotics specialist then he will prescribe all of the above without any problems, normal vets will stick to Baytril & low doses of pain relief, but this is a major op that requires good pain relief or she will stop eating very quickly. I would syringe feed during the night for the first one or two nights, that way you can also keep an eye on her too

Yeah I'm just reading on guinealynx about post operative care, it says to ask for a tonne of stuff basically and I'm a bit confused on what exactly I should ask for lol. From what I understand, I should ask for critical care, tramadol as a narcotic, reglan for gut motility, metacam as an NSAID and bactrim or baytril for infection prevention purposes, is this correct?

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Baytril is the antibiotic most likely to cause issues, it tastes foul as well, so preferably Marbocyl, Zithromax or Septrin if you can

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! It is always even more of a leap of faith if a guinea pig has to have an operation after you lost one.

What you can do for post-op care is:
- bring your piggy inside, so you can check on her at least once during the first night. Many exotics clinics are now increasingly keeping animals in overnight if the recovery is not optimal until they have stabilised. If she is not in a good way and not eating, have her next to your bed at night, so it is easier for to check up on her and to syringe feed if that is necessay.
- keep her warm (but not hot!) and comfy on a light fleece or towels that you can change daily for the first 2-3 days; it helps you spot any potential bleeding quickly.
- please have everything ready to step in with syringe feeding if necessary. You can find tips for how often/how much to feed in our detailed guide. Weigh daily at the same time in the feeding cycle to keep an eye on the food intake.
- ask how soon she can have painkillers again when you pick her up in case you need to see an out-of-hours vet.
- see a vet as an emergency if your girl is suddenly deteriorating (lethargy, loss of appetite, puffed or hunched up, turning the head to the wall) and contact the vets promptly if she is not picking up.
Generally, it takes about 2-3 days after an operation for the body to settle down; there should be a steady improvement throughout that period. The operation scar should have knitted within 10-14 days.
- Once your girl is eating well and is bright, she can rejoin her companion(s) any time she comes back home; they are often a lot less stressed out if they have a friend with them or next to them during recovery. Most companions make caring nurses.

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide