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Specialist Need Advice! Bumblefoot

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Chuckiexoxo

Chuckiexoxo

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My seven 1/2 year old guinea pig was diagnosed with osteomyelitis due to bumblefoot in the front left foot. Antibiotics and soaking have showed no improvement. My only option is to amputate the leg. I guess I am looking for some advice as I have always done everything I could for his health. He has a back hip out and also deals with impaction on a regular basis as we must help him go to the bathroom. He has lived a long life with many trips to the vet and unfortunately it is hard to treat the problems he has now been facing. Do I go through with surgery not knowing how he will do with the back hip also out if socket or do I give him pain medicine and try to keep him as comfortable as possible? He is eating playing and giving kisses as usual but I know his leg bothers him .

Read more: http://cutiecavies.proboards.com/thread/18032/osteomylitis#ixzz3V9tOTEQ4
 
Hi and welcome!

I am sorry that it is under such difficult circumstances! In old guinea pigs (and yours is certainly an old gent), bumblefoot is not quite rare. It is usually connected to a diminished blood circulation and an increased sitting in the same spot. Any operation at that high age is going to be quite an undertaking.

I am tagging our specialists for you: @Pebble @Elwickcavies @helen105281

Could you please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county or major city to your details, so we can adapt our advice and any recommendations to what is available where you are. You can do so by clicking on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

Fingers firmly crossed that you can find a solution.
 
Given he is a grand 7 and a1/2 years old...I would be very carefully discussing with the vet the risk to him of a GA and major op given his age.....and what he can realistically expect in terms of quality of life afterwards.
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Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome!

I am sorry that it is under such difficult circumstances! In old guinea pigs (and yours is certainly an old gent), bumblefoot is not quite rare. It is usually connected to a diminished blood circulation and an increased sitting in the same spot. Any operation at that high age is going to be quite an undertaking.

I am tagging our specialists for you: @Pebble @Elwickcavies @helen105281

Could you please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county or major city to your details, so we can adapt our advice and any recommendations to what is available where you are. You can do so by clicking on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

Fingers firmly crossed that you can find a solution.
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Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome!

I am sorry that it is under such difficult circumstances! In old guinea pigs (and yours is certainly an old gent), bumblefoot is not quite rare. It is usually connected to a diminished blood circulation and an increased sitting in the same spot. Any operation at that high age is going to be quite an undertaking.

I am tagging our specialists for you: @Pebble @Elwickcavies @helen105281

Could you please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county or major city to your details, so we can adapt our advice and any recommendations to what is available where you are. You can do so by clicking on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

Fingers firmly crossed that you can find a solution.
Click to expand...




Thank you. I am from the states - Rhode Island. I have been to a couple of vets and they have said that they think he will do alright with the surgery but didn't give me much info on how he would be afterwards given the other factors. I just don't want to euthanize with him still eating and drinking and be very alert. But I also don't want to feel like I didn't do everything I could which is why I am hesitant on not doing a surgery. Thank you for the reply.
 
Hi, I would be concerned that your vets think he would be fine with GA. I recently took my male who is at least 5 years old and the vet was concerned that a GA for older guinea pigs could be a disaster so we have decided not to operate at the present moment in time. A GA is a big undertaking for any guinea pig especially older ones or if there is an underlying health problem that might be lowering their immune system
 
Yeah I was concerned when she said that.unfortunatley he does not respond well to any antibiotics as it causes blood in his urine. It's hard to see something so severe affecting him and not having many options. Thank you every one for the advice.
 
I completely understand your situation. It's all about doing what is best for your boy and only you can really decide. I agree that he is an old gent and a GA would be a substantial risk. If he has a bad hip and you then remove another leg, his mobility would be greatly reduced, so you really have to think about his quality of life in this decision. Zithromax is a good option to try. It's not as harsh on the tummy as some antibiotics and can be really effective. Just giving pain relief is also an option, as you say. If you can keep him comfortable that may be your best course of action. There are no right or wrong answers to this, so go with your gut feeling. Let us know what you decide to do. x
 
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Elwickcavies said:
I completely understand your situation. It's all about doing what is best for your boy and only you can really decide. I agree that he is an old gent and a GA would be a substantial risk. If he has a bad hip and you then remove another leg, his mobility would be greatly reduced, so you really have to think about his quality of life in this decision. Zithromax is a good option to try. It's not as harsh on the tummy as some antibiotics and can be really effective. Just giving pain relief is also an option, as you say. If you can keep him comfortable that may be your best course of action. There are no right or wrong answers to this, so go with your gut feeling. Let us know what you decide to do. x
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thank you so much for this post. I am waiting to get home to see which antibiotics he has been on. The foot is so severe now that amputation would be my only option and knowing the risks and quality of life lead me to go with just giving him pain medication when it gets worse. As for now he is still eating and lovable and alert just kills me to not beable to help him further esp after everything he's been through I've always been able to get the right care and do everything I could
 
If he were my piggie - I personally would make the same decision...and in fact have done so with my blind old Ginger who is now 7years old. Like your piggie he is not currently in any pain and living his life to the full with his (now 3) wifepigs, (despite a deep seated tumour that has grown to the size of a tennis ball between his front legs, head tilt, crumbling incisors and slow weight loss). Yet he is still first up for the veggies and has a very loud wheek!

It is never easy to make a decision "not to operate" and to move to palliative care but after the age of 5, I think this has to be considered as part of the whole "quality of life" assessment.. It's normally much more painful for the slave than it is for the piggie....but in doing so you ARE getting him the "right care".........so sending you lots of hugs and support.

On a practical note: Whilst metacam is most often prescribed as pain relief.in piggies......in palliative care situations of this nature my vet will also prescribe either tramadol or buprecare (they are opiates acting directly on the nerve tranmsitters) as these appear more effective at relieving deep seated pain than metacam (which provides pain relief by acting as an anti-inflammatory and reducing fluid pressure on the nerves).

I do hope you will enjoy many more piggie years with your lovely boy - he sounds like a real character!
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Chuckiexoxo said:
Batril was the last one he was on I can't remember the other two they would be in his files at the vet. Each time it caused blood.
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It may be worth speaking to your vet about giving Zithromax (azithromycin) a last chance try before you make any drastic decisions. It is a very strong, but also very effective antibiotic.

I feel for you; it is a very difficult time when you are very much between a rock and a hard place whichever way you go.
 
W
Wiebke said:
It may be worth speaking to your vet about giving Zithromax (azithromycin) a last chance try before you make any drastic decisions. It is a very strong, but also very effective antibiotic.

I feel for you; it is a very difficult time when you are very much between a rock and a hard place whichever way you go.
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Thank you. I know this may seem like a silly question but would another antibiotic help at such a sever stage. The bottom of the foot is getting eaten away (for lack of a better word) and the foot itself is very large. I know I said he is acting normal and happy but with that being said the foot is in a very severe condition it's hard to believe he is the way he is.
 
You may want to consider getting a swab done of the the infection. This way you can get it sent off to see exactly what bacteria you are dealing with and exactly what is going to be able to treat it. Rather than simply throwing antibiotics at it.

7 and a half is quite an age for an anaesthetic but not an impossibility with a good vet.

I would have a long think on what you feel is the best for him first before you make decisions.

To add baytril really isn't the best thing for a bumble foot. Baytril is used far too often and is often useless in some situations. (It has it's place but not in every single guinea pig that sees a vet).

x
 
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