Ovarian Cysts - how long should I wait for surgery

[Huntledore]

Hi everyone

My guinea pig has been diagnosed with Ovarian Cysts after passing some spots of blood last week. We are opting to have both ovaries removed by our local exotic vet.

She is on an antibiotic, an anti inflammatory / painkiller and a medication to keep her gut moving. She seems really well in herself, is eating, drinking etc and no concerning weight loss.

We are waiting to hear from the vet with a date for the procedure. I feel so anxious and I'm scared of her getting worse before the surgery. For those of you have been through this before, how long is safe to wait for the surgery? I want a date asap to prevent time for the cyst(s) to get any bigger but I have no idea in reality whether that's something I need to be so worried about. How long would you consider reasonable before the surgery takes place?

I asked the vets to confirm if it's safe to keep giving the medication as at the moment the timeframe is unspecified and they said it's fine to keep going but it's all making me so nervous

I would also appreciate any positive stories of successful surgeries!

Many thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone

My guinea pig has been diagnosed with Ovarian Cysts after passing some spots of blood last week. We are opting to have both ovaries removed by our local exotic vet.

She is on an antibiotic, an anti inflammatory / painkiller and a medication to keep her gut moving. She seems really well in herself, is eating, drinking etc and no concerning weight loss.

We are waiting to hear from the vet with a date for the procedure. I feel so anxious and I'm scared of her getting worse before the surgery. For those of you have been through this before, how long is safe to wait for the surgery? I want a date asap to prevent time for the cyst(s) to get any bigger but I have no idea in reality whether that's something I need to be so worried about. How long would you consider reasonable before the surgery takes place?

I asked the vets to confirm if it's safe to keep giving the medication as at the moment the timeframe is unspecified and they said it's fine to keep going but it's all making me so nervous

I would also appreciate any positive stories of successful surgeries!

Many thanks

Hi

This is not a life or death emergency although with bleeding involved I would look towards a sooner operation date in the coming weeks rather than months.

I have had three emergency spays because of fast growing large fluid-filled cysts in 5 year old sows (they all lived to 6-8 years) and a couple of preventative spays because of cysts that would have likely turned cancerous in older age (those two sows lived to 7 and 8 years old respectively).

One of my smaller sows needed an emergency spay for a womb gone wrong (with some nasty looking cysts and a potential cancerous lump in the grossly extrended, fluid filled womb thrown in) but at just 700g and only 5 months after a bladder stone op, Cariad sailed through her op, didn't even lose any weight more than her womb was weighing and lived for another 1 1/2 years. She died aged about 1 1/2 years later at ca. 5 years from issues connected to her calcium processing gone wrong (too frail for further bladder flushes) and not from anything connected with her spay. Here she is with her shaved belly operation scar.


Here is our pre- and post op care tips guide: Tips For Post-operative Care
More on ovarian cysts and different operation methods (ovari-ectomy and fully spay): Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

I hope that this helps you? I am lucky to have access to a good operating vet so all my sows have made a good and full recovery.

 

[Huntledore]

Hi

This is not a life or death emergency although with bleeding involved I would look towards a sooner operation date in the coming weeks rather than months.

I have had three emergency spays because of fast growing large fluid-filled cysts in 5 year old sows (they all lived to 6-8 years) and a couple of preventative spays because of cysts that would have likely turned cancerous in older age (those two sows lived to 7 and 8 years old respectively).

One of my smaller sows needed an emergency spay for a womb gone wrong (with some nasty looking cysts and a potential cancerous lump in the grossly extrended, fluid filled womb thrown in) but at just 700g and only 5 months after a bladder stone op, Cariad sailed through her op, didn't even lose any weight more than her womb was weighing and lived for another 1 1/2 years. She died aged about 1 1/2 years later at ca. 5 years from issues connected to her calcium processing gone wrong (too frail for further bladder flushes) and not from anything connected with her spay. Here she is with her shaved belly operation scar.
View attachment 241562

Here is our pre- and post op care tips guide: Tips For Post-operative Care
More on ovarian cysts and different operation methods (ovari-ectomy and fully spay): Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

I hope that this helps you? I am lucky to have access to a good operating vet so all my sows have made a good and full recovery.

Hello

Thank you so much for your kind response - that has made me feel a lot more relaxed and it's lovely to hear some successful stories!

Really appreciate you getting back to me and I will look through the guides you have sent too for more information

 

[Wiebke]

Hello

Thank you so much for your kind response - that has made me feel a lot more relaxed and it's lovely to hear some successful stories!

Really appreciate you getting back to me and I will look through the guides you have sent too for more information

The operation is a major one but with bleeding in play it points towards potential cancer in one of the cysts so a removal is very much in the way of giving your girl a chance at a longer life that she would otherwise not have. You can only ever buy your piggies a chance with any major operation; the outcome is out of your hands.

It is what I have done for both Hapus and Morwenna (the ones with a preventative spay); it has given each three more years of life that they would otherwise not have had but had the op not come off I would have at least had the comfort that they would not be suffering any pain and discomfort from a cancerous cyst and that I had tried my best to give them the happy and healthy life, as much as I could.

An ovari-ectomy from the back is less invasive than a full spay with removal of both womb and ovaries but it depends on the nature of the problem and your vet's personal preferences (the more confident they feel, the better) what they are opting for. The vet I am using prefers a full spay but since they are very experienced and can therefore work more quickly, it keeps the operation time and therefore the risk of post-op complications shorter. If you have questions, I am sure that your vet is willing to answer them for you before you commit. Best make a list of what you want to ask beforehand.

Here is our operation care thread (pre- and post-op tips): Tips For Post-operative Care

 

[Huntledore]

The operation is a major one but with bleeding in play it points towards potential cancer in one of the cysts so a removal is very much in the way of giving your girl a chance at a longer life that she would otherwise not have. You can only ever buy your piggies a chance with any major operation; the outcome is out of your hands.

It is what I have done for both Hapus and Morwenna (the ones with a preventative spay); it has given each three more years of life that they would otherwise not have had but had the op not come off I would have at least had the comfort that they would not be suffering any pain and discomfort from a cancerous cyst and that I had tried my best to give them the happy and healthy life, as much as I could.

An ovari-ectomy from the back is less invasive than a full spay with removal of both womb and ovaries but it depends on the nature of the problem and your vet's personal preferences (the more confident they feel, the better) what they are opting for. The vet I am using prefers a full spay but since they are very experienced and can therefore work more quickly, it keeps the operation time and therefore the risk of post-op complications shorter. If you have questions, I am sure that your vet is willing to answer them for you before you commit. Best make a list of what you want to ask beforehand.

Here is our operation care thread (pre- and post-op tips): Tips For Post-operative Care

Hello!

I just wanted to come back and give you a quick update and say thank you again for your kind replies

Our piggie had her surgery yesterday! She had a full spay in the end with removal of both womb and ovaries. It was terrifying but I am soooooo pleased to report she is doing amazingly well! She was up eating within a few minutes and although she's a little sleepy and quieter than normal, she's eating consistantly, drinking, pooing and weeing!

We are obviously keeping a very close eye on her but I am so relieved we are past the first hurdles and can now look forward to her having a long happy life (she's less than a year old so now we have such a lot of happy time to look forward to!)

Thanks again for your support and just wanted to provide an update that hopefully anyone else going through this will be able to read and get a bit of comfort from. I would say the no 1 thing from my experience is to make sure you have a really good and experienced exotic vet. Ours is literally my hero today!

 

[Wiebke]

Hello!

I just wanted to come back and give you a quick update and say thank you again for your kind replies

Our piggie had her surgery yesterday! She had a full spay in the end with removal of both womb and ovaries. It was terrifying but I am soooooo pleased to report she is doing amazingly well! She was up eating within a few minutes and although she's a little sleepy and quieter than normal, she's eating consistantly, drinking, pooing and weeing!

We are obviously keeping a very close eye on her but I am so relieved we are past the first hurdles and can now look forward to her having a long happy life (she's less than a year old so now we have such a lot of happy time to look forward to!)

Thanks again for your support and just wanted to provide an update that hopefully anyone else going through this will be able to read and get a bit of comfort from. I would say the no 1 thing from my experience is to make sure you have a really good and experienced exotic vet. Ours is literally my hero today!

Hi

That is grest news. The first day post-op is what I call 'hangover day' - when the operation cocktail peters out, and you feel sore and uncomfortable but the healing process has not really set in yet. It should get better with every passing day and the scar should be fully knitted in 7-10 days (youngsters heal much quicker than older ladies - for them it would about 10-14 days).

Personally, I agree with your vet; I would have also opted for a full spay in view of a potential cancer risk, which we have seen on here can - thankfully rarely - hit from 2 years onward. Yours could have been one of the ones pulling a short straw.

Glad that you have a good vet; they are worth their weight in gold. Please continue to weigh daily first thing in the morning until you are sure and hopefully go on to enjoy her for a good few more years to come.

Thank you for the update. Positive outcomes count because online is sadly stuffed with the other kind. We are here for any questions, support and plenty of information on a wide range of subjects.
Comprehensive Owners' Practical and Supportive Information Collection

 

[Spaniel]

So pleased it went well