Ovarian cysts should i get hed a spay surgery

[Strawbear]

Hello i have a 5 year old female guinea pig named pixie and she has been diagnosed with ovarian systs on both sides which are huge. You can see the lumps when she walks and she has a bald spot on one side and her nipples are crusty and the vet said that it will only get worse and she wont make it unless i get her a spay surgery. Ive heard that the surgery is very dangerous and I'm really thinking about if i should or not. I feel like i have to because i cant let her get worse and suffer shes my best friend and i cant just let her die but its tough because the vet made it seem like either way results in death. Right now shes on pain medicine which seems to help but she isnt herself anymore shes still eating and drinking and pooping good though so i dont know if i should wait fpr a decline or not to get the surgery. I was wondering if anybody had any advice or similar situations. If i should do the surgery or not?

 

[Eriathwen]

How experienced is your vet in performing the surgery? I've had at least 13 spayed at this point, all did well. Personally I always opt for spaying, in an otherwise healthy piggy, if theyre otherwise OK they stand a good chance of recovery with an experienced vet even at an okder age. I have a 6 year old piggy who will likely be spayed soon too, for example.

Ovarian cysts have a surprisingly good blood supply, if they rupture it can lead to them bleeding to death, infection, or complications from a huge amount of pain. It's also likely that the decline won't be slow, and they really like leaving these things until the weekend or late at night when it will be expensive out of hours care which is why I tend to jump on getting them done when issues arise, in my experience it saves a lot of stress.

I had one piggy, Treacle, who I sent in to be spayed but her cyst ruptured during her stay at the vet prior to the surgery so it was decided to send her home and not put her through it. Unfortunately she passed away in the early hours of the morning a couple of days later, which is what cemented my decision to just get them done ASAP.

But if you don't have a veterinary team used to dealing with guinea pigs, obviously the surgery becomes a bit more risky and then really it's up to you to decide whether it's a risk you want to take, it helps to have a vet you can have a frank discussion about their confidence in success with. Palliative pain relief is certainly an option if you don't have confidence in your vet but again, they really do tend to wait until vets are closed to take a downward turn so it's something to keep in mind if she needs sudden euthanasia.

Hooe some of that ramble was helpful and good luck in your decision! I hope everything works out well for you both

 

[Truffolo]

Saskia from LA Guinea Pig Rescue talks about administering hormone therapy (in the USA). I am surprised this treatment isn't in use in the UK. I hope your piggy gets better. She is very beautiful

 

[Honey&maple]

I'm so sorry to hear about your piggies cystsi always reccomend going for the spay but I say always go with what your heart is telling you to do. My girl was 3 when she had her ovarian cysts , she lost a hell of a lot of fur and weight and it was the best thing I did for her . I do however recommend going to a vets that deal with piggies . My vet wasn’t a piggy savvy one but it still went perfect. Good luck in what you choose !

Ps. I know there is the hormone medicine that they can have which you could try but I was told they are not always effective which put me off trying .

 

[Wiebke]

How experienced is your vet in performing the surgery? I've had at least 13 spayed at this point, all did well. Personally I always opt for spaying, in an otherwise healthy piggy, if theyre otherwise OK they stand a good chance of recovery with an experienced vet even at an okder age. I have a 6 year old piggy who will likely be spayed soon too, for example.

Ovarian cysts have a surprisingly good blood supply, if they rupture it can lead to them bleeding to death, infection, or complications from a huge amount of pain. It's also likely that the decline won't be slow, and they really like leaving these things until the weekend or late at night when it will be expensive out of hours care which is why I tend to jump on getting them done when issues arise, in my experience it saves a lot of stress.

I had one piggy, Treacle, who I sent in to be spayed but her cyst ruptured during her stay at the vet prior to the surgery so it was decided to send her home and not put her through it. Unfortunately she passed away in the early hours of the morning a couple of days later, which is what cemented my decision to just get them done ASAP.

But if you don't have a veterinary team used to dealing with guinea pigs, obviously the surgery becomes a bit more risky and then really it's up to you to decide whether it's a risk you want to take, it helps to have a vet you can have a frank discussion about their confidence in success with. Palliative pain relief is certainly an option if you don't have confidence in your vet but again, they really do tend to wait until vets are closed to take a downward turn so it's something to keep in mind if she needs sudden euthanasia.

Hooe some of that ramble was helpful and good luck in your decision! I hope everything works out well for you both

Hi and welcome

You may find the guide below helpful.

Thread 'Sow Problems 'Down Below' (Ovarian Cysts, Super-seasons, Womb Infection, Pregnancy & Mammary Tumours)'

Jul 15, 2024

1 Important reproductive information
- Start of making babies - seasons - lack of menopause
- Pregnancy
2 Sows in season
- How a season runs
- Strong seasons (snap seasons; the social role of strong seasons; problem seasons)
3 Health issues of the reproductive tract
- Ovarian cysts (types, symptoms and treatment options)
- Other health...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Wiebke's Guides to the Body

There are two different ways of operating ovarian cysts:
- Full spay (removal of womb and ovaries from the belly side)
- Ovariectomy (removal of only the ovaries from the back)
The success rate depends on the vet but when you have access to a good operating vet it is really worth considering. I am lucky and have good experiences with a full spay in sows of the same of your age - two emergency spays lived to an amazing 8 years (one for fast growing large fluid filled cysts and her sister for a cyst which would have turned cancerous if left; an extra life span which they wouldn't have had otherwise.

Hormone therapy:
- Is more commonly used in the USA than the UK where experiences have had mixed results so vets tend to think twice about it or prefer not to touch it.

Drainage under scan:
- This is the least invasive method for frail sows who might otherwise have to be euthanised. It is not a lasting method but it will take a good number of months before the cysts refill.

Which way you decide depends on your vet access, your piggy's fitness and what you can afford. Hormone treatment is not cheap, either. There are some cultural differences in this area between preferred UK and US practice; it's not the only area where this is the case. You are always within your rights to book a telephone appointment with your vet in order to ask any questions and talk all options through with your vet before you make any decision. In the end, your vet has to be confident with what they are doing as that helps with the success rate.

Thread 'Tips For Post-operative Care'

Feb 7, 2016

1 Preparing for an operation
2 Care tips for freshly operated guinea pigs
- General advice
- Supportive home care and syringe feeding
- Pain relief, gut stimulants and when to see a vet as an emergency
3 Recovery
4 Companionship
- The importance of company
- Tips for medically separated piggies


Ideally, your...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Wiebke's Home Care Guides

• 

I hope that this helps you?

 

[Strawbear]

Saskia from LA Guinea Pig Rescue talks about administering hormone therapy (in the USA). I am surprised this treatment isn't in use in the UK. I hope your piggy gets better. She is very beautiful

Ohh thats where i got my piggies from! I am down in san diego area and ive emailed the specialty vets i was recommended if they did that and ill email la guinea pig rescue too! Do you know if those are a almost guaranteed fix?

 

[Strawbear]

Hi and welcome

You may find the guide below helpful.

Thread 'Sow Problems 'Down Below' (Ovarian Cysts, Super-seasons, Womb Infection, Pregnancy & Mammary Tumours)'

Jul 15, 2024

1 Important reproductive information
- Start of making babies - seasons - lack of menopause
- Pregnancy
2 Sows in season
- How a season runs
- Strong seasons (snap seasons; the social role of strong seasons; problem seasons)
3 Health issues of the reproductive tract
- Ovarian cysts (types, symptoms and treatment options)
- Other health...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Wiebke's Guides to the Body

There are two different ways of operating ovarian cysts:
- Full spay (removal of womb and ovaries from the belly side)
- Ovariectomy (removal of only the ovaries from the back)
The success rate depends on the vet but when you have access to a good operating vet it is really worth considering. I am lucky and have good experiences with a full spay in sows of the same of your age - two emergency spays lived to and amazing 8 years, which they wouldn't have otherwise.

Hormone therapy:
- Is more commonly used in the USA than the UK where experiences have had mixed results so vets tend to think twice about it or prefer not to touch it.

Drainage under scan:
- This is the least invasive method for frail sows who might otherwise have to be euthanised. It is not a lasting method but it will take a good number of months before the cysts refill.

Which way you decide depends on your vet access, your piggy's fitness and what you can afford. Hormone treatment is not cheap, either. There are some cultural differences in this area between preferred UK and US practice; it's not the only area where this is the case. You are always within your rights to book a telephone appointment with your vet in order to ask any questions and talk all options through with your vet before you make any decision. In the end, your vet has to be confident with what they are doing as that helps with the success rate.

Thread 'Tips For Post-operative Care'

Feb 7, 2016

1 Preparing for an operation
2 Care tips for freshly operated guinea pigs
- General advice
- Supportive home care and syringe feeding
- Pain relief, gut stimulants and when to see a vet as an emergency
3 Recovery
4 Companionship
- The importance of company
- Tips for medically separated piggies


Ideally, your...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Wiebke's Home Care Guides

• 

I hope that this helps you?

Thank you so much this does help! Its good to know that there are other options too I'm going to consider them

 

[Strawbear]

I'm so sorry to hear about your piggies cystsi always reccomend going for the spay but I say always go with what your heart is telling you to do. My girl was 3 when she had her ovarian cysts , she lost a hell of a lot of fur and weight and it was the best thing I did for her . I do however recommend going to a vets that deal with piggies . My vet wasn’t a piggy savvy one but it still went perfect. Good luck in what you choose !

Ps. I know there is the hormone medicine that they can have which you could try but I was told they are not always effective which put me off trying .i

I'm so sorry to hear about your piggies cystsi always reccomend going for the spay but I say always go with what your heart is telling you to do. My girl was 3 when she had her ovarian cysts , she lost a hell of a lot of fur and weight and it was the best thing I did for her . I do however recommend going to a vets that deal with piggies . My vet wasn’t a piggy savvy one but it still went perfect. Good luck in what you choose !

Ps. I know there is the hormone medicine that they can have which you could try but I was told they are not always effective which put me off trying .

I'm happy to hear that your guinea recovered from that! Ive thought of the hormone medicine too and I'm emailing guinea pig vets around me if they do it but if the chances arent good I'm probably going to so a spay!

 

[Strawbear]

How experienced is your vet in performing the surgery? I've had at least 13 spayed at this point, all did well. Personally I always opt for spaying, in an otherwise healthy piggy, if theyre otherwise OK they stand a good chance of recovery with an experienced vet even at an okder age. I have a 6 year old piggy who will likely be spayed soon too, for example.

Ovarian cysts have a surprisingly good blood supply, if they rupture it can lead to them bleeding to death, infection, or complications from a huge amount of pain. It's also likely that the decline won't be slow, and they really like leaving these things until the weekend or late at night when it will be expensive out of hours care which is why I tend to jump on getting them done when issues arise, in my experience it saves a lot of stress.

I had one piggy, Treacle, who I sent in to be spayed but her cyst ruptured during her stay at the vet prior to the surgery so it was decided to send her home and not put her through it. Unfortunately she passed away in the early hours of the morning a couple of days later, which is what cemented my decision to just get them done ASAP.

But if you don't have a veterinary team used to dealing with guinea pigs, obviously the surgery becomes a bit more risky and then really it's up to you to decide whether it's a risk you want to take, it helps to have a vet you can have a frank discussion about their confidence in success with. Palliative pain relief is certainly an option if you don't have confidence in your vet but again, they really do tend to wait until vets are closed to take a downward turn so it's something to keep in mind if she needs sudden euthanasia.

Hooe some of that ramble was helpful and good luck in your decision! I hope everything works out well for you both

How experienced is your vet in performing the surgery? I've had at least 13 spayed at this point, all did well. Personally I always opt for spaying, in an otherwise healthy piggy, if theyre otherwise OK they stand a good chance of recovery with an experienced vet even at an okder age. I have a 6 year old piggy who will likely be spayed soon too, for example.

Ovarian cysts have a surprisingly good blood supply, if they rupture it can lead to them bleeding to death, infection, or complications from a huge amount of pain. It's also likely that the decline won't be slow, and they really like leaving these things until the weekend or late at night when it will be expensive out of hours care which is why I tend to jump on getting them done when issues arise, in my experience it saves a lot of stress.

I had one piggy, Treacle, who I sent in to be spayed but her cyst ruptured during her stay at the vet prior to the surgery so it was decided to send her home and not put her through it. Unfortunately she passed away in the early hours of the morning a couple of days later, which is what cemented my decision to just get them done ASAP.

But if you don't have a veterinary team used to dealing with guinea pigs, obviously the surgery becomes a bit more risky and then really it's up to you to decide whether it's a risk you want to take, it helps to have a vet you can have a frank discussion about their confidence in success with. Palliative pain relief is certainly an option if you don't have confidence in your vet but again, they really do tend to wait until vets are closed to take a downward turn so it's something to keep in mind if she needs sudden euthanasia.

Hooe some of that ramble was helpful and good luck in your decision! I hope everything works out well for you both

thank you for letting me know all of this info My vet recommended me a guinea pig specialty center that i can go and get her spay done and they haven't answered my calls but i think they have done spays a lot so It makes me feel so much better that all of your spays went well ! I'm so scared of the cysts rupturing and i hate that shes in pain. I'm sorry for your loss because of that (( i am going to schedule for the spay! Also have any of your guinea pig done the hormone therapy injections?

 

[Merab]

I’ve had sows spayed with no problems.
I would always opt for a spay for a sow with ovarian cysts but you have to make the decision that’s right for you.

@GPTV is the one person I know who has used the hormone injections

Hope all goes well for you

 

[Apples]

One of my sows is undergoing hormone injections with fertagyl. Her situation is different from yours though with no risk of rupturing large cysts and no obvious pain except when peeing some days, so we've got some time for trying alternatives to surgery. Her treatment requires 3 or 4 injections 14 days apart each. I didn't see any improvement after the first injection, but my vet told me that it is something that takes time and I would most likely only start to see improvement after the second one, which she had today.

My vet told me they are a very low risk treatment and contrary to what I read online: not expensive. I paid less than €20 at the vet today for her second injection. They only charged me for what they used, I guess if you have a vet that would charge a full bottle that it would be more.

If you go for the spay, it sounds like your piggy is in good hands at the specialty center vet!

 

[Eriathwen]

thank you for letting me know all of this info My vet recommended me a guinea pig specialty center that i can go and get her spay done and they haven't answered my calls but i think they have done spays a lot so It makes me feel so much better that all of your spays went well ! I'm so scared of the cysts rupturing and i hate that shes in pain. I'm sorry for your loss because of that (( i am going to schedule for the spay! Also have any of your guinea pig done the hormone therapy injections?

I've not done any of the injections mainly because they only work for hormonal cysts, and mine tend to not show much in the way of symptoms so it's hard to decide if they're worth doing/if it's the right type of cyst. Plus I've read they're quite painful and can stop working/cause an immune response, a bit like an allergy, with repeated use

That being said, I have used suprelorin hormone implants, but for a totally different issue.. we spayed one of our girls due to cysts and it turned out she was intersex, the increase in testosterone after the spay caused her issues within the group so she got hormone implants which fixed the issue. They seem to be hit or miss in use with cysts though, I've heard of people using them but my vet asked a specialist whether we could try them for a piggy I had who had a whole list of health issues at 8 years old and had decided against spaying, but she said it would likely make the issue worse. So it seems to depend on the vet, the pig, and type of implant..I assume maybe there's more than one type? I'm not 100% sure! But I've wondered since whether the hormone injections would have been worth a shot with her.

 

[Truffolo]

Ohh thats where i got my piggies from! I am down in san diego area and ive emailed the specialty vets i was recommended if they did that and ill email la guinea pig rescue too! Do you know if those are a almost guaranteed fix?

I’m not sure of how well the hormone therapy works unfortunately. The messages below are very helpful. Good luck with the treatment you choose.

 

[GPTV]

Here's a couple of quotes from previous posts I've made...
Both my Ellie and Tiggy have had hormone injections (HCG - Chorulon).
Both times it worked with their walnut sized ovarian cysts. But it does seem to be a case of they either work or they don't. Xx
I'll try and expand on the posts tomorrow if you'd like more information?

Here's a quote from another thread I answered a few years ago.

Since then my 6.5yr old Tiggy has also had the HCG/chorulon injections , probably March time this year.

She was getting a bit crabby and hormonal with crusty nipples and thinning hair on her sides/rump. After the injections she improved &she's been ok ever since.
Hopefully your vet can try the injections, I'm not sure on the implants I've no experience of those sorry.
Fingers crossed your sassy Sassy gets well soon x

GPTV said:
Yes @Merab your memory serves you correctly

My RB Ellie had 2x 2 injections of HCG Chorulon injections, she was 6yrs old for the first 2,then had her second batch of 2 at 7yrs old.

My vet said she wasn't confident enough to operate on Ellie at her age (hers was a walnut sized ovarian cyst-diagnosed with an ultrasound, after continuous uti's & very heavy genital bleeding).

Generally speaking I couldn't find any information on negative side effects from the injections, it seemed to be a case of they either worked or they didn't.

They worked wonders with Ellie, she only had one bad bleed a few days after the first injection & never again

If you would like some more information, I'll find out my old threads for you

Good luck with your vet decision & healing vibes being sent for the beautiful Blodwen
Xx

 

[Strawbear]

I’ve had sows spayed with no problems.
I would always opt for a spay for a sow with ovarian cysts but you have to make the decision that’s right for you.

@GPTV is the one person I know who has used the hormone injections

Hope all goes well for you

Yess I'm going to go through with the spay! Thank youu i appreciate the support!

 

[Strawbear]

One of my sows is undergoing hormone injections with fertagyl. Her situation is different from yours though with no risk of rupturing large cysts and no obvious pain except when peeing some days, so we've got some time for trying alternatives to surgery. Her treatment requires 3 or 4 injections 14 days apart each. I didn't see any improvement after the first injection, but my vet told me that it is something that takes time and I would most likely only start to see improvement after the second one, which she had today.

My vet told me they are a very low risk treatment and contrary to what I read online: not expensive. I paid less than €20 at the vet today for her second injection. They only charged me for what they used, I guess if you have a vet that would charge a full bottle that it would be more.

If you go for the spay, it sounds like your piggy is in good hands at the specialty center vet!

its good that your piggie is getting a good treatment best of luck to her! i tried to call and ask if i would be able to do injections instead so my guinea and they scheduled a consultation to see which is better but they suggested the surgery soo

 

[Strawbear]

Here's a couple of quotes from previous posts I've made...
Both my Ellie and Tiggy have had hormone injections (HCG - Chorulon).
Both times it worked with their walnut sized ovarian cysts. But it does seem to be a case of they either work or they don't. Xx
I'll try and expand on the posts tomorrow if you'd like more information?

GPTV said:
Yes @Merab your memory serves you correctly

My RB Ellie had 2x 2 injections of HCG Chorulon injections, she was 6yrs old for the first 2,then had her second batch of 2 at 7yrs old.

My vet said she wasn't confident enough to operate on Ellie at her age (hers was a walnut sized ovarian cyst-diagnosed with an ultrasound, after continuous uti's & very heavy genital bleeding).

Generally speaking I couldn't find any information on negative side effects from the injections, it seemed to be a case of they either worked or they didn't.

They worked wonders with Ellie, she only had one bad bleed a few days after the first injection & never again

If you would like some more information, I'll find out my old threads for you

Good luck with your vet decision & healing vibes being sent for the beautiful Blodwen
Xx

Aww I'm so glad that it worked out for both of them! It sounds like a much better option than surgery. ill talk to the vet at my consultation about that! Thank you so much for the information and the help! also your guinea pigs are soo cutee

 

[Merab]

Let us know when it’s happening so we can be thinking of you that day.