Post neuter hernia

[dakoyaki]

Hello all,

My guinea pig was neutered 3 days ago and today I noticed that he has a little swelling near the surgical site. After reading about abcess risks and multiple other possibilities I took him to the vet to get checked out. They poked and did a sonogram and said they are thinking it's a hernia but at this stage it's just a bit of fat that has moved down.

My instructions were to watch for changes in hardness (it's "mushy" now), color, or if it starts to hurt him.

My vet is most experienced with rats and compared to other vets in my area is experienced with guinea pigs. So, I trust them, I am just wanting more information from personal experiences.

Is there anything I can do to help him at the moment?

Does it just kind of go away overtime (if not worsen)?

I know you can't predict since you can't see him... But generally what are the chances that this just passes over and he has no long term complications?

I've read a few other threads and have gotten some information but it seems like it doesn't happen often enough to be tons of info.

Thank you!

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all,

My guinea pig was neutered 3 days ago and today I noticed that he has a little swelling near the surgical site. After reading about abcess risks and multiple other possibilities I took him to the vet to get checked out. They poked and did a sonogram and said they are thinking it's a hernia but at this stage it's just a bit of fat that has moved down.

My instructions were to watch for changes in hardness (it's "mushy" now), color, or if it starts to hurt him.

My vet is most experienced with rats and compared to other vets in my area is experienced with guinea pigs. So, I trust them, I am just wanting more information from personal experiences.

Is there anything I can do to help him at the moment?

Does it just kind of go away overtime (if not worsen)?

I know you can't predict since you can't see him... But generally what are the chances that this just passes over and he has no long term complications?

I've read a few other threads and have gotten some information but it seems like it doesn't happen often enough to be tons of info.

Thank you!

Hi!

There is nothing you can do in case of a hernia; just give it time and hope that it retracts on its own again, as small hernias often do. It is indeed one of the rarer complications but as the wall between the gut and the testicles is under tension, even the smallest of holes can cause problems; and sudden changes in the tension can cause them.

A hernia operation for a larger hernia at a later stage needs careful consideration as your vet has to operate within an already operated site (which means no 'landmarks' for the operating vet to orient themselves in the body during the op), as well as the fact that by removing the stress on side of the groin, it can transmit to the other side and could cause a hernia there.
I discussed these aspects with my own pigy savvy vet after my Nosgan developed a hernia several months after his (pre-adoption) neutering op. And as my hub had just developed an even worse hernia on the other side after his first hernia operation, I did have a good idea what my vet meant that the operation could potentially create more problems than it solved.
In Nosgan's case, I decided against a hernia operation but I had to rush him to the vets a good two years later for pts/euthanasia when a piece of gut slipped through and got trapped. That was the long term risk with not operating as the hernia did move around over time; sometimes getting better and then advancing again.
Anyway, as Nosgan was a very skittish boar who lived to 5 years of age, I am still OK with my decision because it was the right one for him; he had a very happy and stress-free time with his little laid-back new boarfriend I adopted specially for him, as he didn't get on with sows and was frankly not really interested in them.

I hope that this helps you to get an idea of the kind of challenges/decisions you may be facing with a hernia.

 

[dakoyaki]

Helps a lot. It's always good to hear personal stories! Also didn't consider the chance of the surgery just causing another on the other side