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Should I let my vet perform a sterilisation?

Anna12

Anna12

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Hi,
Me posting a thread again. Unfortunately we today had to make the decision to put Ed to sleep. He would not eat anymore, and had no more energy. It is all very sad, but it feels like it is for the best. Thank you so much for the suggestion of burying them in a flower pot. We have bought a really big flower pot, and will put some nice plants in there.

Now on to my next question. During the vet visit in which my guinea pig got diagnosed with his dental issues, the vet diagnosed my other guinea pig with ovarian cysts (or a ovarian cyst, I am not sure, he did not make an x-ray, so I'm also not sure whether the vet knows). The vet recommended sterilisation. Everything at that visit just went so fast, and after hearing the word palliative for my one guinea pig, I was not capable anymore to ask the right questions, and so I instantly agreed. Because of Covid my husband couldn't join, and so he couldn't chime into the discussion either.

In the mean time I have contacted a guinea pig shelter, because we have noticed that since Ed's hospitalisation and illness, Stella has been quite sad, and we want to give her (a) companion(s) as soon as possible. The lady from the shelter warned us however that the sterilisation is a very risky surgery, and that it very often goes wrong. She said she would not have it performed on her piggy if she wasn't in pain. Honestly this has been my feeling too. Everything there went so fast. My vet is renowned for his knowledge on guinea pigs, but I have found him not to have the best people skills, and I would like him to lay out the options, pros and cons for me, so I can make an informed decision, instead of him deciding what will be the way forward. This is also what happened with Ed, and I feel like his hospitalisation traumatised him a lot, even though his prognosis was already bad, and it would have been better if we would have taken him home instead of leaving him hospitalised for multiple days. I now regret putting him through that, and I do not want to make the same mistake twice.

Also, the lady from the shelter recommended to first get one or multiple companions, since single guinea pigs give up a bit quicker she said, than guinea pigs who are part of a herd and feel like they have something to live for.

I would really like your opinion on whether to go forward with this surgery or not. I maybe should add that Stella does not seem to be in pain at all. She is walking around, following me everywhere, begging for food and nibbling it away at the speed of light. I had her teeth checked last week, and they all look healthy. The only symptom that made me ask the vet about her is the fact that she had a small bold spot on her back. How do these issues normally develop? Is it something that will deteriorate as quickly as e.g. dental issues? Or can they live with it properly? And are the risks of the surgery really as high as I was told at the animal shelter? I am still really sad of Ed's passing, trying to come to terms with it, and I cannot handle the thought of having her go to surgery and losing her because of that.

Hopefully some of you know what to do.
 
Ovarian cysts can appear with very few symptoms. I've had two piggies with them, one chewed a strip of her own hair down her stomach which was the only symptom and the other displayed symptoms usually typical to a urinary tract infection. The first did not need to be spayed as the cysts burst during examination. The second was an emergency spay given the size of the cysts.
Basically, my experience is that ovarian cysts are never textbook and each diagnosis is very different. The key thing is having a vet that is experienced with guinea pigs as that minimises the risk. If you have that then trust your vet, they wouldn't recommend surgery unless they felt it was necessary.
 
Anna12 said:
Hi,
Me posting a thread again. Unfortunately we today had to make the decision to put Ed to sleep. He would not eat anymore, and had no more energy. It is all very sad, but it feels like it is for the best. Thank you so much for the suggestion of burying them in a flower pot. We have bought a really big flower pot, and will put some nice plants in there.

Now on to my next question. During the vet visit in which my guinea pig got diagnosed with his dental issues, the vet diagnosed my other guinea pig with ovarian cysts (or a ovarian cyst, I am not sure, he did not make an x-ray, so I'm also not sure whether the vet knows). The vet recommended sterilisation. Everything at that visit just went so fast, and after hearing the word palliative for my one guinea pig, I was not capable anymore to ask the right questions, and so I instantly agreed. Because of Covid my husband couldn't join, and so he couldn't chime into the discussion either.

In the mean time I have contacted a guinea pig shelter, because we have noticed that since Ed's hospitalisation and illness, Stella has been quite sad, and we want to give her (a) companion(s) as soon as possible. The lady from the shelter warned us however that the sterilisation is a very risky surgery, and that it very often goes wrong. She said she would not have it performed on her piggy if she wasn't in pain. Honestly this has been my feeling too. Everything there went so fast. My vet is renowned for his knowledge on guinea pigs, but I have found him not to have the best people skills, and I would like him to lay out the options, pros and cons for me, so I can make an informed decision, instead of him deciding what will be the way forward. This is also what happened with Ed, and I feel like his hospitalisation traumatised him a lot, even though his prognosis was already bad, and it would have been better if we would have taken him home instead of leaving him hospitalised for multiple days. I now regret putting him through that, and I do not want to make the same mistake twice.

Also, the lady from the shelter recommended to first get one or multiple companions, since single guinea pigs give up a bit quicker she said, than guinea pigs who are part of a herd and feel like they have something to live for.

I would really like your opinion on whether to go forward with this surgery or not. I maybe should add that Stella does not seem to be in pain at all. She is walking around, following me everywhere, begging for food and nibbling it away at the speed of light. I had her teeth checked last week, and they all look healthy. The only symptom that made me ask the vet about her is the fact that she had a small bold spot on her back. How do these issues normally develop? Is it something that will deteriorate as quickly as e.g. dental issues? Or can they live with it properly? And are the risks of the surgery really as high as I was told at the animal shelter? I am still really sad of Ed's passing, trying to come to terms with it, and I cannot handle the thought of having her go to surgery and losing her because of that.

Hopefully some of you know what to do.
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Hi!

A spaying operation is major surgery; it stands and falls with the experience of your vet and their nursing team.

That said, 8 of my own sows have been spayed; four of them at the age of 5 years for medical reasons. Only the first one went wrong 10 years ago in an emergency spay for very fast growing large cysts when my then not very good local general vets made a schoolboy error with GA dosage (they retired the following year anyway). The rest have all made a good recovery.
I have lost a 3 year old sow a year ago to a burst ovarian cyst which she had been diagnosed with but which had not been deemed a major issue; since then I prefer to spay if in doubt (3 of the spays have happened since then, one of them for a hard cyst that would have turned cancerous if left). The majority of cysts are symptom-free fluid filled cysts, which become only noticeable during a check or when they reach a certain size and become visible to the naked eye. The majority of them goes actually undetected.

There are however other options in the shape of hormone treatment or draining of non-hormonal fluid-filled cysts. Please keep in mind that there a several kinds of ovarian cysts, so it is not necessarily quite as straight forward what you opt for. You may want to ask your vet whether they would be prepared to answer your questions via email or messenger.

Here is more information on ovarian cysts and possible treatments: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
 
2 of my 3 sows have been spayed due to ovarian cysts.
One of them had no symptoms and the cysts were found by the vet when she was doing a pre-op check for an abscess removal.

Both girls came through their surgery very well.
It does depend on the skill of the vet.
People skills are a benefit but I’d rather have a vet who I was confident in.

Keep us posted
 
Betsy had to have an emergency spay 6 weeks ago. She came through the operation fine. She had the typical symptoms, crusty enlarged nipples significant hair loss and moody behaviour. It got so bad that my beautiful piggy who loved cuddles would scream every time I picked her up and even though I'm not medically trained I could feel the cysts. It turned out that the cysts were 7cms long on both sides and very round. She is now back to her normal beautiful self. I trust my vet and that is a big thing.
 
Thank you so much for your answers. Hearing your positive experiences makes me feel more confident. I can't handle the thought of losing another guinea in the same week. I will also share my concerns with my vet and see what he says.
 
I’ve had 5 sows successfully spayed. 2 had laparoscopic spay (small incision on each flank and removal of the ovaries) and the others had full spay (abdominal incision with removal uterus and ovaries). However my vets are very experienced with these types of surgery and I have every confidence in them. I would definitely discuss this with your vets to see what they suggest.
 
Anna12 said:
Thank you so much for your answers. Hearing your positive experiences makes me feel more confident. I can't handle the thought of losing another guinea in the same week. I will also share my concerns with my vet and see what he says.
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HUGS

It is always much worse in the wake of another loss. I would definitely ask for an honest assessment with your vet to consider the pros and cons of the various treatment options with them. Don't go for spay with a vet who is not confident/happy or experienced with small furries' ops or well practised in operating on guinea pigs.

One more consideration: once recovered from her spay, your girl can live with a normal boar; so you have a lot more bonding options and can hopefully let your girl choose who she wants to spend her life with.
Cross gender bondings are the most stable of all bonds but they stand and fall with initial acceptance from the sow, which is not at all a given. Mutual liking and character compatibility are key, as with all happy piggy bonds; they come long before gender or age.
 
Wiebke said:
HUGS

It is always much worse in the wake of another loss. I would definitely ask for an honest assessment with your vet to consider the pros and cons of the various treatment options with them. Don't go for spay with a vet who is not confident/happy or experienced with small furries' ops or well practised in operating on guinea pigs.

One more consideration: once recovered from her spay, your girl can live with a normal boar; so you have a lot more bonding options and can hopefully let your girl choose who she wants to spend her life with.
Cross gender bondings are the most stable of all bonds but they stand and fall with initial acceptance from the sow, which is not at all a given. Mutual liking and character compatibility are key, as with all happy piggy bonds; they come long before gender or age.
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Great point. I hadn't thought about that at all. I will definitely take that into consideration. My vet has layed out the pros and cons for me and it seems like spaying is the best option. He says it's best to do it in an early stage, since the risk are more minimal then, and he performs these surgeries a lot (he's specialised in rodents and exotic animals, and does not even see cats/dogs). We will make our final decision tonight, but I think it's best to perform the operation then still this week, so she can connect with a new mate as soon as possible.
 
Anna12 said:
Great point. I hadn't thought about that at all. I will definitely take that into consideration. My vet has layed out the pros and cons for me and it seems like spaying is the best option. He says it's best to do it in an early stage, since the risk are more minimal then, and he performs these surgeries a lot (he's specialised in rodents and exotic animals, and does not even see cats/dogs). We will make our final decision tonight, but I think it's best to perform the operation then still this week, so she can connect with a new mate as soon as possible.
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If your vet is experienced with the operation in rodents, then the op is worth considering. However, there is no rush; so take your time to think things over!

Tips For Post-operative Care
 
thank you so much for all your input, it has been a major support in making a decision that feels right. We have taken everything in consideration, and we've decided to have her spayed. The vet says her cysts are hormonal and cystic (don't know if I translated that properly), meaning there's a risk they will grow to the extent that it will push on the intestines. We have also decided to become a host family for a guinea rescue organization, and will foster one or more guinea pigs (discussing tomorrow with the rescue organization) in order to make sure that she can at least have through the bars interaction with other guinea pigs, until the moment she has recovered enough to bond her with a new mate. So all we can do now is keeping our fingers crossed that everything will go well with the surgery!
 
So everything is much worse than we thought. It turns out the cysts are not on the ovaries but on the kidneys. As a consequence she's been under anaesthesia longer than normally. Also, the whole surgery was unnecessary in the first place. I feel very angry right now. The vet's assistant said that for this they do not do sonograms, because they are expensive. But now I am being charged for a 200 euro surgery, she has been endangered for nothing, and she has to stay longer in hospitalisation because they want to settle her kidney medication. It is so frustrating, putting her in danger could have been prevented if he would have just made a sonogram. Also, we took all the risks into account in relation to the benefits of the surgery, but I never thought about the possibility the whole issue might have been misdiagnosed, and all of that because 'sonograms are expensive'. (i'm sure they're less expensive, and much less dangerous than an unnecessary surgery). I really do not know what to do now. I also feel guilty for putting her through this for nothing. On the other hand, I feel like I'm not to blame at all but my vet is . My first reaction is to get her away from there right now, because apparently this vet does not know what he's doing, and I also do not want to pay him for the procedure, since he just made things worse. I'm afraid as well that I'll never have her back here bop-bopping through the living room in her own happy self mode. How should I react to this situation, what should I do? I really don't know right now. I'm not even over the loss of Ed, and now I already have think about this stuff. The fact that it could have easily been prevented really pisses me off.
 
I'm sorry that your piggy is experiencing a different situation than what you've been told. I'm not siding with your vet but I had the same experience with my past piggy, Bunny. The vet thought Bunny had ovarian cyst so they scheduled her for an operation (a spay). It turns out she didn't have an ovarian cyst but loads of stomach ulcers that some nearing to burst if medication won't be given. They did an exploratory surgery upon discovering that her ovaries were fine (since she was already in the op table anyway). We were thankful that they found out what was really wrong with her. Now I don't know if your vet did the same thing but take the positives out of this because you now know what really is wrong with your piggy. If they can't remove it, probably medication can help?
 
anyar.dris said:
I'm sorry that your piggy is experiencing a different situation than what you've been told. I'm not siding with your vet but I had the same experience with my past piggy, Bunny. The vet thought Bunny had ovarian cyst so they scheduled her for an operation (a spay). It turns out she didn't have an ovarian cyst but loads of stomach ulcers that some nearing to burst if medication won't be given. They did an exploratory surgery upon discovering that her ovaries were fine. We were thankful that they found out what was really wrong with her. Now I don't know if your vet did the same thing but take the positives out of this because you now know what really is wrong with your piggy. If they can't remove it, probably medication can help?
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Thanks for your answer. I do agree with you that it is good that we know the issue now, and that we know what medications to give. However, I think the process of this went fully wrong. I've called with them multiple times voicing my concerns about the risks of the surgery, and they set out the advantages and disadvantages of going ahead with it or not. I decided the risks of not doing the surgery would be higher than doing it, so I decided to do it. What I did not know was that there was a possibility he misdiagnosed the issue, and that we could find out with a sonogram. Especially given the fact I was so concerned, I feel like they should have least proposed the sonogram to see whether it were really ovarian cysts. They should not have decided for me that the sonogram was too expensive. Also, even though they found out she did not have ovarian cysts at all, they did continue with the spaying anyhow. I feel like she suffers for nothing now, and we will be charged the money for this surgery + the hospitalisation + pain medication + the medication for her kidneys, even though a sonogram would have taken out the necessity of the surgery pain medication and hospitalisation.
 
I didn't realise they continued with spaying her even though it wasn't needed. My Bunny wasn't spayed after the vet found out it wasn't needed. They just stitched her back up after they found the stomach ulcers. Your vet should have at least informed you beforehand so you could have told them spay is not needed.
 
Merab's Slave said:
So sorry that you’re having such a difficult time.
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Thank you! Update, we just picked her up, and she seems ok. She started eating again and her medication for the kidneys seems to be working fine, and she seems quite happy. I feel much calmer now. I do still think the vet should have discussed the options with us so we could make an informed decision (also tried to tell him politely, but he doesn't see the problem), but for now the most important thing is that she is ok. Thank you all so much for your support! It has really helped me.
 
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