Swelling of neck (Abscess Removal)

[anyar.dris]

I second what @Bill & Ted said. My boy Bryce had a neck abscess on Oct 2022. Our vet had to marsupialised it and leave it open until the abscess is sure gone. We had to clean it 2x everyday with hibiscrub solution or saline. He also had to take zythromax for antibiotics and of course a big dose of Loxicom/Metacam 2x a day (Bryce is a big pig so it was a high dosage). Unless the whole sack was removed during the initial surgery, it will just keep on filling up with fluid when it's stitched closed.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

When your vet first diagnosed it was an abscess, before surgery was done, how did they diagnose this? Did they stick a needle into it?

 

[piggieminder]

I thought @piggl said the whole capsule was removed? In which case it doesn't need draining or cleaning, the abscess. This is why Peanut had an operation to remove the whole capsule. His abscess was tucked under his chin in an awkward place to keep cleaning.

 

[anyar.dris]

I thought @piggl said the whole capsule was removed? In which case it doesn't need draining or cleaning, the abscess. This is why Peanut had an operation to remove the whole capsule. His abscess was tucked under his chin in an awkward place to keep cleaning.

Maybe there is another sack? Just wondering because it happened to Bryce.

A few months after we adopted Bryce (he was probably around 6-8months) old that time, he had a neck abscess. The local vet we took him to managed to removed the whole sack and stitched it up and was just given antibiotics and loxicom after. About exactly a year after, he again developed a neck abscess in the same location (what I posted above). We took him to Ellie Whitehead that time and she said the sack was located in an awkward place so she had to marsupialised it. This was also the reason why Bryce would sometimes choke while eating. We didn't realise that there is another abscess in his neck, until it just grew and filled up with fluid that year. After all that, Bryce stopped having those occasional choking/coughing while eating.

 

[piggl]

When your vet first diagnosed it was an abscess, before surgery was done, how did they diagnose this? Did they stick a needle into it?

They did stick an needle into it and their was no obvious fluid, so the options were abscess or tumour.
When they removed it, it was apparently a quite intensive procedure, and it was very near areas such as the jugular and the oesophagus.

Just an update for everyone, we got a vet appointment today as his neck continued to ‘ooze’, but my vet isn’t concerned at all with it.
The fluid is just serous fluid as far as he can tell as it isn’t bloody/pus-sy or green or anything.
He also believes the hard lump is just a seroma, or something like that lol.

He is getting his stitches out friday as he is pleased with the healing process, of the actual incision site, so fingers crossed this week all goes well.

Thank you all for your replies and sharing your stories/thoughts! I really appreciate it.

Maybe there is another sack? Just wondering because it happened to Bryce.

A few months after we adopted Bryce (he was probably around 6-8months) old that time, he had a neck abscess. The local vet we took him to managed to removed the whole sack and stitched it up and was just given antibiotics and loxicom after. About exactly a year after, he again developed a neck abscess in the same location (what I posted above). We took him to Ellie Whitehead that time and she said the sack was located in an awkward place so she had to marsupialised it. This was also the reason why Bryce would sometimes choke while eating. We didn't realise that there is another abscess in his neck, until it just grew and filled up with fluid that year. After all that, Bryce stopped having those occasional choking/coughing while eating.

That’s something interesting to think about. I don’t think my vet is concerned this is what is happening but I will have to keep an eye on him in the future, just incase!

 

[piggl]

I thought @piggl said the whole capsule was removed? In which case it doesn't need draining or cleaning, the abscess. This is why Peanut had an operation to remove the whole capsule. His abscess was tucked under his chin in an awkward place to keep cleaning.

Yes I believe the whole capsule was removed, although I may be wrong as I can’t remember exactly what he said and it’s been so long and so many vet visits since our initial appointment, even though it was only last week lol.

 

[IgglesPiggles]

Sounds like Remi is doing really well to me

 

[piggl]

Hi everyone,

Everything seemed well and I thought Remi was ready to have his stitches removed.
Well we get to the vets this morning and he has to pull loads of infected crust away from the site. I was really confused as last night it looked perfect, and I didn’t even look at his neck this morning I just plopped him in the carrier.

Well now his stitches are out and he has a big gaping, infected, hole in his neck. I cant lie it really freaks me out!
My vet doesn’t want me to flush it at all, he says he wants to see how it gets on over the weekend and we have an appointment early Tuesday to give it a check over.

Will he be okay over the weekend with an unflushed gaping infected hole in his neck?
I’m away to change his bedding now a few days early, and Ill probably changing it daily from now as the wound is fully open.

I am going to attach images so Major CW for blood/open wound/surgical site.

 

[fluffysal]

Oh, bless him.

 

[weepweeps]

Oh bless him. It will probably just close over and fill up again. Have you been given Zithromax yet? Peppers wound was stitched open and was flushed out three times a day. Good luck I hope it clears up soon.

 

[piggl]

I'm in bits, I really don’t know how to deal with this. It really doesn’t feel right to just leave it open (and unflushed) when infected like that.

I can handle medicating and cleaning their anal sacks even but this is something completely new, and i’m struggling with it

 

[weepweeps]

You’ll be fine. When I was dealing with Peppers abscess I was completely stressed at first. But it gets easier.

Just do what the vet has said over the weekend. They are on antibiotics aren’t they? And pain killers?

 

[piggl]

You’ll be fine. When I was dealing with Peppers abscess I was completely stressed at first. But it gets easier.

Just do what the vet has said over the weekend. They are on antibiotics aren’t they? And pain killers?

Yes, he has baytril twice a day and a decent dose of painkiller.

I’m going to be changing his bedding daily over the weekend (he’s on bath mats) to try and keep it all as clean as possible.

 

[Claire W]

Aw bless him it will just heal up and keep refilling if it isn’t flushed out. I’d keep a close eye on him over the next few days and take him back to the vets if it closes up again x

 

[piggl]

Aw bless him it will just heal up and keep refilling if it isn’t flushed out. I’d keep a close eye on him over the next few days and take him back to the vets if it closes up again x

That’s what i’m worried about. It doesn’t feel right to just leave it open and unflushed, especially when it’s infected, but it’s what he wanted.

Now i’m not a vet so obviously my opinion is a bit invaluable but he says he wants to see if it closes up on its own over the weekend. From the threads i’ve been reading they’re meant to heal from the inside out, which makes sense but not something i have heard of previously. It just seems a bit strange because the very likely outcome is that, as you said, it will close up but not be completely healed, and have to be reopened again.

I just feel like we’re wasting time by waiting until Tuesday to see what happens.
Anyway, thank you all for your replies, I just have my fingers crossed we don’t run into any complications over the weekend.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Having dealt with many abscesses, over the years, I am totally confused with why your vet has said not to flush the abscess, as it is the only way to keep getting rid of the pus, that continues to be produced, whilst it heals from the inside outwards. You have to be really pro-active, if you are to get on top of these infections! Also baytril isn't particularly effective with abscesses. I would really recommend azithromycin.

 

[Claire W]

That’s what i’m worried about. It doesn’t feel right to just leave it open and unflushed, especially when it’s infected, but it’s what he wanted.

Now i’m not a vet so obviously my opinion is a bit invaluable but he says he wants to see if it closes up on its own over the weekend. From the threads i’ve been reading they’re meant to heal from the inside out, which makes sense but not something i have heard of previously. It just seems a bit strange because the very likely outcome is that, as you said, it will close up but not be completely healed, and have to be reopened again.

I just feel like we’re wasting time by waiting until Tuesday to see what happens.
Anyway, thank you all for your replies, I just have my fingers crossed we don’t run into any complications over the weekend.

I’ve never dealt with an abscess but have dealt with an infected eye socket after an eye removal which was the same principle and we had to keep removing the scab to keep the hole open and flush it to remove the pus.


I’m not a vet but I don’t understand his theory on not flushing it and allowing it to close up x

 

[piggl]

Having dealt with many abscesses, over the years, I am totally confused with why your vet has said not to flush the abscess, as it is the only way to keep getting rid of the pus, that continues to be produced, whilst it heals from the inside outwards. You have to be really pro-active, if you are to get on top of these infections! Also baytril isn't particularly effective with abscesses. I would really recommend azithromycin.

Its not like he didn’t acknowledge the fact that it may need flushed, he says no flushing for now but “that may change on Tuesday”.

I appreciate all the work he’s done for Remi, but this just feels really weird.
I’m not sure what to do, I can’t go against his advice but sitting back and watching it heal incorrectly knowing it’s going to extend his recovery just, doesn’t make me feel great.

Thank you for your reply

 

[GPTV]

Oh the poor little poppet!

I'm not great with 'blood n guts' gory things either, but when my RB girl Grace had an abscess on her cheek, the vet put her on Zithromax for approx. a week, which helped to dry out the pus , he then operated removing a lot of the dried flaky pus (couldn't remove it all because it was entwined between delicate nerves, etc.).
He stitched it open (grossed me out too!) & I had to rub/soak any scabbing off & flush the wound daily with standard oral Baytril - 3x for the first few days, then 2x daily for approx. Another week to 10 days?

I was giving Grace Zithromax for nearly a month in total.
I was lucky she didn't stop eating from the beginning.
Although I did give her a few lots of supreme recovery as a top up, she loved it and would eat it off a spoon, it was part of her treat after I'd been playing around with her face!

I can't remember the dose now but the vet was happy to prescribe a generous dose of loxicom (dog) twice daily to reduce the pain & inflammation.

I kept the girls indoors on towels so that she didn't get too many bits of hay in her face by sitting in the hay pile.

Grace made a full recovery & when her hair has grown back, you couldn't tell there has ever been anything there


It seems very odd your vet doesn't want to flush it yet?
Could you ring back & say the wound has some bits of hay in it, could you flush it out with a saline solution to keep it clear of debris.... that way you can flush it, without upsetting him - it's for a different reason than just going against his wishes, you could do it with his blessing then

Fingers & paws crossed for a full & speedy recovery xx

 

[piggl]

Oh the poor little poppet!

I'm not great with 'blood n guts' gory things either, but when my RB girl Grace had an abscess on her cheek, the vet put her on Zithromax for approx. a week, which helped to dry out the pus , he then operated removing a lot of the dried flaky pus (couldn't remove it all because it was entwined between delicate nerves, etc.).
He stitched it open (grossed me out too!) & I had to rub/soak any scabbing off & flush the wound daily with standard oral Baytril - 3x for the first few days, then 2x daily for approx. Another week to 10 days?

I was giving Grace Zithromax for nearly a month in total.
I was lucky she didn't stop eating from the beginning.
Although I did give her a few lots of supreme recovery as a top up, she loved it and would eat it off a spoon, it was part of her treat after I'd been playing around with her face!

I can't remember the dose now but the vet was happy to prescribe a generous dose of loxicom (dog) twice daily to reduce the pain & inflammation.

I kept the girls indoors on towels so that she didn't get too many bits of hay in her face by sitting in the hay pile.

Grace made a full recovery & when her hair has grown back, you couldn't tell there has ever been anything there


It seems very odd your vet doesn't want to flush it yet?
Could you ring back & say the wound has some bits of hay in it, could you flush it out with a saline solution to keep it clear of debris.... that way you can flush it, without upsetting him - it's for a different reason than just going against his wishes, you could do it with his blessing then

Fingers & paws crossed for a full & speedy recovery xx

Thank you for your reply!

I think what i’m going to do is leave him for now, because he seems fine in himself, but i’ll probably call them first thing tomorrow and try and get an appointment. They are open till 12pm so if all else fails I will probably say what you have suggested.

With any luck I might get another vet who believes the same as you all, rightfully, feel about the flushing of his abscess.

 

[piggl]

Hi, just a quick update.

Me and my mum had a look at it tonight while he was having his nightly antibiotics, we both wore uncontaminated blue gloves, and it does seem to just be drying up.

What I am wondering is, Will the infection stay if it closes up? With the stitches there is always the chance that they can become infected, so now that they are out and he’s continuing his antibiotics, will the infection move on it’s own?

I also wonder what the chances are that healing did occur when it was stitched up. His initial operation was last tuesday, so 10 days have passed since then.
There has been a bit of fluid swelling and seroma (if that’s what it’s called) but this had been treated with an increase of metacam and a cold compress on it 3x a day.

I understand these are very medical questions so this may not be the “best” place to ask, but I do know that you are all amazing people and a few, if not most of you, have atleast some experience with something similar. Any advice/reply given is so greatly appreciated.

My last thought was pre-emptively upping his metacam to try and reduce any inflammation that may occur from the drying of his wound. He is currently on 0.35ml once a day, and the vet says the most he can get is 0.52ml, which he was getting for a while but I felt he was ready to move down again (a couple days ago before the infection happened). So this wouldn’t be against/without a vets input, but I don’t know if they would agree to up it “just in case”.

Thanks again for all your replies

 

[piggl]

x

 

[AidaB]

I can’t help, but wanted you to know I am thinking of you & Remi.
Did you manage to get a vet appointment today?

 

[piggl]

I can’t help, but wanted you to know I am thinking of you & Remi.
Did you manage to get a vet appointment today?

No I didn't.
His neck seems good thankfully, I'm just hoping its managed to heal over the past 10 days when it was stitched close, and that if it closes now it will be healed.

 

[AidaB]

No I didn't.
His neck seems good thankfully, I'm just hoping its managed to heal over the past 10 days when it was stitched close, and that if it closes now it will be healed.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.