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Update on Munchie

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ghostbusterbunny

ghostbusterbunny

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Well we took her to the vets a couple of weeks ago to get two lumps on her neck checked out, we were sent away with a course of baytril and an anti-inflammatory with the advice that if that doesn't work, we should just monitor her to make sure they don't get any bigger.

This morning I checked her over... I found another one. This time on the other side of her neck. It's only small, but I'm 99% sure it's going to start growing to the size of the other two. Needless to say she's already booked in to see the vet but I'm worried, really worried.

I honestly think this is something malignant, rather than cysts or fatty lumps, they're all in her lymph nodes I think. I think she has cancer. I pray she hasn't, she's only a year old, but I'm pretty sure something this serious can't be good for her.

Is there anything I should do at the vets? We're going tomorrow morning.

8...
 
BIG HUG

Fingers firmly crossed for you and all your piggies!
 
oh bless her! Be insistent at the vets and don't leave until you are satisfied. If you think she needs tests to rule anything out etc then push for them and continue doing what you already do... which is the best you can for your girls. I really hope everything goes well at the vets and that its not bad news
 
Okay, maybe not, she fits none of the other signs of CL - she's a normal, fat, happy pig. Ugh, I should stop reading things, I'm just winding myself up now.

Basically, she is acting absolutely normal, aside from the fact that she has 2 big lumps and a little lump. I have noticed that she's eating a bit slower, but with a lump right in the space where her jaw is, I'm not surprised and she hasn't lost any weight.

I'ma stop reading now. :(

Edit: Thankyou guys! I really hope she's okay and it's nothing nasty. She means the world to me :(
 
Update: Just got back from the vets, and it's a mixed bag I think.

The vet found one or two lumps that I missed (I didn't think to check under her arms, and that's where the new ones are. At first she was worried that it was cancer, so she took her to take another aspirate to see if she could get a decent enough sample to send off. Apparently when that happened a lot of pus came out, so now we know it's at least two abcesses and the infection is spreading through her lymphatic system.

We've left with the maximum dose of Baytril (0.4, twice a day) to keep her on till Tuesday. She's going to call us back with a quote for surgery... which my mum really isn't impressed with - it's going to be around the £150-200 mark to sort it out. As I've not been able to find a job for the summer yet, the cost is going to fall squarely on my parents to put her through the op and get at least the two bigger lumps out.

Are there any other options open besides surgery? The cost we can deal with (even if sligtly unwillingly from my parents it needs doing so it'll be done if necessary). The issue I'm having with this is that she now has at least 4 lumps, and the vet as good as admitted they can't take them all out due to the fact that there just won't be enough skin to close her up with. So the chances of them reoccuring are much greater.

I did ask about trying to clean them out ourselves and keep her on the antibiotics for a while but she said that because the abcesses form such a thick skin on them the chances of flushing and cleaning working are very low.

Ugh, I don't know what's best. Obviously the vet is the expert here, not me, but if there are options that you guys know of that she hasn't mentioned, then please let me know!
 
I would be inclined to ask on GuineaLynx, as someone will have come across this before I'm sure.

Good Luck. x
 
Oh heck love i'm sorry..........poor little Munchie :(
dam these ruddy abscesses :<>
I'm hoping too that someone else has had this experience and can tell you what they did.....

BIG HUGS FOR YOU AND MUNCHIE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
IF it is CL (ie bacterial cause) as opposed to a string of fatty lipomas (and from your post the needle aspirate identifies pus hence bacterial infection) then, yes, there are other options to consider before surgery.

I had an outbreak of CL in my herd three years ago. Most were just the odd lump which was cured with baytril. One however developed a series of lumps in the cheek area and needed two ops and long acting tetracyclin injections to clear it.

Best way forwards before considering going with surgery is to get a bacterial culture done fast from a needle aspirate to identify the bugs and establish their antibiotic sensitivity. Alternatively (or in addition to awaiting the culture results) you could consider just blasting it with the realtively new antibioitic zithromax on all affected pigs as this is the best antibioitic to knock out deep seated abcesses. (Simon Maddox of Cat and Rabbit clinic Dunston has the dosages and uses this to great effect.....get your vet to talk to him)

If it were me and my pigs, I would have gone for zithromax before opting for surgery....but at the time both myself and the vet didn;t know about it. It is relatively new in terms of being used with guinea pigs so you may need to persuade your vet.

If you can wipe out the infection entirely, then like with my pigs, the lumps won;t recur.

Good luck - PM me if you want more info.

x
 
Just want to send ((HUGS))! I think in the case of multiple surgery sites, I would probably ask about heavy duty antibiotic treatment before surgery, like the previous poster recommended. I might also suggest that they lance and drain the abscesses and give heavy duty antibiotics while you keep the incisions flushed. Yes, abscesses have a tendancy to recur and this isn't always enough to clear them (we tried this one my pig Linney last summer and still ended up needing surgery to remove the whole lump) but it might be worth a shot before pulling out the 'big guns.'

I hope Munchie gets well soon- it is so miserable when they are sick!
 
Pebble said:
IF it is CL (ie bacterial cause) as opposed to a string of fatty lipomas (and from your post the needle aspirate identifies pus hence bacterial infection) then, yes, there are other options to consider before surgery.

I had an outbreak of CL in my herd three years ago. Most were just the odd lump which was cured with baytril. One however developed a series of lumps in the cheek area and needed two ops and long acting tetracyclin injections to clear it.

Best way forwards before considering going with surgery is to get a bacterial culture done fast from a needle aspirate to identify the bugs and establish their antibiotic sensitivity. Alternatively (or in addition to awaiting the culture results) you could consider just blasting it with the realtively new antibioitic zithromax on all affected pigs as this is the best antibioitic to knock out deep seated abcesses. (Simon Maddox of Cat and Rabbit clinic Dunston has the dosages and uses this to great effect.....get your vet to talk to him)

If it were me and my pigs, I would have gone for zithromax before opting for surgery....but at the time both myself and the vet didn;t know about it. It is relatively new in terms of being used with guinea pigs so you may need to persuade your vet.

If you can wipe out the infection entirely, then like with my pigs, the lumps won;t recur.

Good luck - PM me if you want more info.

x
Click to expand...

Freela said:
Just want to send ((HUGS))! I think in the case of multiple surgery sites, I would probably ask about heavy duty antibiotic treatment before surgery, like the previous poster recommended. I might also suggest that they lance and drain the abscesses and give heavy duty antibiotics while you keep the incisions flushed. Yes, abscesses have a tendancy to recur and this isn't always enough to clear them (we tried this one my pig Linney last summer and still ended up needing surgery to remove the whole lump) but it might be worth a shot before pulling out the 'big guns.'

I hope Munchie gets well soon- it is so miserable when they are sick!
Click to expand...

Thanks guys! Pebble, I have made a note of that antibiotic and will mention it to the vet on Tuesday! I don't know if it would be possible to get enough to treat all my pigs just in case or whether they'd only give it to me for Munchie... I'll have to sign a waiver though I think.

We have managed to drain the biggest one today. I found that the scab where the aspirate was done had come off and on a slight squeeze a little bit of pus came out. I squirmed like a little girl and handed her over to my dad who did the nasty bit and squeezed it dry. I know you're supposed to flush, but the hole was invisible so there's no way of getting into it to flush. She looks so much better now she doesn't have a massive lump on the side of her.

I've cleaned her up and will continue to clean her until we can see the vet. I think I might go for lancing first rather than surgery, now it's obvious we're dealing with abcesses rather than something nastier. Abcesses I can deal with, as long as my dad does the icky bit for me I can keep them cleaned up no problems.

Thanks again!
 
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