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Worrying about anaesthetic

K

Kate0

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My lovely girl Toffee (aged 2 1/2) used to weigh about 1.22kg. Nearly a year ago, her weight started dropping, initially 1.17kg, then to 1.12 kg. Saw local vets repeatedly over summer, syringe fed critical care, weighed daily. Her weight went down to 1.05kg at lowest point but then stabilised to 1.08 from Sep 2020 to about a month ago. I hoped the Spring grass would help her go back to original weight but actually, she started dropping again, down to 1.05 and then 1.02kg.

Have taken her to vet specialist who looked at teeth etc and said all looked good, but felt ultrasound and bloods under anasthetic were neccesary as stomach area was a little tender when pressed. Prescribed painkiller.

She's booked in for this work tomorrow but I'm really worried about the anasthetic and the risks involved. I want to get to the bottom of the weight loss but so worried it's going to cause more harm. Her weight today is 1.10 and she's fluctuated between about 1.05 - 1.12 since her vet appointment. I've pressed her friend's tummy (who is a whopping 1.27kg!) and she also squeaks and obviously doesn't like it (who would!) so concerned that the stomach tenderness is a red herring.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
It is normal to worry but a very light GA with an experienced piggy vet is not particularly risky.
Our Ruby (who is 5 years old) had a gas GA a couple of weeks ago, and came round very quickly with absolutely no ill effects.

It is good to get some further tests done which will helpfully help you identify the problem behind the weight loss.
 
:agr: It is very natural to worry about any of our fur babies undergoing GA. GA will always have associated risks (same in us hoomans), but experienced vets will be confident that the need for any procedure far outweighs the risks.

If it makes you feel any better, a few of my boys have had GA over the years (and my very poorly boy had it 5 times in one month at his worst) and all recovered well.

Hope your piggy feels better soon!
 
I agree with the above, while there is always a risk, this risk is extremely minimised with a good, experienced vet and capable team. My Fern was put under while extremely emaciated to try for bloods, urinalysis and xrays, she was about 800g at the time and dropping. I've also had about 12 surgeries done over the last 18 months or so and no aneasthetic issues, in spite of having some special needs piggies.
It's natural to worry, but it should be very quick for the procedure you're having done, she will likely be sent home looking like nothings happened, minus some shaved patches of hair :)
 
The risk of GA complications rises with the length of time an animal is under and with the experience of the vet and post-op recovery nursing team. A short procedure like that shouldn't be an issue at all. :)

Things have moved on a lot in recent years but it pays to look for either a general vet experienced with operating on guinea pigs or an exotics vet trained in dealing with small furries; that ups your overall chances massively. I haven't lost a piggy in any ops or procedures in 7 years despite having an average of 2-4 full operations a year - and the last op that wasn't successful was about as high risk a make-or-break last ditch effort op to prevent an otherwise certain but very unpleasant death as you can get.

All the best - but please don't worry yourself into fine shreds.
 
GA’s have improved greatly over the years, but one of the things that you can do is prepare for bringing her home. I always make sure I have a packet of Critical Care and a 1ml syringe (there is a syringe feeding guide in the guinea pig guides in the green bar) just in case your piggie is sleepy and not very hungry so you can give a top up feed if needed. Most piggies come out of surgery very well and eat straight away, so it’s only a precaution. You can get both online or usually from your vet practice.
Hope you can find out what’s causing the weight loss 🤞
 
Thanks all. Toffee was fine after her GA. Waiting to see what the results of the blood test are.
 
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