corneal ulcer

[kat_0521]

hi all
Some of you may remember me, but I haven't posted here in a while.

I have a piggie who went to the vet on thursday and was given a diagnosis of "active corneal ulcer". Almost her entire eye is clouded and "pus-colored", she appeared to have a scab on the surface of her eye (which started to soften and appears to be healing), and she has been tearing- the fur on her cheek underneath the eye is constantly damp and matted. The eyelids are also red and very irritated and the eye itself looks slightly "bulgy" from certain angles. The vet sent me away with a tube of triple antibiotic ointment (someone hand-wrote on the package "mythracin" I think-hard to read), and a followup schedule on monday. He also said they may have to schedule surgery to remove the scab. The good news is, he said it appears to be healing, but isn't sure if she'll receover fully or not. He also numbed the eye in order to swab it and then dyed it to see if the ulcer was active.

Now when I logged onto this site, I looked up corneal ulcer and found another thread where the piggie was sent away with an anti-inflammatory and (I think) a pain killer... ??? What the heck?? My vet has always seemed cavy-savy in the past and now I'm wondering if he knows what he is doing....
I also don't want to appear to be "know it all" when I go back for my follow up visit by suggesting another/alternative method of treatment.

My girl Ginger, is eating & drinking normally, and is still weeing and pooing. Her two roomies don't appear to be mistreating her or bullying her- which I feared would happen.

Does anyone have suggestions on treatments? Can I suggest anything to the vet? When I treat her with the ointment, I wrap her in a towel(burrito style LOL), then apply the ointment and gently rub outside the lids to smear it around. Normally after this, she'll struggle to hide inside the towel which I'm afraid just rubbed the oinment off and I try for a 2nd dose. I always try not to touch, poke, rub, etc the eye itself at all.

Any help and suggestions at all are greatly appreciated.
Thanks :)

[Haley0489]

VJ told you about getting painkillers.

Originally Posted by VoodooJoint

I If that is what it is your pig needs to see a vet as soon as possible and get on some antibiotic drops and painkillers.

There's nothing wrong with seeming "know it all" when it comes to your animal. I'm honestly about to email my vet, give him antibiotic names, instructions on dosing and demand the prescription [I'm not joking], but he isn't truly cavy savvy...but that's not the point. When it's your money & animal at stake, there's no reason not to double and triple check your vet and ask hey, why did you do this? Why didn't you do that? They know what works in the books, they don't know your animal. If you want to try an alternative method than speak up, only you know whats right for your piggie.

[kat_0521]

First off, thanks very much for your reply Haley. :)

**QUICK UPDATE**
Ginger went in for the vet's follow-up appt on monday the 18th. The corneal ulcer has gotten worse, and the recommendation is for surgery, to have the ulcer removed.
I asked about anti-inflammatory and pain killer meds - the vet told me the antibiotic cream has a low dose of pain killer to help with discomfort, as well as to help with inflammation. So I'm continuing to use the ointment (I was also told I could use it as many times per day as I wanted- not to be limited to 3 doses).

And now, after "breaking the piggy bank" (no pun intended LOL), I'm VERY close to the estimate the vet gave me for Ginger's surgery. I'll have the rest of the money when I get paid at the end of this week. Believe me, scraping together a couple hundred dollars at the drop of a hat is NO FUN!
Ginger is having her surgery Monday morning (the 25th). To anyone with religious or Christian beliefs, please pray for her. Both of us would really appreciate it. :)

Has anyone else on this site dealt with this before? The vet couldn't give me an answer as to whether or not Ginger would keep her sight. I think, if it came to that, she would adapt just fine...but I still worry.
After surgery, should I quarantine her from her 2 roomies? (By the way, she lives with 2 other girls and they are in a C&C 4x2) I have NO IDEA what to expect. For all I know, they could be handing me Ginger with a mini-cone attatched to her neck or something...

Again ANY help is VERY MUCH appreciated. Thanks again everyone.

[salana]

I've never heard of a pig having surgery on the eye. Some have had an eye removed due to infection or injury. It seems to be a fairly easy surgery to recover from. Most pigs don't do well with e-collars, because they don't really have necks, and the collar interferes with their ability to eat hay, pellets, veggies, and especially poop.

Obviously, keep an eye out for infection (swelling or reddening of the eye, crusty goop around it) and do whatever the vet tells you in terms of home care.

I don't pray, but I do sincerely hope Ginger does well.

[kat_0521]

**UPDATE**
Ginger went to the vet this morning for her surgery. I was optimistic- the spot on her eye was getting smaller, the eye itself wasn't swollen or "bulgy", and while there was still tearing and small amounts of pus, overall the eye looked like it was healing. I thought they would cancel the surgery and say "keep up the good work"...
Well, they DID cancel the surgery, but for different reasons. She was misdiagnosed. What the vet thought was a corneal ulcer, was really just lots of fluid inside her eye slowly making its' way out (hence the tearing). I don't remember the exact medical term used, but the vet explained to me she basically had a punctured eye. It can't be saved and her vision (in that eye) will be lost.
Treatment was for me to continue using the anti-bacterial ointment 3+ times a day for the next two weeks, and continue to keep an eye on it. By the way, they gave me a 2nd tube of the ointment and it's actually called "mycitracin".

So again, I'm not sure what to expect... Will she have an empty socket one day? Will I find bits of flesh in the cage one day that will have been her eye? (Forgive me for being graphic, I wasn't sure how to phrase that without being offensive)... I don't know if I should take her back to the vet once it's evident that she has no eye, to get the opening stitched up?
Ginger is adjusting fine. She was napping right before I got online to post this and was FAST ASLEEP - even when the Meg and Luna started wheeking for more hay. So far they're not picking on her...but time will tell.

So, like always, ANY help is greatly appreciated. Especially if there are other members who have gone through this.
Thanks again :)