Soecara
Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2012
- Posts
- 1,985
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2012
- Messages
- 1,985
Background - My boy Theodore had an abscess on his shoulder in mid 2013 when he was just over one year old, the abscess began forming three weeks after the scab fell off of the initial injury, which was caused by a small bite wound inflicted by a cage mate which I thought had healed well until a small lump started forming three weeks later. I found the lump when it was less then 1 cm in size, the vet recommended monitoring it and if it increased in size rapidly then to bring him in to have it removed.
Two weeks passed with slow growth then in a 24 hour period it doubled in size so a vet appointment was made to get it removed the next day. The vet used a needle to puncture the skin then squeezed on the lump to get some pus to confirm it was in fact an abscess like expected. I talked to the vet about the options, given that the location had a lot of loose skin and the easier after surgery care I chose to have it removed encapsulated. The vet asked if she could take some pictures of the procedure and I gave my permission (of course I asked for copies of the pictures).
Theodore came through the surgery very well, he was closed up with some dissolve-able stitches in the bottom layer of the skin with the top layer glued together so the stitches were covered (so he couldn't bite at them, and they wouldn't need to be removed). He was also given an oral antibiotic (baytril) which cased him to lose a bit of his appetite but his weight stayed moderately stable. His wound healed very well, the stitches took a few months to fully dissolve but they never bothered him.
Pictures - I was just now going through the pictures on my computer only to find a bunch of pictures the vet's send of of Theo's surgery that I had intended to share here (oops!). Apparently I entirely forgot about it but now one year later here they are.
The shaven area and lump pre-op -
Area after abscess removal -
Theodore all stitched up after surgery complete but still sedated-
The abscess -
The abscess cut open to show the pus inside -
Two weeks passed with slow growth then in a 24 hour period it doubled in size so a vet appointment was made to get it removed the next day. The vet used a needle to puncture the skin then squeezed on the lump to get some pus to confirm it was in fact an abscess like expected. I talked to the vet about the options, given that the location had a lot of loose skin and the easier after surgery care I chose to have it removed encapsulated. The vet asked if she could take some pictures of the procedure and I gave my permission (of course I asked for copies of the pictures).
Theodore came through the surgery very well, he was closed up with some dissolve-able stitches in the bottom layer of the skin with the top layer glued together so the stitches were covered (so he couldn't bite at them, and they wouldn't need to be removed). He was also given an oral antibiotic (baytril) which cased him to lose a bit of his appetite but his weight stayed moderately stable. His wound healed very well, the stitches took a few months to fully dissolve but they never bothered him.
Pictures - I was just now going through the pictures on my computer only to find a bunch of pictures the vet's send of of Theo's surgery that I had intended to share here (oops!). Apparently I entirely forgot about it but now one year later here they are.
The shaven area and lump pre-op -
Area after abscess removal -
Theodore all stitched up after surgery complete but still sedated-
The abscess -
The abscess cut open to show the pus inside -
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