Conditions Uterine Tumor: What Would You Do?

[zsquidtastic]

Guys, she's finally doing better - nearly three weeks after the surgery! Today she's eating hay, pellets, veg, drinking water, moving around all as she normally would. She hasn't gained the strength to do a lap around the cage or a popocorn or anything of that nature, but she seems to be doing 95% better. Hoooooooooray!

I'm going to focus on keeping her healthy and getting some more weight on her; right now she's at 1000g (the vet says this is a normal weight & that she shouldn't gain anymore, but honestly if Opal had went into the surgery at 1000g she would have been down to 700-800g after and that's a scary weight for me). I'd like to see her get up to 1100g.

There is still the second surgery looming in my mind. And the vet said if anything were to happen with pyometra or a new polyp it would likely happen within the first couple of months. So... guess I'm playing things by ear right now. Honestly, judging off of how long it took her to recover from this one, I don't know if she should go through another. I know the flank spay is less invasive, but it's still a hard choice. On the other hand, I do want all of this to be done and I don't want to have to worry about issues in the future. So it's a tough call.

But I will relish in her good health for now!

 

[ItsaZoo]

Thank you for the update and the good news. I’ve been following her recovery and hoping she would continue to improve. You have both been through a lot and I wish you both the best!

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Very very glad to hear that Opal is doing well. Surgery is such a stressful thing to go through, both for the pig and their people. Recovery is just as stressful.

Looking forward to more good news.

 

[zsquidtastic]

Hi guys! It's been nearly four months since Opal's surgery and she weighs around 1120 - which I think is great. Her hair took forever to grow back (they had shaved both of the "flanks" but decided against making the incisions there apparently) but it's finally coming in this week. Since it had been four months since the surgery, I was starting to think this was too long for hair to grow back, and it may actually be an indicator of ovarian cysts. And of course any time I consult the vet they're like - yes, we should do the second surgery. So I ended up scheduling the surgery tomorrow, but now I'm of course having doubts. Last week when I scheduled it, her hair was pretty patchy and she was losing hair, I also thought once of her nipples may be slightly crusty (vet had told me to check for this sign). This week and especially today it's like full growth of the hair back and I couldn't detect any abnormalities on her underside. She isn't sensitive in that area (or anywhere really) and she's still keeping up a good appetite and everything.

I hate to put her through it again, I don't want to risk losing her again, and of course it's another $800-$1000.

The only other option is to schedule an ultrasound. What are your guys' experience with ultrasounds being able to detect cysts? At this point, would you just go through with the surgery? I don't know if I'm getting too indecisive, but I'm weird and nervous about this stuff always.

Thanks!

 

[bpatters]

If the hair's growing back and the nipples aren't crusty, I'd just wait and watch for a while. No need to rush into an ultrasound or surgery.

 

[zsquidtastic]

Thank you, bpatters, for the voice of reason! I've canceled the surgery and I feel much better about it.