[Gpdd] [health] piggy bleeding - possible operation

[Dr Kay Dudman]

I remember someone saying that their mature piggy was bleeding and might
need to be spayed although they were worried that her age might be a
problem.

I am sorry if I have missed any recent correspondence on this, but I would
recommend going ahead with the surgery. If your piggy is passing blood,
there is a problem somewhere which is not likely to get better by itself.
It could be ovarian cysts, or it could be a pyometrium (like an abscess in
the uterus).  I have had mature lady piggies spayed for just such reasons
and they have come out very well (one was 6 years old, and lived another
18 months).

What I would recommend is asking the vet to use a gaseous anaesthetic
(isoflurane is good) and *not* injectable anaesthetics (the problem here
is that these linger in the body, whereas the gas is breathed out and
it's gone).

Important things to watch are that your piggy eats well after surgery and
passes faecal pellets; any problems here could indicate GI stasis, which
means the gut needs to be stimulated (sometimes metocloprimide is used)
and something like fibreplex or yogurt to repopulate the gut with healthy
bacteria.

Hope this helps with the decision,

Kay



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