Bladder Stone Surgery Complications

[WillowBean]

Our 5 year old female piggy (Willow) went in for Bladder Stone surgery yesterday.

Immediately after surgery they were having issues getting her temp back to normal, however a couple hours later we got a call that her temp had come back up and they would keep her overnight for observation.

During the night we received another call that her temp is very low again, and now they are hearing issues with a crackling sound in her lungs and also hearing a heart murmur. Also possibly an ulcer in her eye as well?

Currently she is on an O2 machine and we are awaiting further communication from the Vet to decide if she needs to stay in the ICU on the Oxygen machine, or if we can take her off the machine and return to regular hospitalization.

For others that have gone through this process, are these common complications post surgery?

We knew it would be tough for her coming off the anesthesia, but this seems like a lot of things have gone wrong in very rapid succession. Me and my partner feel overwhelmed by how quickly this is happening, considering that it seemed initially she was recovering well.

It would be very helpful to hear other Guinea Parents experiences with this surgery and any advice for navigating this unfortunate situation we are currently in.

Thank you all!

[Lynx]

I am sorry to hear she is having these problems. None of my guinea pigs have had stone surgery so what I know has more to do with reading other people's experiences. What kind of anesthesia did she receive?

What you have seen is not typical. Generally, we've given pain medication advice (see info given and other info linked to on https://www.guinealynx.info/pain.html )

I understand how overwhelming this can be and wish I could be more helpful.

[Renonvsparky]

Skipper had an abscess lanced and a drain tube put in a few weeks ago. Much less invasive than bladder stones, but he had to be put under and they used gas to do it. Afterwards, he took his time fully coming to and had a slight wheeze until the next evening. He's 6 and in good health. If they used gas on your Willow, it may take several days for her lungs to clear, especially because she was under a lot longer. Otherwise, I can't think of anything else that would cause her wheezing unless she already had an infection or a small amount of fluid in her lungs and the surgery complicated it. As for the rest of her symptoms, I'm sorry I can't offer much other than well wishes for her. Surgery is always risky and more so in older pigs.

[Talishan]

Hang in. Ditto to the advice you've gotten; while bladder stone surgery is not the most invasive surgery (as I understand it, it does not breach the abdominal wall), it's still tricky and nontrivial.

Our vets have kept body temperature up by filling a surgical glove with warm water and gently tying it loosely around the pig postop. Looks very weird, but works. Either that or an incubator, which should (I think) also support O2 administration.

Inhalant anaesthesia can really irritate their eyes. Their mouths, eyes and nose are too close together to use a mask that just covers the nose; as far as I know (my knowledge is dated), there's not one small enough for that. Usually the vet will use a bit of a sterile, inert gel in and around the eye to minimize the irritation. Tl:dr; her eye may, hopefully, just be irritated.

Some wheezing is not unusual -- not really normal, but not unusual -- as she clears the anaesthesia, like Renon says above. If she has any kind of heart compromise, this will take longer to clear and it will take longer for her to recover. I'd suggest asking the vet about heart support medication, especially if they're hearing a murmur.

https://guinealynx.info/heart.html

How is she doing?