Inflamed incision area 5 days post-neuter (posted for SQ)

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Dahlas said:
Poor boys.......and poor you. You have more then your share of trouble with neuters..... :sad3:
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In this case, my vet is very concerned about the suture material used.
After seeing the suture material that was used on the outside, he is very concerned about the internal stiches and is contacting the vet in NS.
 
any way you can fill your tub an inch or so with hot water, add salt, let it cool a bit, and just have them all sit in there for 10mins or so? and then do flushing, compresses etc. one at a time. Just so it will soften the skin, and might remove scabs and some gunk and maybe make your life a bit easier?

Its the only way i can bath Sid for his medicated shampoo without getting scratched to bits. Restraining him causes more stress too :(

I hope they heal fast. Let us know what your vet discovers about the suture material
 
I'll try that. Thank you.

Casper's testicle that "popped" last week has been repeatedly cleaned out and is looking good. His other testicle, however, continues to enlarge.

Gus's abscess has healed.

John's testicles seem to be healing ok.

Luke has one testicle that is about to "pop". His other one seems to be healing ok.

edit: the suture material used is ok.
 
There are two alternative therapies you can try. Traumeel is a homotox remedy you can get at Superstores. It comes in a cream, drops and tablets. If you get tabs or drops you can put them in a little water (distilled is best) and give them the water at frequent intervals. Traumeel helps the body to remove debris from inflammed sites and to help the body fight bacterial infection. What is left after this panic can be used for you if you have any kind of bruising or injury. I usually buy the drops, I pull .1 of a ml in a 1 ml syringe then fill the rest with water. I give .1 ml by mouth every 15 mins initially then 2 times per day until the condition resolves. My vet now actually uses traumeel injectible liquid to bath surgery sites while she is working. They've watched inflamed tissues actually change colour.

The second remedy for abscesses is Silicea. You can get 30 ch from Superstore as well. $6 for a vial of pellets. Put one pellet in a new 1 ml syringe, fill with clean water and again you can give by mouth every 15 mins for four doses then go to twice a day. I've had abscesses come to head and resolve nicely using Silicea. I also use it to manage my own dental abscesses that I've lived with for 10 years. (afraid of dentists).

You can't overdose on homeopathics if they are dissolved in water. They are an energy medicine that works on the same level as accupuncture, and they trigger the body to do the healing itself. The only thing to be careful of is storage as really strong smells like eucalyptus or perfume destroy the energy signature as does the waves off big electrical things, don't store near the fridge or air conditioner!

Good luck. My Georgio died after almost a year of infection from a neuter. Getting the sites open and draining is really the key. Warren neutered at the same time had both balls burst and healed up nicely while Georgie was sick until he died a year later, the infections having destroyed his immune system.
 
Another bizarre thing is to pack the open wounds when they burst with sugar. Simply flush the wound completely with saline or an antiseptic solution and air dry gently with a hair dryer on low. Pack as much granulated sugar in the wound as possible. It will turn into a paste from any moisture in the cells near the surface. This process of sugar attracting moisture actually removes moisture from the bacteria and kills them. When I used this with Warren it worked really well but he needed to be by himself in a cage so Squrim wouldn't indulge in "abscess-cicles". I also had to body cast him to keep him from eating the sugar himself. I think we flushed out the wound and packed 2 or 3 times a day for 2 or 3 days and he healed up beautifully. I found this trick on the website for the vet college in Guelph, Ontario. They use sugar in deep wounds for horses as it works really well and is non toxic to the healing tissues.
 
Thanks rodentmama, I'll look into it.

Today when giving meds to Luke I smelled a very bad odour so I used a warm damp cloth and was able to peel back some of the dead black skin on his abscess. It contained a lot of thick green pus. While applying gentle pressure to extract pus, the neuter stump (?) came out covered in green pus. Luke decided to investigate and pulled it out a bit more. So emergency vet visit ... I could have pushed it back in but was afraid of even worse infection.
I was fortunate to be able to reach my mother (as I no longer have a car) and she drove us to the vets.

Casper and John still have growing neuter abscesses.
John also has a huge lump near his right hip so will be trying to schedule surgery for him in Sept.
 
jorats said:
Oh my... was the vet who performed the surgeries notified of all the on going problems, he needs to change his protocol.
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I let him know about the abcess problem last week and my vet has spoken to him.

Strange how the girls he has spayed do well but neuter abcesses seem quite common.
 
My new vet explained to me how risky rat neuters really are.....she said spays were major surgery of course but much more straightforward.......a rat, because they can retract their testicles, made a neuter more difficult and was very prone to infection and other major problems......The vet doing them really needed to be care full and to know what they are doing.....
 
I also feel even more nervous about neuters than spays. I feel guilty about having neuters done because of the risk and because of the fact that it's more for my convenience (allergy control, peace in the colony, etc) than for the rat's health. I had never intended to adopt boys, but ended up with three very nice ones. Two had been neutered already, but it was hard for me to contemplate having the procedure done for Bill.

I am lucky to have a vet who is very skilful and knowledgable, otherwise I would not dare to take a rat for a neuter.
 
So sorry to hear about your boys' ongoing problems with abscesses.......
I had my two boys done just before yours, and they had absolutely no problems. (Same vet). Go figure!
I hope you can get them back to health. Maybe you should do susceptibility testing to see which antibiotic will be the most effective.....
 
Ohboy :( Those poor little fellas.. Hoping the very best for all 3 and sending them kisses.. I admire you & your calm. You're all in my prayers..
 
How are the little guys doing? I've sure been praying for their healing and hoping they're learning to live thru the heart not the cajones.
 
Luke's abscess is healing.
Casper's other testicle continues to expand :(
John has two testicles that are growing larger and harder. :sad3:
And I think Rhubarb may have an abscess up near his penis as I can feel a hard lump :(
But Gus and Buddy are still doing ok … treating Gus for head tilt again :(

Thanks for asking ... the boys and I can certainly use lots of prayer.
 
Took the 4 boys to the vet today.
My vet has been doing some research and is wondering if there might be some sort of bacteria in my cage ... makes sense since most of my FNs were bought second hand and although I did scrub them down, I didn't use bleach. :doh:
Also Gus and Buddy who were neutered at the same time but live in a different cage, seem to be doing fine.

So ..... over the next several days I will be taking apart every single cage and pet carrier I have ... bleaching it, letting it air dry, rinsing it and letting it air dry.

Hopefully that plus today's change in antibiotics (and traumeel) will do the trick.

btw, I'm still trying to find places to stick boxes, still unpacking, etc. so this is going to be a challenge.
Edit: and my bed broke :sad3: It has been handed down for 3 generations ....
OK sorted out, I'll be sleeping on a mattress on the floor for a few weeks .... hopefully I will be able to find someone to replace the very old long piece of wood that holds the slats .... it has been one of those days ....
 
SQ said:
Took the 4 boys to the vet today.
My vet has been doing some research and is wondering if there might be some sort of bacteria in my cage ... makes sense since most of my FNs were bought second hand and although I did scrub them down, I didn't use bleach. :doh:
Also Gus and Buddy who were neutered at the same time but live in a different cage, seem to be doing fine.

So ..... over the next several days I will be taking apart every single cage and pet carrier I have ... bleaching it, letting it air dry, rinsing it and letting it air dry.

Hopefully that plus today's change in antibiotics (and traumeel) will do the trick.

btw, I'm still trying to find places to stick boxes, still unpacking, etc. so this is going to be a challenge.
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I have wondered if that might be a problem........you seem to have an abnormal amount of trouble with abscess'........I am lucky and can take my cage out on the patio to wash it....so twice a week I bleach it...let it sit for a while and then rinse it very thoroughly....

I hope the boys are better soon....what a terrible ordeal for them...and for you.
 

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