1129. TIPS - LONGER LIVES FOR PETS - Delayed treatments

It is best to seek prompt treatment for your pets when they have small tumours or swellings as their health deteriorates when there is delay in treatments or seek treatments from other vets as illustrated in the following cases:

Case 1. Syrian hamster with a massively swollen right hind limb showing only toes much bigger than her head. Abandoned in a bottle with wood shavings. The old mother and son brought the hamster for consultation.

"Very slim chance of survival as removal of the whole right hind limb to the hip level - amputation involved a big loss of blood. The hamster is likely to die on the op table." The mum was very sad as the hamster was eating and adorable. "Spend a few days with her," I said. "This operation has very slim chances of survival."

"Is there other ways?" the son asked.
"No medication will resolve this problem. The leg is becoming gangrenously black."
The man left without the surgery.


Case 2. Rabbit with left upper jaw abscess below the left eye. Thick pus clog the left nostril when I started to dig and clear the pus. 

"The other vet did some test and said the rabbit was not fit for surgery. So we cleared the pus. But in the last 2 weeks, she became very thin, though she is eating."

"It is likely that the rabbit is poisoned by the bacterial toxins inside the jaw abscess. The thick creamy pus flowed into the nose and got breathed into the lungs. That is why the rabbit cannot breathe normally."

I got the pus dug out from the jaw abscess. Some rotten pieces of teeth were extracted out too and the big hole thoroughly flushed. The thick pus inside the left nostril was cleared when it seeped out later.
I took an image to educate and show the owner the presenting pus in the left nostril when she came for the rabbit.
"You don't need anaesthesia?" the lady asked me later.
"The rabbit is so weak and is at death's door. So, she did not respond much to pain."
In this case the rabbit was alive and went home to intensive nursing.

The first vet had said that the rabbit was not fit for anaesthesia and would die. So the owner did self treatment which was ineffective. The jaw abscess is usually a curable condition esp. when in its early stages and the rabbit is strong but it requires veterinary treatment rather than home treatment to suck out the thick pus.

Case 3. Dwarf hamster 2.5 years old, male with big chin tumour. "The hamster is at the end of life. He is so thin although he can eat. The chin tumour 8 mm x 8 mm involved the lower lip. So, it is not possible for the hamster to eat normally after excision of such a large area. No surgery was done.

Case 4. However Case 3 has a daughter of one year. On her right side, the skin ballooned out softly. "It is one sided," I said and so it may be a cyst.
The owner was warned of high anaesthetic risk as the hamster was very thin but young. "She is not fit for anaesthesia," I said. However the wife decided on surgery. The hamster bit anyone who touched her and was not moving much although she ate. "She looked fat," the wife said. In the op room, the whole swelling ruptured spilling over 20 ml of unclotted blood. A haematoma. The hamster was barely breathing one hour later. "Chances of survival are very slim," I warned the father and wife and 2 young daughters. . "There is a big loss of blood. Where it came from, is a mystery. Probably some ruptured big blood vessel."  The hamster was not active and the breathing movements were barely visible when the owner brought her home. Usually the hamster is awake and running 30 minutes after anaesthesia and surgery.