Gwen's Tumor Removal Surgery - 4/14/06
My dearest rattie-girl Gwen had to have a Mammary Tumor removed yesterday. It came out of nowhere... suddenly there was a grape-size lump just behind and under her right front leg.
I knew what it was, instantly, so I acted quickly. I found it on Tues., and had the surgery scheduled for Friday... the first opening.
Gosh, how scared I was. When they operate on rats, they cannot use all the fancy monitoring equipment that they use on the other animals (namely dogs and cats), due to the small size of the rats. So, when it comes to the anethesia, it all lies on the shoulders of the Anesthetician. They have to constantly be looking under the sterile draping surrounding the area for surgery... making sure the little one is still breathing, heart's beating OK, etc. I was frightened to leave the life of my Gwen in the hands of others, but I had to have this tumor removed. Without the surgery, the tumor would keep growing and growing.
The surgery took about 45 minutes, and she was then brought out to me in the hands of the Dr., an awake yet groggy Gwen. She was alive!!! I took her to work with me for the remainder of the day, since she needed to be monitored constantly. Poor little thing. :(
For the next week, she has to be separated from her three cagemates / buddies. That's so sad. Maybe in a couple of days they can have some LIGHT playtime together... I'll have to see how the incision is healing, and if she's been resting enough. In the meantime, I'll spoil her more than she already is!
posted by Rocky Mountain Rat Girl @ 10:55 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Hi!
I"m glad to see that Gwen did well with her surgery. I have two hairless rats and one had surgery for tumor removal on 4-29. He has an "e" collar on and really hates it, I had to cut it back so he could use his front feet to eat. Did Gwen need to wear a collar? I can't imagine him picking at it and making it worse. What do you think?
Hi Sheila.
No, Gwen did not need to wear a collar after her mammary tumor removal, and she did just fine. Though another of my ratties, Holden, did when he had a cyst removed from his face. :( He, too, HATED the collar, and I felt so sad for him.
There's some cream that you can get from your vet that tastes badly... you can put this on the incision and it helps keep the little ones away from it. I'd suggest taking off the collar and getting some of that nasty-tasting cream. I'm at work so I cannot go see what it is called.
Unfortunately, Gwen has passed on, as her surgery was long ago. I miss her terribly.
Best of luck w/ your little one and I hope he heals up nicely!
Thanks for getting back to me. I'm so sorry about Gwen.
I'll call the vet and see if we can give the cream a try. Its just that Heebie is sort of high strung and not as laid back as his brother Hairy. I think the cream will be a better option for him.
Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Sheila,
You're very welcome. Thank you for your condolences... Gwen was a very special rattie (aren't they all though?), and she lived a very happy and full life.
I hope you can get the cream and take the collar of your boy. Let me know how that goes. (I wouldn't think it would have anything to do w/ that fact that my ratties have laser surgeries and not the "traditional" type, but you never know.)
Let me know how it goes.
And, thanks for stopping in to my blog. :) I have lots of rattie info. and rattie pics here. And, I also have two hairles... one boy, ET, and one girl, Piglet. :)
And... three other ratties also! =D
Heebie is doing much better with the collar off. I just felt so bad for him. I really debated on doing the surgery and putting him through all that since the life span isn't very long. Then I decided to do it this once. Hairy and Heebie (brothers) are about 17 months old. Sounds like you have lots of ratties! I love them, they are smart and have little personalities!
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