Surgery?

[JamaisVu]

Hello everyone,

I am at a painful crossroads and could use some advice from experienced owners.

My almost 12 yo Kumo had an ultrasound yesterday because he'd not been feeling like himself. The vet found a lesion in his liver that they suspect could be one of 3 things: a hematoma, a liver abscess, or a tumor. Obviously, 2 of those 3 things are scary and potentially dangerous.

She explained surgery to remove that liver lobe is an option, but now I'm having to make the decision: do I want to put my baby through that, knowing that he'll go through a very difficult process without understanding any of it, and no guarantees he'll have more time afterwards, or do I want to make whatever time he has left the best I possibly can?

What have your experiences been with this? Or anything similar.

I'm not really sure what to do right now except for cry my feelings out for a bit.

 

[tunes]

Thankfully, I've never experienced this, but I wanted to say that I'm sorry you both have to deal with this. When you say he is not feeling like himself, what do you mean exactly? Is he eating, drinking, peeing, pooping? Does he still play and do chin things?

 

[JamaisVu]

Thankfully, I've never experienced this, but I wanted to say that I'm sorry you both have to deal with this. When you say he is not feeling like himself, what do you mean exactly? Is he eating, drinking, peeing, pooping? Does he still play and do chin things?

Last week I noticed he was unusually lethargic so I paid a ton of attention and noticed he wasn't eating or pooping nearly as much. He did like playing but ran out of energy quickly.

I took him to the vet the next morning and she gave me some medication and critical care to see if that helped.

However, yesterday morning he was once again somewhat unresponsive so we went back to the vet. That's when they did the ultrasound and found the lesions.

He's currently sleeping after eating almost a full syringe of critical care and I saw him drinking water and chewing on his toys through the day, so I have some hope, but not sure if it's just me trying to be overly positive.

 

[Rocknrolldoc]

Unfortunately, I have been in a similar situation with one of my fur babies.

My vet had found a liquid liver support, without alcohol, (most contain alcohol preservative) specific for exotics. This was back in 2016 so I do not have the name of the product and maybe there are better products now?

Basically, if you opt not to have invasive surgery, it can't hurt and maybe can really help, to get liver support. In many cases, the liver can heal itself and regenerate healthy tissue.

Lesions on the liver aren't uncommon in older adults so I assume could be normal in older chins too? From what I have heard, cancer is super rare in chins so highly unlikely.

My story is too long to get into and its still painful after all these years, but the gist of it is that my baby's liver issues ended up being secondary to a chronic infection in her colon. We did not know this until necropsy slides were shared with several experts. It took me months and a lot of $ but I wanted answers.

I did put my baby through a procedure where they took a liver biopsy and explored for a blockage in her intestines. She was pretty lethargic before the procedure, but alert enough to know me and snuggle with me. She went downhill quick after the procedure. If I could do it all over again, I'd have taken her home with the liver support and some pain meds to keep her comfortable if necessary. I would not have done the procedure.

At the time of the decision whether to do the procedure or not, I was emotional and the vet was pushing for the surgery, most likely for the money and the fact that GCVS was filing their animal planet show and they wanted to see a chinchilla have a procedure. It was horrible and I still get sad and mad when I think about how it was all handled.

Lactulose can also help support the liver and encourage poops.

Prayers to you and your fur baby. I truly feel for you for what you are going through right now.

 

[JamaisVu]

Unfortunately, I have been in a similar situation with one of my fur babies.

My vet had found a liquid liver support, without alcohol, (most contain alcohol preservative) specific for exotics. This was back in 2016 so I do not have the name of the product and maybe there are better products now?

Basically, if you opt not to have invasive surgery, it can't hurt and maybe can really help, to get liver support. In many cases, the liver can heal itself and regenerate healthy tissue.

Lesions on the liver aren't uncommon in older adults so I assume could be normal in older chins too? From what I have heard, cancer is super rare in chins so highly unlikely.

My story is too long to get into and its still painful after all these years, but the gist of it is that my baby's liver issues ended up being secondary to a chronic infection in her colon. We did not know this until necropsy slides were shared with several experts. It took me months and a lot of $ but I wanted answers.

I did put my baby through a procedure where they took a liver biopsy and explored for a blockage in her intestines. She was pretty lethargic before the procedure, but alert enough to know me and snuggle with me. She went downhill quick after the procedure. If I could do it all over again, I'd have taken her home with the liver support and some pain meds to keep her comfortable if necessary. I would not have done the procedure.

At the time of the decision whether to do the procedure or not, I was emotional and the vet was pushing for the surgery, most likely for the money and the fact that GCVS was filing their animal planet show and they wanted to see a chinchilla have a procedure. It was horrible and I still get sad and mad when I think about how it was all handled.

Lactulose can also help support the liver and encourage poops.

Prayers to you and your fur baby. I truly feel for you for what you are going through right now.

I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

Thank you for sharing your experience. It really helps me to confirm some of the hesitation I've had regarding the surgery....there are no guarantees. I'll talk to the vet about all the possible options, but if he's at home I can at least make his life as comfy as I can and he has his cagemate for comfort and cuddles.