Leia's Health

Hello again readers,

We aren't too surprised about having to write yet another post about Leia and her health. We aren't sure if all her health problems are because she is a manx rat - or just pure bad luck!
If you follow us on Instagram, you'll probably know Leia almost as well as we do. If not, we will be discussing both Leia's hysterectomy, second mammary lump removal, and her abscess. 

Please DO NOT read if you are squeamish - there will be images that may distress some readers.

Leia's Pyometra;

If you read our previous post about Leia, you'll know that Leia had a very eventful few months after she had some mammary lumps removed. Not too long after she had made a full recovery, we noticed Leia had become very unwell yet again. The most obvious symptoms were; bloating, lethargy, and visible discomfort. We decided it was best to take Leia to the vet. The vet thought Leia could've been suffering with a UTI (urinary tract infection), but she could feel a thickening around the area of her bladder and uterus. The vet thought it would've been best for Leia to have an ultrasound to rule out any build up of fluids, as well as other things- thankfully the ultrasound was clear! As the ultrasound didn't show anything, the vet decided it would've been best to monitor Leia for the time being, however, if any new symptoms arose, or should Leia have gotten any worse, she was to go straight back to the vet. As we already said, It was possible Leia could've been harboring some kind of infection (more than likely a UTI), or it could've just been an off day. Our vet didn't want to just throw the wrong kind of medication at her unnecessarily as if often does more harm than good.

Leia soon began to bleed heavily from her vagina, and ended up going straight back to the vet. This time, the vet decided it could've been one of two things. Either Leia had a severe UTI, or worse case scenario, she could've ended up needing a full blown hysterectomy, which at Leia's age would've been extremely high risk. We decided the most sensible way to start, would be to put Leia on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories (Baytril and Metacam) to rule out an infection, but we also decided to X-Ray Leia and see if we could find anything more sinister that we may have missed.

Thankfully, the vets/radiologists couldn't see anything of major concern. So, we went home and trialed Leia on the medication.

Leia responded well to the antibiotics, but as soon as Leia finished the course, the bleeding came back with a vengeance, this time the discharge was foul smelling and it looked as if there was some puss in there as well.

We took Leia back to the vets, and our worst fears became a reality. After conversing with the exotic vets, there was very little we could do to manage Leia's condition - especially with the speed in which the infection returned/worsened. Obviously, long term antibiotic usage just wasn't an option.

So, we either did nothing, meaning death and suffering would've been inevitable. Or, we went ahead with a high risk serious surgery, but it ultimately gave Leia a chance of a full recovery. There was no question about it, we had to go ahead and try and help our beloved Leia. Yes, it was risky, but it was with her best intentions at heart. Plus, we thought it would've been sensible to act fast before Leia deteriorated even further.

All thanks to our incredible vets, Leia pulled through! Leia had a full hysterectomy, and a last minute second mammary lump removal too, as one of the previous lumps quickly returned. When the veterinary surgeon removed Leia's uterus, she said the right side was quite angry, and was likely the cause of the bleeding. 

Leia was sent home with Tramadol (opiod pain relief), Baytril (antibiotics), and Metacam (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) to help aid her recovery. She also had to wear a cone. If you followed us on Instagram, or read our previous post about Leia, you will remember that she was a nightmare for removing any bandages or suits to stop her from chewing the stitches - we absolutely could NOT risk her doing the same with a hysterectomy! We were aware of the risks surrounding wearing a cone, and we carefully selected a hospital cage (zoozone 2), and hand-picked specific housing and toys so Leia wouldn't be able to harm herself in any way. The final thing we had to do was syringe feed Leia both food and fluids, as she wouldn't have been able to do it herself whilst wearing a cone.

Leia was unbelievably strong throughout the lengthy healing process. She even got a feature on our vets page!

It wasn't too long before she no longer needed to wear a cone, medication or further treatment. Once Leia had a hysterectomy she bounced back to full health! However, we were quite concerned about the speed in which her mammary lump returned, and we left it with our vet to converse with the exotic specialists to see about any preventative medications.

Eventually, the vet decided to put Leia on Celecoxib and Resveratrol for the remainder of her life, as the exotic specialists had great success with the medication - they even had rats living to 3 and a half years old with no lumps returning! Up to now, we are pleased to say the medication has proved to be extremely successful with Leia.

It wasn't long before Leia even went back to being with her friends.

Leia's Abscess:

Of course, with it being Leia, her full health only lasted 10 minutes before she came down with something else. Leia seemed to be struggling quite a lot one free roam time. She had puffed fur, and appeared to be doing very little. We decided to end the free roam time early.

We saw Leia the following morning to give out her medication - we noticed a lump which quickly turned black. Our hearts shattered - we really expected it to be something malignant. 

We took Leia to the vet to have the lump checked over. Even the vet was shocked by the size of it. Leia was clearly in a lot of pain, so the vet decided to take a sample of the lump. As soon as she took a sample, some puss came out. Our vet was very confident that Leia had an enormous abscess at this point. The vet thought it would be within Leia's best interest to be trialed on two oral antibiotics before trying to lance it, due to the size of the abscess and it's location, if the abscess was lanced, then the healing process would be quite lengthy.

Leia was trialed on Kesium (Amoxicillin), Baytril, and also Metacam. 
Of course with it being Leia, her abscess only got worse, and it was even starting to smell - not just a little bit either.
We took Leia back to the vet, and we decided it was time to lance the abscess.
Leia came round from her minor surgery very well, and our vet, and the assistant nurse, commented on how putrid the smell was. 
Leia was to carry on with the double course antibiotics, and Metacam, but she also had to have daily syringe baths to keep the wound clean.

BE WARNED - GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD.

After living on her own for quite some time, and a few weeks of hands on care, we are pleased to say Leia has completley bounced back - though not all of her hair has come back! Since then, Leia has been in great health, and lives very happily with her cage mates.

You can keep up with Leia on our Instagram.