Introduction
A more interesting surgery we perform is a pig neuter, know medically as an orchectomy. It has similarities to neutering other animals, particularly dogs, yet it is not the same thing as a dog neuter. You should not try this surgery at home....
On the day of surgery we need your pet in the hospital between 7:30 AM and 9 AM. Please take away all food and water when you go to bed the evening before surgery, and do not give your pig anything to eat or drink the morning of surgery. It will go home in the late afternoon the day of surgery. Please call our office at 4 PM for pickup time, you will be given post operative instructions then.
This is Bailey, our victim (oops, we mean patient). Isn't he just cute enough to hug!
Anesthesia
Pre-anesthetic preparation is important in every surgery we perform, no matter how routine. All of our neuters receive a pre-anesthetic test several days prior to surgery.
Bailey is a good patient and held still for his blood sample.
When everything is in order we will give a sedative. This will calm Daisy down and make the administration of the actual anesthetic, along with post operative recovery, much smoother. Once a pet is anesthetized, prepared for surgery, and had its monitoring equipment hooked up and reading accurately, the surgery can begin.
Pigs need to be monitored carefully for overheating during anesthesia, which is the opposite of most anesthetized animals. They produce more body heat relative to other animals because of their large muscle mass. Pigs do not sweat or pant, they need to be in contact with something cool to rid of excess body heat. Because of this we constantly monitor their temperature during and after the surgery.
Surgery
The following area contains graphic pictures of an actual surgical procedure performed at the hospital.
Bailey is being readied for surgery. His anesthesia has been given and we are ready for our surgical prep.
We make our skin incision just in front of the scrotum. We used the laser to make the incision because of its tremendous advantages.
There is no bleeding from the the skin incision when we use the laser. This is an advantage for the surgeon and the patient.
The testicle bulges out of the incision cover by its internal layers called tunics.
The testicle is carefully exteriorized giving us access to the base where the blood vessels reside.
Special suture is used to tie off the blood supply before we remove the testicle.
The blood supply is so extensive we use more than one strong suture. These sutures will dissolve over the next several months.
The sutures we place in the skin are removed in 10 days.
Bailey is a little groggy right after the surgery, but at least he is feeling minimal pain. This is because we use the laser and we gave him post-operative medication for pain.
Postoperative Care
Most pigs go home late in the afternoon on the day we perform the surgery. They might be groggy from the pain injection which is advantageous because they will remain calm and allow the healing process to start immediately. By the following morning the grogginess will have worn off.
When you first get home do not be in a big rush to feed. After 1 hour at home offer a small amount of food and water. If the appetite is good, offer more several hours later. Do not over do the feeding the first night because anesthesia can make them nauseous.
Keep contact with children and other pets to a minimum the first night, and restrict activity for several days to allow the incision to heal. Try not let your pig go outside until healing is complete.
Laser Surgery
Using the laser has many advantages over using a scalpel blade. These include negligible bleeding during the procedure and post operative pain. Our Laser Page has detailed information on the use of the laser for various surgeries.
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