Surgical Procedures in the Pet Pig
This section is
provided for information only. Your
veterinarian will be able to advise you of the necessary procedures and
techniques required for your pig. Please
always follow your veterinarian’s advice.
Preparation:
Remove pig from feed and water for 8 hours. Clean pig.
Sedation
It may be necessary to sedate a pig prior to surgery, the veterinarian
will make an appropriate choice.
Anaesthesia
Prior to most surgical procedures a degree of anaesthesia will be
administered. This can be given by
injection and/or by gas.
There
are many different combinations of medicines which can be used to achieve
sedation or anaesthesia.
For example:
Intramuscular
injection of Telazol® - xylazine-ketamine mixture (“TKX”). Reconstitute powdered Telazol® with 250mg xylazine (2.5ml) and 250mg
ketamine (2.5ml). Dose at 1ml/25-35kg
Alternative could be
intramuscular injection of xylazine 0.5-2.2 mg/kg IM and Telazol® 3-6 mg/kg IM.
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Telazol, xylazine and Ketamine
being administered to a pir |
Inject intravenous sodium thiopental
to effect into an ear vein. These can
be difficult to see in black pigs |
Gas Anaesthesia
In many long operations gas anaesthesia is used as this is a very safe form of anaesthesia. Owners can help their vet tremendously by training their pig to accept a mask over their face, particularly if you make it part of a game at 3-6 months.
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Anaethesia may be maintained using the mask taped to the pigs snout. |
If
gaseous anaesthesia is required, use intranasal intubation to administer the
isoflurane. Note pigs may be halothane
sensitive resulting in |
In
hospitals it is possible to intubate a pig, but special pieces of equipment
are required as the pig’s throat is very long |
Surgical issues
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Fat blindness |
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