Another Long Vet Visit

Today was Virga's follow-up appointment with our vet after two weeks on meds to treat possible mastitis. The good news was that the pouch opening was smaller and appeared to be better, but on closer examination the lining was still red and inflamed. And, the two masses were still there.

Rather than going to a biopsy, our vet Dr. W decided it would be best to do a fine needle aspiration of the masses for a cytology. This, of course requires Virga to have general anesthesia, so this visit was shaping up to be like the last one. I brought Virga in by myself today. M had to stay home with our grandson who had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy on Monday and is staying with us for the week.

After the examination Virga was placed in a plastic container while I signed the consent form.  Bright lights and strange smells were taking the place of her normal sleep time and she had none of the things she was secure with. As Dr. W finished briefing me on what was going to happen, Virga was watching me and the look on her face seemed to be saying "What is going on and why are you leaving me here?" She was obviously scared and not sure of what was going on. 

Prior to Virga going in for the procedure, Dr. W consulted with a vet surgeon about Virga's case and checked related pathology reports. The surgeon said that if and when there was a biopsy it would be prudent just to remove the masses rather than subject Virga to two surgeries. Prior to putting Virga under Dr. W called me and said she would like to do a full body x-ray and draw some blood since Virga would already be under. This would save another step if further treatment is needed.

The procedure was supposed to take an hour, but at two hours I still hadn't heard anything and was getting worried. I checked at the desk and they told me they had just finished. Turns out Dr. W had a "hamster emergency" and they got a late start on Virga.

Dr. W brought Virga out and sat down with me to explain what she knew at this point. We will have to wait for the x-ray to be read by the radiologist and for the cytology and blood work to be completed before we know anything for sure. She said she did take a look at the x-ray and she didn't see signs of anything spreading, so that was good to hear. On the other hand, the mass on the left side that was not visible through the pouch two weeks ago is visible now.

Dr. W said that mammary adenocarcinoma has been reported as the most common mammary cancer in sugar gliders, representing about 4 percent of all cancers in sugar gliders. We should learn the results of the diagnostic testing tomorrow, and are keeping our fingers crossed that the masses are benign.

When I got home around 2:00 p.m. from our 10:00 a.m. appointment, M scooped Virga out of her travel pouch and Virga spent the rest of the day sleeping in M's sweater.

Virga enjoys a mealworm snack this evening from the comfort of M's sweater

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