Syrian Endometriosis

[Hekomi]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else has had a hamster with endometriosis; we took Ginny into the vet yesterday (Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph Ontario) as she has been losing weight fairly steadily and at only 13mo, I wanted to check it out. Teeth were fine, no visible lumps or bumps I could palpate.



We brought her and her weight charts in, and the vet examined her, felt nothing as well. We opted to do X-Rays and an ultrasound. There was definitely thickening of her uterus, as well as the right ovary, and the vet believes it to be endometriosis.

Ginny had one litter September 2016, and we've tried her again three times with no success, so eventually retired her.

We've opted to try medically treating for now (meloxicam for pain and anti-inflammatory and sulfa in case of infection).

She has no visible bloating or anything else, so I was curious if anyone else has had a similar diagnostic...

If the meds don't help in the next few days, we will consider opting for a spay for her to remove the problem.

Thank you!
Komi

ETA: I've asked for the results of her diagnostics, so when I get them I'm happy to share. We're a little excited to see the insides of one of our hamsters!

[souffle]

How did the vet determine it was endometriosis Hekomi? I understand that in humans this is where endometrial tissue is found outside the womb and causes inflammation due to the hormonal cycle. Tissue seems to get there during menstruation or operations.
Now hamsters don't menstruate so how would endometrial tissue get there?
The only papers I have seen mentioning endometriosis in rodents have been from experiements where the tissue is surgically removed and from donor mice and injected in to place in females to provide a model for endometriosis in humans and research treatments.
My thoughts is that with the ovarian 'thickening ' and her secondary infertility that there is possible an ovarian cyst or tumour secreting hormones and thickening the womb lining. I'd probably opt for a spay while she is still young and fit and before the hormonal imbalance causes her to lose further weight and condition. They may find out more after an op but that may be expensive to have full histology done on.
I'd be interested on her results if you would like to PM me them.
I have an interest in hamster healthcare as you know and always happy to learn

[Hekomi]

Originally Posted by souffle

How did the vet determine it was endometriosis Hekomi? I understand that in humans this is where endometrial tissue is found outside the womb and causes inflammation due to the hormonal cycle. Tissue seems to get there during menstruation or operations.
Now hamsters don't menstruate so how would endometrial tissue get there?
The only papers I have seen mentioning endometriosis in rodents have been from experiements where the tissue is surgically removed and from donor mice and injected in to place in females to provide a model for endometriosis in humans and research treatments.
My thoughts is that with the ovarian 'thickening ' and her secondary infertility that there is possible an ovarian cyst or tumour secreting hormones and thickening the womb lining. I'd probably opt for a spay while she is still young and fit and before the hormonal imbalance causes her to lose further weight and condition. They may find out more after an op but that may be expensive to have full histology done on.
I'd be interested on her results if you would like to PM me them.
I have an interest in hamster healthcare as you know and always happy to learn

That was the radiologist's guess, but then, it is a guess. It was mostly from the thickening of the uterine wall. I know that in some cases it can be inflammation as opposed to moveable/misplaced tissue. That being said, I need to personally do more research on it myself. I'd be curious to read the reports, and luckily, I do trust our vets as they're the best in the country - but - we won't know for sure unless we do something more invasive, I'm sure.

Our hope is to give her the next few days on the medicine and make a call Thursday/Friday about the spay. I'm not 100% sure if we'd opt for a histology done, it would depend on cost for us most likely. The ultrasounds + x-rays were $355, and while cost isn't a *huge* issue for us, we do have to keep it in mind. The vet mentioned the spay would be between $300-450.

I'll definitely be sharing diagnostics - I'm sure it's handy for everyone and new knowledge is always helpful.

[Pebbles82]

I'm not an expert, but I believe endometriosis in humans can be painful and may lead to malignant changes later. I think I would go for a spay as there are uncertainties. But maybe you want further tests first? Would a spay be appropriate if it was a malignant tumour? Sorry I'm not much help!

[Hekomi]

Thanks for the feedback ladies. We've seen made some more decisions.

Ginny has been on the meds now for about 5 days and has kept her weight between 150-155g. She's been up and about more and more which is lovely to see. I ended up booking a recheck with our vet next Friday.

My partner Andrew and I discussed our options. After the diagnostics, Ginny was very uncoordinated and wobbly for several hours after. While I understand, she was under anesthesia, we both felt it was worse than it should have been, and worry about her ability to wake up from the anesthesia with surgery.

As the endometriosis is still just a guess, I would feel rubbish if we spayed her and found out the issue was something completely unrelated.

We're hoping to finish this course of meds and discuss with our vet. I don't feel content with either option, truly, but hopefully this is the right one for her. She's been spoiled with lots of cuddles the past few days, and seems in brighter spirits.

[Pebbles82]

Glad to hear she is a bit better They are hard decisions, so going with the flow sounds like a good idea.

[Hekomi]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Glad to hear she is a bit better They are hard decisions, so going with the flow sounds like a good idea.

I hate these decisions. Some are so easy, but this one is proving tough. Ginny weighed in at 153g this morning and took a peanut (monkey nut) with much joy.

Really glad she's holding steady, and loves her meds.

[Hekomi]

So, unfortunately we did come to a better conclusion. Looks like Ginny has open pyometra. She has no bloating, but yeah, not great. She was so poorly after the anesthesia so we decided not to spay, unless we can regain condition... frustrating.

She's now on Sulfa TMZ and meloxicam as before, but we've added marbofloxacin to the mix and have applied through health Canada for Aglepristone. My vet is unfamiliar with galastop, but it would appear aglepristone acts similarly.

We should know by Wednesday if we will be approved... I fear we won't. It looks like we can get it easier in the USA, so we may try to get Ginny down there if possible.

I'm frustrated and forlorn. She's still bright and I'm so upset she isn't a better candidate for surgery. We haven't had many, if any, cases of pyo in North America - my assumption is because people simply don't go to the vet and there are not many hamster savvy vets either.



There is her radiograph, I can show better photographs later too that show her whole body, I just don't have them on hand.

[Hekomi]

She's doing quite well and expressed quite a bit of pus this morning; better in than out!

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...76.2012.744145

That study seems promising if we can get the aglepristone for her... fingers crossed. Some of my American vet tech friends are worried we will be rejected. So Ginny may go on a cross-country adventure.

[Pebbles82]

That all sounds stressful and difficult. Poor Ginny and poor you.