Discussion
Hi,
I'm hoping I might be able to get some opinions on a lump our Dog has on her back please.
It is on her back near where her tail 'joins' her back. It has been there a month or so & was about the size of a pea. In the last week it got bigger so we (my Mum) took her to the vet.
The following information is a bit second-hand as I wasn't there but basically the vet was sure it was a cyst. They took a sample with a needle but didn't think there was much point sending it off for analysis, just said to keep an eye on it & bathe it with salt water.
I am in no way questioning our vet as we're very happy with them but I'm not sure the right questions were asked by us. My main question is whether it is best to have these removed. Apparently the vet was slightly hinting at this to begin with but didn't say it's absolutely necessary. I know my Mum would not like the idea of having it removed, & if there's no real need then we wouldn't do it, but we will obviously do what's best so I'd be grateful for any opinions.
Now for the nasty bit! After the vet had taken the sample they squeezed it a bit & a dark brown/black liquid came out. My second question is is it best to try & get the rest out? Or best left alone? The lump now is about the size of a small grape. It moves around quite easily & doesn't feel too attached to anything under skin. The Dog shows no signs of discomfort or pain, even when touching the lump & she's her normal hyper self.
Thanks for any advice or suggestions.
Cheers, Ben (& Millie the Dog!)
I'm hoping I might be able to get some opinions on a lump our Dog has on her back please.
It is on her back near where her tail 'joins' her back. It has been there a month or so & was about the size of a pea. In the last week it got bigger so we (my Mum) took her to the vet.
The following information is a bit second-hand as I wasn't there but basically the vet was sure it was a cyst. They took a sample with a needle but didn't think there was much point sending it off for analysis, just said to keep an eye on it & bathe it with salt water.
I am in no way questioning our vet as we're very happy with them but I'm not sure the right questions were asked by us. My main question is whether it is best to have these removed. Apparently the vet was slightly hinting at this to begin with but didn't say it's absolutely necessary. I know my Mum would not like the idea of having it removed, & if there's no real need then we wouldn't do it, but we will obviously do what's best so I'd be grateful for any opinions.
Now for the nasty bit! After the vet had taken the sample they squeezed it a bit & a dark brown/black liquid came out. My second question is is it best to try & get the rest out? Or best left alone? The lump now is about the size of a small grape. It moves around quite easily & doesn't feel too attached to anything under skin. The Dog shows no signs of discomfort or pain, even when touching the lump & she's her normal hyper self.
Thanks for any advice or suggestions.
Cheers, Ben (& Millie the Dog!)
Hooli said:
Do keep an eye on them & see if they cause discomfort though. One of my dogs had these years ago, all I could feel was a small lump in her 'armpit' but it gradually started to cause her discomfort. When the vet removed it, it was the size of an orange, but had been hidden by the shoulder muscle.
Blimey, I bet that came as a shock. So far our Dog is happy for us to prod it etc, she doesn't even bat an eyelid so I'm sure it's not painful...at the moment.
Cheers, Ben
Hi all.
Bit of an update on this topic.
The lump on Millie's back seems to be back to it's original size (grape sized). It had originally reduced, I guess due to the vet drawing some fluid out. My Mum has continued to bathe it with warm salt water but there doesn't seem to be a 'hole' so no fluid etc is coming out.
We're in 2 minds as to whether to return to the vet & have it removed. It still doesn't cause Millie any pain at all.
I was just after some more opinions please as to whether we should take her back to the vet or not. I'm a bit concerned it could get bigger under the skin so best to get rid sooner than later.
I've also seen after searching on the Net that some people have 'lanced' a cyst themselves & drained (taking sterile precautions) but I guess this isn't advisable?
Thanks, Ben
Bit of an update on this topic.
The lump on Millie's back seems to be back to it's original size (grape sized). It had originally reduced, I guess due to the vet drawing some fluid out. My Mum has continued to bathe it with warm salt water but there doesn't seem to be a 'hole' so no fluid etc is coming out.
We're in 2 minds as to whether to return to the vet & have it removed. It still doesn't cause Millie any pain at all.
I was just after some more opinions please as to whether we should take her back to the vet or not. I'm a bit concerned it could get bigger under the skin so best to get rid sooner than later.
I've also seen after searching on the Net that some people have 'lanced' a cyst themselves & drained (taking sterile precautions) but I guess this isn't advisable?
Thanks, Ben
Hi,
Thanks very much for both replies above.
We will take Millie back to the vet & ask them to send a sample of for analysis this time so hopefully we will know more of what we're dealing with. I wasn't at the Vet last time so I'm not sure why this wasn't done in the first place.
The things I can be fairly sure of is it's not painful to Millie (she's a bit of a wimp so would soon let us know) & it doesn't appear to be changing size as it's back to the original size of when we took her to the vet in the first place & isn't getting any bigger....just maybe slightly firmer so I do wonder whether it might burst on it's own before much longer, nice!
Thanks again for the advice.
Ben
Thanks very much for both replies above.
We will take Millie back to the vet & ask them to send a sample of for analysis this time so hopefully we will know more of what we're dealing with. I wasn't at the Vet last time so I'm not sure why this wasn't done in the first place.
The things I can be fairly sure of is it's not painful to Millie (she's a bit of a wimp so would soon let us know) & it doesn't appear to be changing size as it's back to the original size of when we took her to the vet in the first place & isn't getting any bigger....just maybe slightly firmer so I do wonder whether it might burst on it's own before much longer, nice!
Thanks again for the advice.
Ben
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