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"Abdominal Mass"

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HannahEllen

HannahEllen

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I had posted here about a week ago, about my 2 1/2 year old sow, Stella. After two vet trips, the first vet telling me he believed it to be a large ovarian cyst (with no ultrasounds or radio-graphs done) and the second "cavy savvy" vet, whom I traveled out of town for, telling me that this lump that can be felt slightly appears to be an "abdominal mass" (after radio-graphs and an ultrasound). She did not exactly know what it could be either, so she sent the x-rays to another vet to look over and I'm still waiting to hear back after almost a week (apparently this vet has back-to-back appointments). Though the abdominal mass isn't believed to be an ovarian cyst, the vet told me that the x-rays did show two tiny cysts on one ovary (which is why I took her to the vet in the first place...enlarged crusty nipples). Now my concern has moved towards this "abdominal mass"...what the heck could it be? She said it doesn't appear to be fluid filled and is pretty much right in the middle of her abdomen. This lump has only been noticed since her first vet trip about 2 weeks ago, and since then and even before she has had no weight loss or loss of appetite. She still rumblestruts, popcorns, and wheeks for veggies. Any ideas?
 
hopefully, it'll be all fine. I heard something similar already: our boar some time ago had an abdominal mass and when he died of cancer, the post mortem revealed it was just a large fat lump. The vet said it is very common among guinea pigs to accumulate fat around intestines.
 
Gosh i'm really sorry you don't seem to be able to really get a diagnosis for your darling piggie Stella :{
I'm hoping someone on here might recognise these symptoms ......

HEALING LOVES FOR LITTLE STELLA XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Hi there...

I feel your anxiety and worry, as I have just had the same thing only a few weeks ago with my piggie Bubble. She was eating, drinking and showing no signs of illness, apart from this bulge in her stomach. took her to the vets who said was not fluid filled, did an ultrasound to see it was a mass. They operated on her but it was attached to her spleen, plus her ovaries were cystic and they removed them too. Because of the removal of the spleen, it was too much for my lovely girl, and she passed away.

I questioned myself afterwards wether i did the right thing putting her in for surgery - and posted my story on here (see my thread on 'sad times, could do with some feedback' and the responses i got from all the other lovely piggy lovers were very supportive and i knew in my heart of hearts i did the best for her. And that is what you should do. Go on your instinct, because if you dont try, and she detioriates then you will be kicking yourself that if you had acted earlier, the outcome may have been different.

I wish you and Stella all the very best, and hope everything works out ok.

Take care

x>>xx
 
Poor girl. I hope you hear back soon. Just from xrays you cant tell exactly where something like a mass is. Ultrasound by a very skilled vet (may) depending on the mass and position be able to tell you where it has come from, but in something so small as a piggie it may be very hard to tell without doing exporatory surgery.

Please keep us posted on how you get on. Loves to you all.

x
 
Thank you everyone, I do hope it is something minor though I can't help feel worried every time I think of it. My boyfriend said "Maybe if they haven't gotten back to you yet it might not be a big deal so they aren't rushing" I would like to think that but I don't know how vets work in that sense. At least now she's alive and well and all I'm doing in the meantime is spending my time with her (and her cage mate Maude of course) and giving her plenty of love. As long as she is still with me I'll give her my love and attention.
 
Abi_nurse said:
Poor girl. I hope you hear back soon. Just from xrays you cant tell exactly where something like a mass is. Ultrasound by a very skilled vet (may) depending on the mass and position be able to tell you where it has come from, but in something so small as a piggie it may be very hard to tell without doing exporatory surgery.

Please keep us posted on how you get on. Loves to you all.

x
Click to expand...

The vet did bring up the possibility of exploratory surgery, and that also frightens me. I just feel like if it is a problem, either way her life is at risk...whether leaving it be or going through with surgery. Thank you though, I will try to keep posts and I really appreciate all the great feedback and vibes. I'm so glad I found this great online community.
 
Piggyologist said:
hopefully, it'll be all fine. I heard something similar already: our boar some time ago had an abdominal mass and when he died of cancer, the post mortem revealed it was just a large fat lump. The vet said it is very common among guinea pigs to accumulate fat around intestines.
Click to expand...

So I guess sometimes even if it is cancer you can't even tell and a lump may not even relate to cancer?
 
hid74 said:
Hi there...

I feel your anxiety and worry, as I have just had the same thing only a few weeks ago with my piggie Bubble. She was eating, drinking and showing no signs of illness, apart from this bulge in her stomach. took her to the vets who said was not fluid filled, did an ultrasound to see it was a mass. They operated on her but it was attached to her spleen, plus her ovaries were cystic and they removed them too. Because of the removal of the spleen, it was too much for my lovely girl, and she passed away.

I questioned myself afterwards wether i did the right thing putting her in for surgery - and posted my story on here (see my thread on 'sad times, could do with some feedback' and the responses i got from all the other lovely piggy lovers were very supportive and i knew in my heart of hearts i did the best for her. And that is what you should do. Go on your instinct, because if you dont try, and she detioriates then you will be kicking yourself that if you had acted earlier, the outcome may have been different.

I wish you and Stella all the very best, and hope everything works out ok.

Take care

x>>xx
Click to expand...

The vet also told me that this mass doesn't appear to be fluid filled. I totally understand your pain and questioning. I've played situations in my head where i may have to decide and it just makes me cry and feel torn. I've never felt a bond as i have with my two pigs (i've always loved animals, i'm majoring in zoology) but after bonding with my two girls i knew in my heart that i wanted to work with animals for the rest of my life. It's just so hard with piggies being such delicate creatures. I'm very sorry for your loss, and I'm grateful for your input and support.
 
Have you thought about asking your vet to do a biopsy. Maybe with a bit of sedation the vet could take a sample from the mass with a needle, and send it for analysis. This way you may be able to find out if its a benign or a nasty lump and you will be able to tell either way.

x
 
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