Cyst/abscess care?

[Dilly's Piggies]

Hi, my sow Lottie got a lump on her left side, on her rib cage behind her armpit about 5 months ago, it hasn't grown but has changed quite a lot in appearance, the vet is unsure whether it is a cyst or abscess. It now has a dark hole in the centre when before it was just a lump under the skin. It looks very similar to the piggy on this thread: My guinea pig's sebaceous cyst removal - Guinea Lynx Forums

My vet has already seen Lottie and wants to remove it, but it's still not bothering her or growing so I haven't rushed to do anything about it. The only issue is I'm struggling to keep an eye on it as she is a long haired piggy and quite fidgety, I often have to dig around to find the lump lol! Is it a good idea to shave the hair around the area so I can see easier? Also is there anything I should be looking out for now that this cyst/abscess is progressing? It looks like it might start oozing soon? Nothing has come out of it yet but I assume it will one day, I want to be prepared.

 

[Claire W]

To be honest I think it is really important to find out exactly what the lump is. Will your vet consider doing a fine needle biopsy? I’ve had this done on piggies of my own.

An abscess will need dealing with by either removal or lancing a harmless cyst can be left but I’m concerned about whatever it is bursting due to the hole that has now developed as this can lead to infection if left untreated.

My late Erin had a cyst on her side that was monitored by my vet but eventually the vet managed to manipulate the gunk out that was inside but Erin had a course of antibiotics to prevent an infection. My late Erika had a cyst that never changed or caused her any problems so it really does depend on the nature of the lump itself. @Betsy and @HeatherRose have recently had piggies go through surgery to have abcesses removed.

You could gently shave around the area so you can see it better.

 

[Betsy]

I wouldn't leave it if it's an abscess. Christian's grew from the size of the top of your thumb (that's when we found it was an abscess) to the size of an egg in 7 days! I brought his op forward as it was growing so rapidly. Just as well I did as in places it was 1 cell thick and about to burst. The vet said it was touch and go during the op and nearly phoned me a couple of times to ask my permission to pts. The abscess had adhered to nearly every internal structure (stomach, femoral artery, intestines, penis shaft .....). He has now no protection internally around the femoral artery on his right side and I can no longer express his willy to give it a clean. But I still have him and that is the important thing. Here is his abscess.



and here is his very impressive scar.



So its very important to find out what this lump is. Ask your vet to do a needle biopsy. If the gunk that comes out of it is thick and yellow and disgusting it is probably an abscess which needs to be removed.

 

[DM030819]

@CavyConnoisseur It sounds very much like a cyst to me. They tend to have a black hole in the centre when they've burst and don't smell. Whereas an abscess really stinks!

The link to Guinea Lynx was a blast from the past, as my story about my Lister is further down the page. He had a sebaceous cyst for years. We left it, and it did grow very slowly. We opted for removal once it got to a size where it would cause a problem in the future for surgery because of the size of incision.

 

[HeatherRose]

I would have it removed to be on the safe side. My Anna has an abscess on her neck, we weren’t sure what it was until they removed it and it burst during surgery. It took two antibiotics, lancing and cleaning and flushing it for over two weeks. She is now a month out from surgery and doing great and is finally all healed up.

 

[Flutterby]

I agree, you need to find out firstly what it is. If you can have it removed safely, then I would opt for removal, it's a lot more effective way of dealing with abscesses.