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Diagnosis of Mammary inflammation and biopsy questions

Shaivy

Shaivy

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi guys, my female guinea pig was recently diagnosed with mammary inflammation, she has a swollen blue nipple which was bleeding as well. the vet said it's not a tumor and he seemed pretty confident about it.He also did an FNAC to confirm if its a tumor or not.......... So, is there anyone whose guinea pig has been diagnosed with Mastitis or mammary inflammation?
 
Hey thanks for replying :))
She is much better now , the swelling has reduced and it’s less blue.
he said only an fnac test can determine if there is tumor or not.it’s done by taking a blood sample and checking the cells for tumour. He took her blood from the nipple area.
i am attaching the before and after pics so that you can access the difference
 

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That does look a lot better. Is there talk of removing the tumour?
 
The vet says it’s not a tumour so no conversation regarding that
I don’t know what to do
He seems pretty confident it’s not a tumour and it has also improved
Do you know how does tumor get detected?
or if you heard of such a case of mammary inflammation which was not a tumor ?
 
I’m afraid I know nothing about tumours. One of the more experienced members will answer in good time.
 
Sorry, I’ve no direct experience of anything like this. If he’s taken a fine needle aspiration that should reveal if there are cancerous cells. But many mammary tumour are benign in my experience.
if the nipple is less swollen now it would seem as if there may be infection or a fluid build up. Has the vet given antibiotics or anti inflammatory medication?
 
VickiA said:
Sorry, I’ve no direct experience of anything like this. If he’s taken a fine needle aspiration that should reveal if there are cancerous cells. But many mammary tumour are benign in my experience.
if the nipple is less swollen now it would seem as if there may be infection or a fluid build up. Has the vet given antibiotics or anti inflammatory medication?
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Hi
Thanks for replying
Yes he has given antibiotics , anti inflammatory syrups and that has reduced the swelling and blue area to quite some extent. I think if it was a tumor then the medicines wouldn’t have reduced the swelling what do you say?
it does seem some kind of infection
 
Can you guys please please tag someone who might know about this ☹️
 
Wiebke has the best experience in this area I think and she has already been tagged, we are all volunteers here and the relevant expert will pop by when she can, but we all have our own piggies and day jobs and families besides the forum!
Nipple changes may perhaps also be indicative of ovarian cysts or cancer too, caused by hormone changes, so perhaps an ultrasound scan of the ovaries may be informative if the vet thinks the fine needle aspiration shows no cancer in the mammary tissue?
 
PigglePuggle said:
Wiebke has the best experience in this area I think and she has already been tagged, we are all volunteers here and the relevant expert will pop by when she can, but we all have our own piggies and day jobs and families besides the forum!
Nipple changes may perhaps also be indicative of ovarian cysts or cancer too, caused by hormone changes, so perhaps an ultrasound scan of the ovaries may be informative if the vet thinks the fine needle aspiration shows no cancer in the mammary tissue?
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He is insisting on an infection only
I’ll ask the vet to get an ultrasound done
Thanks for giving your opinion and helping
I really appreciate it 😊😊😊
 
Hey beautiful people, my guinea has been having mammary (swollen nipple) problems
So has anyone else faced this with their piggies
Also how does the vet determine mammary tumour?
 
Have you had your piggy undergo any more tests/scans?
 
I’m afraid I don’t how that’s done. Did he tell you the method? There is always a risk with any kind of surgery, however minor. But the risks can be lessened with an experienced vet. I would speak to him about your concerns and any questions you may have. It’s always best to speak to your vet.
 
Siikibam said:
I’m afraid I don’t how that’s done. Did he tell you the method? There is always a risk with any kind of surgery, however minor. But the risks can be lessened with an experienced vet. I would speak to him about your concerns and any questions you may have. It’s always best to speak to your vet.
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Yeas thankyou so much for the support , you’re really helpful😊😊😊
 
I hope so. I don’t have any experience at all! Hope you can get your piggy sorted soon.
 
Siikibam said:
I hope so. I don’t have any experience at all! Hope you can get your piggy sorted soon.
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Yaa it’s just that, we get so worried when something happens to our piggie and thats what drives us find every possible source of info , I am sure you will be relating with me on this 😅😅😊😊
 
Shaivy said:
Yaa it’s just that, we get so worried when something happens to our piggie and thats what drives us find every possible source of info , I am sure you will be relating with me on this 😅😅😊😊
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Absolutely! ☺️
 
My old rainbow guinea pig Bill developed a very small lump behind his nipple when he was about 4.5 years old. We took him to the vets and he examined the lump. He also squeezed the nipple and it started to drip blood. He said this was a mammary tumour so we had this removed that day. Bill’s nipple had never looked angry at all and certainly didn’t bleed but it was a tumour. The vet said he also found another tiny tumour developing about the size of a pin head behind the other tumour. Bill made a great recovery, in fact you really wouldn’t have known he’d had an op when we picked him up, he was bright and eating as though nothing had happened.

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Just to check as I dont think anyone has asked this... was your piggy pregnant or lactating at all recently? As mastitis infection may be more likely than a tumour in an animal who is producing milk and that may account for some of the swelling too, but if there has been no chance of pregnancy or lactating that would ring many more alarm bells for me and for most vets I imagine...
 
PigglePuggle said:
Just to check as I dont think anyone has asked this... was your piggy pregnant or lactating at all recently? As mastitis infection may be more likely than a tumour in an animal who is producing milk and that may account for some of the swelling too, but if there has been no chance of pregnancy or lactating that would ring many more alarm bells for me and for most vets I imagine...
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Hey
No she is neither pregnant nor lactating :(
The vet said it could be bacterial infection, which could coz of changes in hormones or insect bite.
 
Bill & Ted said:
My old rainbow guinea pig Bill developed a very small lump behind his nipple when he was about 4.5 years old. We took him to the vets and he examined the lump. He also squeezed the nipple and it started to drip blood. He said this was a mammary tumour so we had this removed that day. Bill’s nipple had never looked angry at all and certainly didn’t bleed but it was a tumour. The vet said he also found another tiny tumour developing about the size of a pin head behind the other tumour. Bill made a great recovery, in fact you really wouldn’t have known he’d had an op when we picked him up, he was bright and eating as though nothing had happened.

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Heyyy thanks so much for sharing your experience. :) I really appreciate it :)
Can u please tell how did the vet determine it was a tumor , did he physically examine it or there was some test?
 
Shaivy said:
Hey
No she is neither pregnant nor lactating :(
The vet said it could be bacterial infection, which could coz of changes in hormones or insect bite.
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Thanks for the info, if there is no lactation or feeding I dont really see how an infection could be inside the teat... mastitis is really only associated with milk production and feeding babies... I wonder if maybe you might see another vet, maybe a lady vet who understands about how breasts work a bit better, and get a second opinion?
I'm a bit baffled how the vet isnt taking this more seriously to be honest, it looks very uncomfortable for piggy and if it is hormonal changes with no pregnancy or lactation they should be checking the ovaries too... if this was my piggy I think at this point I would want a referral to a specialist and a CT scan of the reproductive organs and breast tissue to see exactly what is going on, its good they found no cancer cells with the fine needle aspiration but that doesnt really give any answers or a diagnosis or help poor piggy would be my thoughts!
This does seem quite unusual but if a good general vet is a bit baffled they are usually more than happy to pass interesting cases on to more experienced specialist colleagues...
 
I guess you are right , and it makes total sense and even i was thinking the same but i just trusted the vet more at that time because at the end of the day they know better, however it doesn’t stop me from thinking about what my piggie must be exactly going through. I should totally get another opinion and I am going for it tomorrow itself. Actually for some time the medicines he gave seemed to work , i sae some progress so i was focusing on this part 😊
 
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