Soft moveable lump above piggies nipple

[Josie_lg]

Hiya, just posting on here for a bit of advice really. Feels like a big punch to the face that I have found a lump on one of my piggies. We are already dealing with a bad cystitis/UTI with one of my other piggies which has been very difficult. She is having meds six times a day so my focus has mainly been on her.
I’ve picked buttercup up this afternoon and felt a lump just above her nipple. I’d say chickpea sized, movable and quite soft, I can fit my fingers around the whole lump, in front and behind. One of our other girls had a lump that felt the same under her chin that came back as benign and later became a sebaceous cyst and after draining has not returned. This lump feels the same. But it’s where it is that’s worrying me.
I am mentally drained from the horrible week with poppy being so ill and now this......
I will be taking her to get checked on Monday and we will do a fine needle aspirate.
She is fine in herself and is completely comfortable around the lump. However I know that it’s something that may need to be removed, because they are prone to mammary tumours.
I am just so worried about GA in piggies. Any advice is welcome. x

 

[Guinea pig love123]

I would recommend that you take her straight to the vet ASAP because guinea pigs can go down hill fast but don't worry untill you know what it is and I hope your pigs are all fine

 

[Josie_lg]

I would recommend that you take her straight to the vet ASAP because guinea pigs can go down hill fast but don't worry untill you know what it is and I hope your pigs are all fine

There is no change in her other than the lump, so vets wouldn’t class that as an emergency so the soonest I can get her checked is Monday. Obviously if she changes then sooner. Thank you x

 

[Piggies&buns]

All lumps need a hands on check so its great you are getting her to the vet. I hope all goes well. You are right this isn’t classed as an emergency.

An anaesthetic is always a worry but in the hands of an experienced vet, then the risks are minimised as much as is possible.
My 8 year old rabbit had a tumour back in September and due to his age the anaesthetic was concerning but the vet assured me he wouldn’t be doing it if he wasn’t confident to do it on a rabbit of his age and that it was essential. He sailed through absolutely fine and in fact came home and immediately tried to escape his hospital cage to go for a run around the living room! He was tucking straight into his food as he soon as he came home and i honestly wouldnt have known he had just had surgery had I not been the one consenting to it!

 

[Claire W]

I am sorry that you have another poorly piggy Good that you are having the lump checked out. My rainbow piggy Eliza had a small lump under her nipple. Luckily for us it turned out to be a harmless fatty lump that we just monitored. Hopefully it will be the same scenario for your girl x

 

[VickiA]

There is no change in her other than the lump, so vets wouldn’t class that as an emergency so the soonest I can get her checked is Monday. Obviously if she changes then sooner. Thank you x

You are absolutely right. Unless you have a very fast growing lump that could be an abscess, then this is not an emergency. Well done for finding the lump and getting her to a vet. Monday will be fine.
It could be a cyst, a fatty lump (lipoma) or a mammary tumour - most of those a re benign so don’t panic. Your vet will be best placed to tell you what it is and what the plans are for monitoring or removal. Piggies do fine under GA with experienced vets. My recent foster Honey arrived with a burst mammary tumour, had emergency surgery under GA remove it and felt well enough to perform her own suture removal at home. This required a further GA to re-suture the wound - 5 days after the first operation. She was just fine after both.

 

[Bill & Ted]

So sorry you are having such a rough time of it x
I would definitely get Buttercup checked ASAP as one if my old boars Bill had a little lump next to his nipple and it was a mammary tumour. He had the op the same day and never looked back. Never had any problems with the operation and the lump never came back. Try not to worry too much though as there are a number of things it could be x

 

[Wiebke]

Hiya, just posting on here for a bit of advice really. Feels like a big punch to the face that I have found a lump on one of my piggies. We are already dealing with a bad cystitis/UTI with one of my other piggies which has been very difficult. She is having meds six times a day so my focus has mainly been on her.
I’ve picked buttercup up this afternoon and felt a lump just above her nipple. I’d say chickpea sized, movable and quite soft, I can fit my fingers around the whole lump, in front and behind. One of our other girls had a lump that felt the same under her chin that came back as benign and later became a sebaceous cyst and after draining has not returned. This lump feels the same. But it’s where it is that’s worrying me.
I am mentally drained from the horrible week with poppy being so ill and now this......
I will be taking her to get checked on Monday and we will do a fine needle aspirate.
She is fine in herself and is completely comfortable around the lump. However I know that it’s something that may need to be removed, because they are prone to mammary tumours.
I am just so worried about GA in piggies. Any advice is welcome. x

Hi

Please have her checked on Monday unless the lump goes into runaway growth mode.

Please take a deep breath; it is hopefully something harmless. A mammary tumor sits straight underneath the nipple; so yours doesn't sound like one? A picture would help.
Guinea Lynx :: Mammary Tumor (contains pictures)

A lumpectomy (including a mammary tumor), as long as the lump is not attached to or very close to anything vital, is a comparatively quick and easy operation. The recovery rate is generally very good but it depends on the nature of the lump and its location.

The oldest piggies of mine that needed to be operated were both lumpectomies in 6 year old sows; Hafren, whose fleshy sebaceous cyst (under observation) put on a sudden growth spurt and promptly burst while my piggy savvy vet was on holiday. Nevertheless, she had her lumpectomy just short of her 7th birthday and made a full recovery to see in the next year. By the time the lump burst, it was a good 5 cm in diameter.