Advice on lump/mass removal

[PiggiePerson]

Hello all,

My gorgeous little boy (3.5 years) has a lump by one of his nipples which I recently discovered Took him to a specialist vet who confirmed he’d need surgery for removal, but could not define what the mass was until after surgery - it would either be a tumour or abscess.

The estimate for the initial consultation, surgery & meds came back at £650. This is obviously a lot of money and I’m now back and forth with my partner over whether we do this (no insurance and no ‘vet fund’). I love my piggy so and will find a way to fund the surgery if need be, but I want to explore all options so I’m well informed - does anyone have experience or advice in leaving a lump without proceeding with treatment? Keen to hear people’s stories/experience. I’m aware of risks of abscess rupture and of course further growth if it is something nasty… I just don’t know what to do!

I was initially worried about going forward in any case due to the risks of anaesthetic, but the vet I visited is a specialist with guineas so felt reassured he would be in very capable hands. Pig is not in pain whatsoever currently and lump is about 1cm, acting totally normal and still very much eating everything in sight! Think I will also speak with my usual vet practice who aren’t specialists, but one of the vets does have some experience with guinea pig lump removals.

I guess I’m just looking for some reassurance / other options…

 

[Lorcan]

Hi, and I'm sorry you're having to make this decision, I know it's not easy.

With a lump that small, I'd go ahead with the surgery. If it's a tumour, you might still be able to do something about it if it's that small and if not, then you'll know for certain one way or another. As for abscesses, ideally you want those gone as early as possible. The larger they get the more problems they can, and will, cause, and a burst abscess is an emergency, and likely much more expensive to deal with when it happens.

It's not a nice decision to make, and I know you'd want to do the best for your boy, and I can't make the decision for you. But if it was me, I'd go ahead.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all,

My gorgeous little boy (3.5 years) has a lump by one of his nipples which I recently discovered Took him to a specialist vet who confirmed he’d need surgery for removal, but could not define what the mass was until after surgery - it would either be a tumour or abscess.

The estimate for the initial consultation, surgery & meds came back at £650. This is obviously a lot of money and I’m now back and forth with my partner over whether we do this (no insurance and no ‘vet fund’). I love my piggy so and will find a way to fund the surgery if need be, but I want to explore all options so I’m well informed - does anyone have experience or advice in leaving a lump without proceeding with treatment? Keen to hear people’s stories/experience. I’m aware of risks of abscess rupture and of course further growth if it is something nasty… I just don’t know what to do!

I was initially worried about going forward in any case due to the risks of anaesthetic, but the vet I visited is a specialist with guineas so felt reassured he would be in very capable hands. Pig is not in pain whatsoever currently and lump is about 1cm, acting totally normal and still very much eating everything in sight! Think I will also speak with my usual vet practice who aren’t specialists, but one of the vets does have some experience with guinea pig lump removals.

I guess I’m just looking for some reassurance / other options…

Hi

As operations go, it is not really invasive surgery and he shouldn't be under for too long. The recovery rates are very good, irrespective of what kind of lump it is.

If it is a mammary tumour then that would need removal because those just keep on growing and never stop. They are more common in boars than in sows in what we are seeing on here although both genders can develop them.

 

[YvonneBlue]

My experience of lump removals on my piggies has been positive and they have all recovered well. At 3.5 years of age your piggy could have another few years with you if they have this lump removed. £650 is a lot of money but is about what i would expect for this type of surgery and aftercare. Of course, like all surgery, there is always a risk but the consequences of leaving this lump would be a reduced life expectancy.

 

[Bill & Ted]

My Bill had a mammary tumour removed, it was tiny about 1/2 cm but when the vet opened him up he also found another, even smaller one, the size of a pencil point and he said these mammary tumours in boars are even more aggressive than in sows. Bill had no ill effects and no further problems and recovered very quickly minus a nipple. If you can get it removed I would do so as soon as you possibly can. Good luck

It was early 2019 and I think it cost around £400 done by Simon Maddock at the Cat & Rabbit Clinic, who is an excellent Guinea pig surgeon

 

[PiggiePerson]

Thank you so much everyone for being kind enough to share your advice/experience. Really appreciate it waiting to hear back from the vet nurse from my original practice on some questions I have, but provisionally have a surgery date booked with the specialist.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much everyone for being kind enough to share your advice/experience. Really appreciate it waiting to hear back from the vet nurse from my original practice on some questions I have, but provisionally have a surgery date booked with the specialist.

PS: My Hafren was just one month short of 7 years when she needed an emergency lumpectomy on her bum for a ca. 2 inch/5 cm large burst lump with cancer concerns due to some heavy bleeding (turned out it was thankfully a more unsual fleshy mantle and inclusion with blood supply and not cancer), which we had been monitoring for about two years in the hope to avoid an operation but which suddenly put on a massive growth spurt and burst while my specialist vets were away on holiday. Despite a rather anxious two weeks' wait she did made a full recovery and lived for several months longer before old age got the better of her.



My Tesni was also 6 years old when she needed an emergency lumpectomy for a burst infected sebaceous cyst right next to her genitalia, which made for a rather fiddly op. Again, she made a full recovery and lived for another year past her 7th birthday.


I hope that helps you? These are my two oldest piggies I needed operated on.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Thank you so much everyone for being kind enough to share your advice/experience. Really appreciate it waiting to hear back from the vet nurse from my original practice on some questions I have, but provisionally have a surgery date booked with the specialist.

Good luck, I hope it goes well, you are doing the right thing This is my Bill the following day after his op, just so you know what to expect. he recovered so quickly you wouldn’t have known he’d had an op

 

[PiggiePerson]

Thank you @Wiebke & @Bill & Ted, both reassuring to read/see your experience and your lovely piggies’ recovery stories!

 

[PiggiePerson]

Hi everyone! Just a quick update, Ginny is doing great post-op after having his lump removed on Wednesday, and has pretty much acted as if nothing ever happened - not even a whimper. Phew I’ve attached his healing incision for anyone interested - check up with the vet on Saturday said it’s healing nicely and stitches can come out the following weekend.

However….. not sure if this needs to be a new thread post, but on the way to the vets on op day, both my pigs were in their usual carrier together and a fight broke out with Ginny as the attacker, which has never happened before. This happened again on the vets table when they were still in the carrier, resulting in a really nasty open wound on Pepper’s back given how bad it looked, was surprised when vet said we could let it heal without stitches. I bring them both home later that day post op, and they are both well behaved in the same carrier on the way home. Set up indoors and again both behaving normally in their cc cage together. Fast forward to this Saturday for check up, I bring them both in again so Ginny has company, same carrier together and no issues. On the way home however Ginny goes for Pepper and reopens his wound, I was SO upset and shaken, my poor boy kept them separate there on and at home have split the cage in half with cc grids. Both Pepper and Ginny have been gnawing at the grids as if they really want to see each other / have access to the other side. My plan was to keep separate until Pepper heals fully and then reintroduce on neutral ground to see if they can live together fully again - is this a bad idea? They’ve never once fought in their cage so I think it’s just the stress of the carrier, even though they’ve been in in previously for the same trip and been fine. Reason I’ve split them as of yesterday is I’m super nervous they’ll fight when I’m not there to see and Pepper will be mauled again!

Would appreciate any advice they are both boars and 4 years old FYI.

 

[Merab]

Glad the op went well and hoping for a speedy recovery.
I can’t help with the bond but I know @anyar.dris has recently had problems rolling her boar’s health problems.
Others will have the experience and knowledge to help

 

[anyar.dris]

Hi, my piggies, Bryce (boar) and Whitney (sow), also had a fight just after Bryce had the op to remove an abscess on April. They just managed to get back together the other day. Check out my recent posts in the thread Pigging Out.

Anyway, Bryce wasn't happy whenever Whitney would sniff his neck (where the abscess was) after his op. I'm guessing Bryce smelled a lot different and Whitney became unsettled because of it. Bryce would chase him away that night we all came back from the vets. So we decided to separate him so he can have some peace while recovering. This went on for a couple of days, but when we tried them to get back together, Whitney started attacking Bryce and lunging on him. We believe it was fierce aggression coz she was the one causing all these high pitch noise and was looking afraid of Bryce until her last resort was to attack Bryce to get him away from her.

We tried bonding them a few times and failed. Our whole living room was separated in half because they have a free run in it on a regular. We also made sure that they are always able to see each other. They always end up sleeping in the boxes next to each other in their separated cage. Tuesday last week, we tried to bond them again and it lasted around 45mins before their scuffle started. But it was the longest they have been together because in the past bonding we did, after just 10-15 mins they try to kill each other. So last Friday, we tried again and that's when they managed to finally be together again. They are still not the best of friend coz they still sometimes bicker when face to face but they can tolerate each other again and can be next to each other without killing each other.