Fatty lump, cyst and poop stuck on nail?

[Dilly's Piggies]

Hi, my 5 year old girl Lottie has a couple of lumps which she already has a vet appointment for next week, one is quite large about the size of a 10p coin and it's sitting in the loose skin folds in her armpit, it moves around freely, isn't attached to anything and feels soft and squishy, it doesn't seem to cause any issues, I'm just worried about the size of it and it has grown quickly. I'm thinking maybe fatty lump? I've heard this is a common location to get them too. Should I be worried about it?

The other she has had for about a year and has seen the vet about it before, it's sitting the underside of her flank about the size of a marble, it feels hard and doesn't move around much. When the vet was feeling it before it actually burst and thick white paste material came out so they diagnosed it as a sebaceous cyst. It has filled up again and has a big white head on it now, its much bigger than it was previously. I've heard the only way to get rid of these is to do surgery and remove the cysts capsule, I really don't want to do GA or surgery for her, is this something we can manage without sedation if I just keep taking her back regularly for it to be expressed? It does seem a little uncomfortable and is it common for cysts to get a white head? She didn't have that before.

This one isn't a health issue but tips would be appreciated: She also has a piece of hard dried poop on one of her nails, I've been sitting her in a tray of shallow warm water for 30 minutes 2 days in a row and it will not come off... is there anything else I can try? Its the last nail I need to trim but can't do it with poop on it.

Any advice would be amazing. Thank you!

 

[Claire W]

Hi, it's good you are having the lumps checked as there are a number of things a lump can be but if it helps you, my Edward who's 6 has quite a few lumps. One is in his armpit and the other is in his neck and he has a couple on his belly. But he's been vet checked and had confirmation that they're fatty lumps. The lump in his neck is quite big (ping pong ball sized) and the one in his armpit is marble sized. My Elizabeth also has a couple of lumps on her belly, again been confirmed as fatty lumps.

Your vet may wish to perform a fine needle biopsy on the lumps where a needle is inserted in to the lump and a sample of the fluid is sent off for analysis but it isn't cheap.

I once had a piggy, Erin with a sebaceous cyst. Thankfully it never refilled once the vet had burst it so I can't comment on the best treatment.

As for the stuck poo, all you can do is keep soaking her nail and hope it comes off or hope she cleans it off herself.

Please let us know how you get on at the vets x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, my 5 year old girl Lottie has a couple of lumps which she already has a vet appointment for next week, one is quite large about the size of a 10p coin and it's sitting in the loose skin folds in her armpit, it moves around freely, isn't attached to anything and feels soft and squishy, it doesn't seem to cause any issues, I'm just worried about the size of it and it has grown quickly. I'm thinking maybe fatty lump? I've heard this is a common location to get them too. Should I be worried about it?

The other she has had for about a year and has seen the vet about it before, it's sitting the underside of her flank about the size of a marble, it feels hard and doesn't move around much. When the vet was feeling it before it actually burst and thick white paste material came out so they diagnosed it as a sebaceous cyst. It has filled up again and has a big white head on it now, its much bigger than it was previously. I've heard the only way to get rid of these is to do surgery and remove the cysts capsule, I really don't want to do GA or surgery for her, is this something we can manage without sedation if I just keep taking her back regularly for it to be expressed? It does seem a little uncomfortable and is it common for cysts to get a white head? She didn't have that before.

This one isn't a health issue but tips would be appreciated: She also has a piece of hard dried poop on one of her nails, I've been sitting her in a tray of shallow warm water for 30 minutes 2 days in a row and it will not come off... is there anything else I can try? Its the last nail I need to trim but can't do it with poop on it.

Any advice would be amazing. Thank you!

Hi!

Most lumps sitting loose in the skin are harmless; they need removing if they impede movement or ideally if they have burst.

Unfortunately, your sebaceous cyst will keep on coming back and refilling. The best way forward is operative removal, which should be a fairly quick and straight forward procedure with a very good recovery prognosis.
The oldest piggy of mine who needed an operation for a large burst sebaceous cyst (which the vet and I had hoped would stay put) was just one month short of 7 years but made a full recovery and was able to enjoy her life for quite a few months longer until old age caught up with her.

As to the poop removal, it is a tedious process of soaking, working off the soaked layer, then soaking some more and work off. Repeat as often as necessary.