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Large lump on Smokey's cheek :( Any advice please!

CinnamonSmokey121

CinnamonSmokey121

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

I need some advice/guidance please!

My gorgeous girl went to the vets about 7 months ago, as she had a very small lump forming on/around her cheek. We treated with painkillers and antibiotics, after reading on this forum I got the vet to the try a different antibiotic, but nothing seemed to really make a difference. The vet and I then decided to leave it and see how it progressed, as it wasn't too large and didn't seem to be affecting her at all.

Fast forward 7 months to now - it had been much the same but very slowly growing, still not bothering her at all. Last week during cuddle time though it seemed to have grown more, and is now bigger than a golf ball. It still seems to be causing her no issues, it doesn't bother her if I touch it, she's eating well and is her normal cheeky self!

But I decided to take her to the vet yesterday, as I was worried about it keep getting bigger as I don't want it to to just keep growing and burst or something. The vet seemed to think, as I do, that it's not a tumour, but potentially a cyst or abscess. The vet examined her teeth which were fine, so we don't think dental abscess. We don't think it's a tumour as it's not causing her other symptoms (touchwood) and is not really hard, but seems like it's filled with fluid. She had an injection of painkillers and antibiotics yesterday. We also discussed putting a needle in and seeing if we could reduce some of the swelling, and although there were risks to this (the vet explained about the structures in her cheek etc), I decided to go for this as an alternative to putting her under as I know this carries risks too. All that happened however was it bled, the vet said 'oh, I wasn't expecting blood, rather pus or clear fluid.' She wasn't sure then if it could be a blood blister!? I didn't want to try again as I didn't want to stress her, so for the next week she's been prescribed 0.4ml of Baytril every 12 hours and 0.2ml of Metacam for a week, as well as me doing a 'warm compress' on her cheek every day to see if that helps bring it down, then bring her in on Monday to see if it's made a difference.

My dilemma is what to do next?

My options are either:
1.) Leave it after the week and just see how it goes (I'm not too keen on this as I'm worried it will start to affect her eye, or burst)
2.) My vets can sedate her, do an X-ray and depending on what is there, maybe do something
3.) Go to an exotics vet where they can sedate her and do a CT scan (which would show more than an Xray) and possible work.

My concerns with 2/3 are the risk with anaesthetic and guinea pigs, do I want to risk putting her under when she seems fine in herself? But if I don't, could it kill her quickly?
Also, the exotic vet recommended and closest to me (South East England) is about a 50 mins drive away, she doesn't like travelling and what if I needed to get to her quickly?

So basically - she is an otherwise healthy (touchwood) nearly 4 year old piggy - do I take the risk with anaesthetic in the hope they can cure the lump then she could go on to live another healthy few years? Or is the anaesthetic too much of a risk and I keep her as she is, she might be fine but may not? I'm just so worried as she's my little baby and I don't want to stress her or hurt her, but I don't want her to be hurt if I don't take action :(

I know you can't give me answers, but any advice/thoughts/support would be greatly appreciated as everyone is always so helpful on here <3

Thank you for reading this far!
 
Hi I'm no expert at all but I would just say one you know her best follow your gut feeling and two the anaesthetic used for scans I believe is much lower than for surgery I'm sure I've read a post by one of the experts saying this so therefore less risk but you must follow your vets advice if you trust them that is. Not much solid help there sorry but also top advisors on here always say to access their quality of life, is she pain free and is she able to do all her usual piggy things and enjoy them? And use your answers this to decide on your next step 💐
 
Hi, I am very sorry to hear that your girl has a large lump. I’m afraid that a blood filled lump could be nasty 😞 would your vet consider taking a fine needle biopsy of the lump and send it away for testing? This can be done without sedation. That will tell you whether or not it is cancerous and then you can make any decisions from there

My late Elizabeth had a lump on her leg / hip area that was inoperable due to its location as removing it carried huge risks that I wasn’t prepared to take. After an honest discussion with my fantastic vet, we decided to leave it well alone. He did put a needle in it though but from looking at the fluid through a microscope, he was over 90% sure the lump was fatty so we didn’t send it off for testing as I trusted him. He did however explain that if the lump grew big, it could cause her mobility issues but we’d cross that bridge if we came to it

The lump started off as the size of a grape and it slowly grew over the course of several months until it was the size of a tennis ball.

She couldn’t walk well on her leg but she coped with a daily dose of metacam in case she was in any pain although she never showed signs of pain

Eventually the lump started growing internally and push on her organs and she developed a blood clot which may or may not have been caused by the lump and we had to make the sad decision to help her cross the rainbow bridge 😞 but we had an amazing few months with her and she was a good age of at least 5 (she was a rescue so we didn’t know her exact age)

Here is her thread which you may find helpful x

Elizabeth has another lump 😞
 
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CTWC said:
Hi I'm no expert at all but I would just say one you know her best follow your gut feeling and two the anaesthetic used for scans I believe is much lower than for surgery I'm sure I've read a post by one of the experts saying this so therefore less risk but you must follow your vets advice if you trust them that is. Not much solid help there sorry but also top advisors on here always say to access their quality of life, is she pain free and is she able to do all her usual piggy things and enjoy them? And use your answers this to decide on your next step 💐
Click to expand...
Thank you, there is no solid advice but any support is appreciated! I'll check about the anaesthetic dose for scans, that would be good if it was lower, I might be swayed by that. She is touchwood pain free and enjoying life yes, I just want that to continue for her!
 
Claire W said:
Hi, I am very sorry to hear that your girl has a large lump. I’m afraid that a blood filled lump could be nasty 😞 would your vet consider taking a fine needle biopsy of the lump and send it away for testing? This can be done without sedation. That will tell you whether or not it is cancerous and then you can make any decisions from there

My late Elizabeth had a lump on her leg / hip area that was inoperable due to its location as removing it carried huge risks that I wasn’t prepared to take. After an honest discussion with my fantastic vet, we decided to leave it well alone. He did put a needle in it though but from looking at the fluid through a microscope, he was over 90% sure the lump was fatty so we didn’t send it off for testing as I trusted him. He did however explain that if the lump grew big, it could cause her mobility issues but we’d cross that bridge if we came to it

The lump started off as the size of a grape and it slowly grew over the course of several months until it was the size of a tennis ball.

She couldn’t walk well on her leg but she coped with a daily dose of metacam in case she was in any pain although she never showed signs of pain

Eventually the lump started growing internally and push on her organs and she developed a blood clot which may or may not have been caused by the lump and we had to make the sad decision to help her cross the rainbow bridge 😞 but we had an amazing few months with her and she was a good age of at least 5 (she was a rescue so we didn’t know her exact age)

Here is her thread which you may find helpful x

Elizabeth has another lump 😞
Click to expand...
Thank you for the reply, I've read through the thread. What exactly is a fatty lump, is it a type of tumour? A biopsy might be a good idea, I'll add it to the list of questions for my vet!
 
CinnamonSmokey121 said:
@Wiebke I know you're very experienced, have you ever had anything like this?
Click to expand...

Hi

Lumps can be so many different things that they really need a hands-on vet examination and any decision follows on from there. The lump is in a more sensitive area although it doesn't sound like a dental root abscess (that would be very painful and would cause noticeable loss of appetite and one-sided chewing/slanted incisors).

There are always worries about GA but a scan is not as strong a GA as for an operation, and it is also shorter, which means a a reduced risk of complications. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say what the lump is and therefore impossible to tell you what to do and how it is likely to develop if left.

The face is a very sensitive area so there are likely no easy decisions. It is more likely going to come down to a careful weighing up of risks. I wish I had better advice. None of us ever wishes to face these kind of challenging situations that any long term owner is inevitably coming up against sooner or later in some form or other - or repeatedly. What is OK for a leg may be wrong for the face... but without knowing what you are up against there are simply too many unknowns in play at the moment.

Make sure that you switch to weighing daily first thing in the morning and that you step in with feeding support whenever needed. In your case, insert the syringe from the other side to the lump.
Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
Signs of Pain in Guinea Pigs

All the best for Smokey and you.
 
Unfortunately, there's really no way to figure out what this lump is without investigating it further, and at that size it's probably important to know. Guinea pigs can get a variety of lumps, from abscesses to lipomas to malignancies. It's always hard when considering risks and there's always a risk with anesthesia... that said, I've had several guinea pigs, including one really sick one, have anesthesia and recover fine. I've even had two hamsters have general anesthesia and recover fine! Honestly, if it were me, I would probably let the vet anesthetize her, take a quick x-ray, and maybe poke around to relieve the pressure if it's fluid and to take some sample cells to look at under a microscope if it's solid. I know it's easy for me to say when it's not my pig, but I've had a very similar procedure (relieving a facial abscess) done in both a guinea pig and a hamster and personally I think the risk of leaving it is probably greater than the risk of exploring it.

((HUGS)) and I hope whatever you choose goes smooth and you soon have some more information!
 
CinnamonSmokey121 said:
Thank you for the reply, I've read through the thread. What exactly is a fatty lump, is it a type of tumour? A biopsy might be a good idea, I'll add it to the list of questions for my vet!
Click to expand...

You’re welcome. A fatty lump (veterinary term fatty lipoma) is just a lump of harmless fat cells, just a lump of fat really. They are usually harmless x
 
I would definitely not just wait it out and continue without further diagnostics, you need to be sure what the lump is to make an informed decision about treatment. Lumps can be many things, and for some of them, removing them asap is crucial. I just lost a pig to a sudden sepsis from a tooth abscess the day before it was meant to be removed, you don't want to go through that.
In a young and otherwise healthy pig, I wouldn't worry too much about anaesthesia. The risk of anaesthesia is almost certainly smaller than waiting it out. For diagnostics, the piggie will only be put in a light slumber, so the risk is even smaller. I would definitely make the trip to the exotic vet, though! Regular vets often don't know a lot about the specifics of guinea pig anaesthesia. For example, they often use the same aneasthetic they use for cats and dogs, which does work, but is not the safest option for guinea pigs. And for a CT, your piggie won't even need to be sedated. Unless travelling usually makes her panic do a dangerous extent, the 50 min drive is probably worth it.
 
Thank you all for your advice and support. I took her to my vets on Saturday and they made a referral to the exotic vets. I was able to take her to them on Tuesday, where the vet examined her and thought the lump was mainly fluid but wanted to do a CT. Wednesday they did the CT, and found that the majority was blood, so a hemotoma, but underneath on her masseter muscle there were some harder bits of tissue. They recommended and I agreed that as the lump was growing quickly, the best bet would be an op to remove the fluids and see what the lumps were. Thursday she had the op, there was a lot of blood drained and the underneath looked like fatty tissue but they took a sample and were going to send it for analysis. I got a call to say she'd come round from the surgery well and was already eating and looking good.

Half an hour later, I got another call - she had suddenly deteriorated and started gasping and twitching - they gave her glucose, adrenaline and when she stopped breathing they tried CPR, but it was too late and she was gone.

I'm beyond devastated and been to pick up Cinnamon (her sister) and Smokey's body this morning. I've put the body in the cage with Cinnamon, she's given it a good sniff and is now quietly eating hay.

I'm so sad for Smokey, she was nearly 4 but didn't quite make it and I'm so sad her beautiful life got cut short. I hope I did the right thing with her treatment and that she'll forgive me for taking her to the vets, I hope she's now at peace with the other piggies over the 🌈 bridge.
 
I am so, so sorry you’ve lost Smokey, what a terrible thing to happen. Sending you bigs hugs, you made the right decision I think you have been so unlucky

Popcorn high Smokey 🌈
 
BIG HUGS

I am so, so sorry that the life-saving op has not come off. It is always such a gut knocking shock for both you as the owner as it is for the operating team the recovery nurses.

Whatever the actual nature of the lump, if it had been left be the blood would have very likely turned septic at some point and would have caused a slightly slower but much more painful death/emergency pts under dramatic circumstances in the nearer future. :(

You have absolutely done the right thing for Smokey to buy her a chance at a longer healthy life. Unfortunately, chances never come with a guarantee of success. The outcome is never in your control. You have not failed Smokey in any way; you hved dealt your best in what has turned out to be a rotten hand of cards - Cinnamon has nothing to forgive you for.

Please be kind with yourself as you have both the shock and trauma as well as the pain of losing your precious Smokey to deal with all at once. That is not a quick process because you can only process so much at any give time. It is OK to not be OK for a little while but if you find that you struggle to cope, sleep, process or you get trapped in a vicious circle mind loop please seek help from one of the free pet bereavement platforms of the Blue Cross (UK animal charity). The best thing you can do is talk although there are also other things you can actively do for yourself as you go through the grieving process.
Our grieving guide may help you with understanding the often unexpected places and strong emotions but also with ideas for finding a way to express your feelings in a way that suits you best.
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

All the best for Cinnamon. As long as she is eating and drinking please give her time to do her grieving and do not rush out immediately for a new friend. She will have known better than you that the lump was not good news (guinea pigs have a much finer sense of smell than us) but she will also have to come to terms with losing her bestie so suddenly.
Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig

We are here for you if Cinnamon or you need us for some moral support.
 
Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry 💔 You gave her the best chance by taking her to the vet and she has nothing to forgive you for because you didn't do anything wrong. You gave her a good, happy life. Zoom and popcorn over the rainbow bridge, little Smokey ❤️
 
I'm so sorry for your loss! You absolutely did the right thing with the vet, the lump sounds really bad and she would just have died a more painful death if you had waited it out. You provided a wonderful, joy-filled life for this little piggie and you did the best you could trying to save her. Sometimes it just isn't meant to be, but that doesn't take away from the good life she lived with you and the happy memories you made. Sending hugs 🖤🖤🖤
 
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