Lump in lower abdomen

[Fiona1987]

Hey everyone,
This Wednesday just gone, I decided my piggy Margie needed a bum bath and when drying her off afterwards, I noticed a lump in her lower abdomen. It’s slightly to her right around the area where her bladder is. I would say it’s slightly bigger than the size of a garden pea and slightly moveable.

I managed to get her to the vet today who are pretty good with exotics so they could take a look and hopefully give some insight to what it could be or if I’m worrying about nothing.

The vet definitely confirmed a lump and had a better look via ultrasound but explained with these things, it’s hard to tell. She wasn’t too concerned it’s a mammary tumour as her nipples are further up, no discharge etc.
Basically and in a nutshell, It could potentially be something sinister or a cyst/fatty lump.
They could confirm that the lump is between the skin and muscle and not in any organ. She also has a good heart, no other indications of lumps and her weight is really good. Margie is eating and drinking really well, popcorning away most days, getting in to mischief and I genuinely believe she knows nothing about her lump.
Definitely no signs of any pain or discomfort.

I was given three options and I’ve attached prices in case anyone’s interested.

1. We could do a biopsy and they could test it. It’s no guarantee they will have a definitive answer what it is but could help diagnose. If it is more sinister, they would want to operate. Approx £200

2. Go straight in to operate and remove the lump. Approx £690 including the operation, aftercare, antibiotics, consultations etc.
At this point I could feel my husbands eyes burning in to me when the vet gave the price .

3. Monitor it and see if the lump grows, changes shape or if I feel Margie’s behaviour changes. Obviously I can go back anytime. I feel this is the option the vet was suggesting was best and then option 2 should we need to. We went with this option in the end.

Can I ask, has anyone else had something similar or been in the same situation with your piggy? I know all cases can be different but I’m questioning if I’m doing the right thing by her.

Thanks everyone.

 

[piggieminder]

I can't offer you advise but just wanted to offer you support.

 

[weepweeps]

I don’t have any experience of piggy lumps. Sorry. Bumping up your post so hopefully someone can offer their experiences.

 

[Bertie & Jelly]

I recently found a marble sized lump on Bertie slightly above but between his testicles. The vet had a good root around his boy bits poor chap and found an abscess ’in his reproductive glands’. He is currently on antibiotics and it has reduced to pea size but may need it surgically drained. My other piggie Jelly had a lump on his tummy which the vet thought was a fatty lump so I opted to ‘watch’ until it started impeding his movement. The fine needle aspiration was ‘inconclusive’ so eventually I had it removed and biopsied. Sorry I can’t offer any helpful advice but just wanted to share experience of different lumps and different treatments.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

I would be tempted to do as you have done. If it is small, not causing any issues and the vet is not overly concerned then just keep an eye on it and go back to the vet if it changes. Lumps if various kinds are not uncommon on piggies and most are not harmful.
Vets will usually tell you all the options available so as you can make an informed decision.

 

[Jerler]

Hello,

I think the approach you've decided to take together with your vet is the best one. I would suggest to not wait to long to get it removed if it continues to grow bigger. My guinea pig had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago, and even though her surgery was succesfull, the lump was really big. It makes for a big wound and there is a chance for alot of bloodvessels to be around the lump (This appearantly can cause complications during surgery e.g. too much bloodloss).

It sucks tho the bills are so high where you live! I hope if you decide to do a biopsy of the lump, this won't be a big bill. It could help you decide to remove it early or let it be for a while.

Good luck and I hope the lump will stay small and benign

 

[Tinypixi]

Literally just gone through the exact same thing with one of my girls!
The lump was quite noticeable about 2ish cm... obvious but not causing her any issues. We chose biopsy @£250 .. results showed possible nasties. So 2 weeks later ( Wed this week) she had it removed. Costing £540.
... this is where my emergency credit card came in use
I didn't want to risk it staying in there, if the cances that it was potentially a nasty tumor I wanted it out before I could spread.
My little Flo is 3 yrs old, really healthy and she's recovering well.
Hope this helps you