Lumps on a male pig

[donna83]

Hi was just wanting some advice or if anyone has been through similar thanks what it is I found a lump on my 4yr old males belly on Sunday so got him booked in to the vet today and when she examined him she found 5 lumps in total all under the skin on his belly and under his front legs so we Decided to have biopsys done then n there the vet phoned back later to say they were a bit inconclusive that they found fat cells and hair folicles and she and the oncologist agreed these were harmless lumps and we can just keep an eye on them as they don't tend to grow more than 4cm or I could get the biopsys sent to a pathologist for an extra fee to make sure there's no cancerous cells as I feared the worst and immediately thought it was cancer but the vet has recommended to keep an eye on them and surgery is not recommended at this stage due to his age was just wondering if anyone had been in a similar situation and what u would advise thanks for reading

 

[Claire W]

My late Elizabeth had several lumps on her belly but as they were on her mammary line, we sent samples off to the lab to make sure she didn’t have mammary cancer. Thankfully the results came back as harmless fatty lumps so we decided to just monitor them.

She then grew another large lump on her hind leg. Again my vet recommended to do a fine needle biopsy but when he drew out the fluid, he was 90% sure they were fat cells and as the lump was inoperable, we decided from his advise not to send to the lab this time. The lump did grow to be roughly the size of a tennis ball (like I say, it was inoperable as removing it would likely have meant her losing her leg and there was many potential complications) but it never did turn cancerous

I would personally follow your vets advise and just monitor the lumps if she thinks they’re fatty

 

[Wiebke]

Hi was just wanting some advice or if anyone has been through similar thanks what it is I found a lump on my 4yr old males belly on Sunday so got him booked in to the vet today and when she examined him she found 5 lumps in total all under the skin on his belly and under his front legs so we Decided to have biopsys done then n there the vet phoned back later to say they were a bit inconclusive that they found fat cells and hair folicles and she and the oncologist agreed these were harmless lumps and we can just keep an eye on them as they don't tend to grow more than 4cm or I could get the biopsys sent to a pathologist for an extra fee to make sure there's no cancerous cells as I feared the worst and immediately thought it was cancer but the vet has recommended to keep an eye on them and surgery is not recommended at this stage due to his age was just wondering if anyone had been in a similar situation and what u would advise thanks for reading

Hi

Harmless lipomas (fatty lumps) often come up to quite a size in clusters in guinea pigs with a genetic disposition; especially on the 'undercarriage'. Boars seem to be a bit more prone to having larger numbers but both genders can get them. Unless they really impede mobility in the legs when a removal op would really benefit the quality of life, they are usually just left be.

It is however always important that you see a vet to make sure that it is not a tumour (benign or malign) because they can also - thankfully much more rarely - appear as lumpy clusters on the underside, so you have doen the right thing.

Just take a deep breath and love your boy, lumps and all.

Here is more information: Guinea Lynx :: Lipoma

 

[piggieminder]

My 5 year old boar Brillo has a cluster of lumps on his belly, and 1 under his chin. Brillo had an xray to check that the lumps were not joined internally and part of a mass. He did not have a mass. On the advice of the vet we didn't spend the £200 + for biopsies as I wouldn't have had him operated on anyway. A mammary strip is a huge operation for a small animal and he has several other conditions that would have made the operation and recovery difficult. We decided a wait and see strategy ,15 months later he has another lump but none of the old ones have increased in size.

 

[donna83]

Thanks for your great replies I have spoken with my vet again today n we have agreed I'm doing the right thing by just keeping an eye on them I feel a lot better about the situation as I've been reading a lot about fatty lumps on here and I'm hoping that's what it is so hopefully my boy will have a few years left yet and I will be keeping a very close eye on the lumps Thanks all for the advice