Should I do further testing for an enlarged testicle?

[space_guineapig]

I have two male piggies, one who I just recently adopted a month or two ago. Two weeks ago I noticed on my new piggie, Verdell, had a large lump near his groin area so I took him to the emergency vet and got him checked out. They said that is was an enlarged testicle and could be among the following: hernia, testicular cancer (unlikely because of his age), abscesses, or an infection. They wanted to do further testing which was bloodwork and x-rays, however, I declined because I didn’t have the money at that time. So they instead gave him three medications to take, a painkiller, anti inflammatory, and an antibiotic. In the past two weeks he has been acting perfectly fine and eating more than he usually does. His mass has not gotten any bigger and he doesn’t act like he’s in pain. I’m considering doing further testing, however, I’ve heard about the risks of putting Guinea pigs under anesthesia and I’m not sure if it’s worth the risk due to the fact that he’s not showing any signs of illness. Any advice on what to do?

 

[WobblyPiggy]

Hi,
If you're worried about testing maybe speak to your vet and ask about how they plan to conduct the tests as not every test is done under anaesthetic if the piggy is still enough...I understand at the moment he seems happy, so its up to you as an owner to make the decision...personally for me I would do the tests now while it's small and he is happy in himself due to any stress from the tests...if he is unwell tests can sometimes be the thing that push them too much...obviously if they plan on putting him under to do tests then that's a different matter...when considering tests for one of my past piggies I asked about his thoughts on expected survival rate if he did it...since he thought it wouldn't be good we chose not to go through with them...hopefully he will continue to be happy and healthy either way...

 

[Wiebke]

GA has generally improved but it very much depends on your vet's experience with small rodents and his nursing team care during the recovery.
Here are our care tips for post-op and post-GA piggies: Tips For Post-operative Care

Some of the issues can be addressed with antibiotics first before considering removal (abscess/infection).
Hernias you can do not so much about; it depends on whether you vet can get the muscle and fatty tissue back through the tiny hole in the wall but it comes with the risk that the strain on the wall that caused the little rip will just transfer to another site.
Has your vet discussed what kind of tests they want to do under GA (scan, bloods etc.)?

I am linking in @Freela ; she may be able to help with more local recommendations.

 

[Freela]

I think it's worth talking to the vet about what the testing would entail. Most pigs do well with an inhaled anesthetic, in a young and healthy pig who is otherwise healthy for a short procedure the risk is probably pretty slight. Whenever I'm making this kind of decision, my main question is, "Will the information gained from testing change management?" If it will, it's more worthwhile proceeding than if any knowledge gained is purely academic and treatment will remain the same. It helps me balance the risk/benefit analysis a little better.

 

[space_guineapig]

I have two male piggies, one who I just recently adopted a month or two ago. Two weeks ago I noticed on my new piggie, Verdell, had a large lump near his groin area so I took him to the emergency vet and got him checked out. They said that is was an enlarged testicle and could be among the following: hernia, testicular cancer (unlikely because of his age), abscesses, or an infection. They wanted to do further testing which was bloodwork and x-rays, however, I declined because I didn’t have the money at that time. So they instead gave him three medications to take, a painkiller, anti inflammatory, and an antibiotic. In the past two weeks he has been acting perfectly fine and eating more than he usually does. His mass has not gotten any bigger and he doesn’t act like he’s in pain. I’m considering doing further testing, however, I’ve heard about the risks of putting Guinea pigs under anesthesia and I’m not sure if it’s worth the risk due to the fact that he’s not showing any signs of illness. Any advice on what to do?

Just wanted to update everyone who replied. First of all thanks for the responses. For the past month or so I have been just monitoring his condition, the lump did not seem to go away with the medicine. However, yesterday I noticed that there was bloody discharge all over his cage. I took a look at him and it was the mass, so today I took him to a different veterinarian and they had him looked at. It was an abscess that broke and formed a small scab. I don’t think the first vet knew what they were doing because it was not even attached to his testicles and has nothing to do with them. The mass did shrink and is small enough to not notice anymore. He is now on an antibiotic and pain reliever. All in all he is apparently very healthy and will be fine. If he does eventually need surgery after the antibiotics it is low risk so I will go through with it at this new vet.