Sal - lump under bottom left nipple

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briana d

Post   » Mon Feb 24, 2003 6:05 pm


Sal is a boar and I'm guessing he is somewhere around 1-2 years old. Sal is one of the 10 guinea pigs I took for Saskia's rescue when it closed. I first took Sal to the vet because he used his back feet like a bunny - he hopped everywhere. Dr. Murray told me he probably has sore joints due to scurvy. Scurvy was found to be a problem in another pig from Saskia's so that is why I believe he concluded it was vitamin c related.

While Sal was on my lap the other day I noticed a pea size lump directly under his bottom left nipple. It is hard - not squishy at all. It doesn't seem to cause him any discomfort when touching it. Sal is going to see Dr. Murray on Friday. I just want to get some ideas and information on what this lump might possibly be.

Evangeline

Post   » Mon Feb 24, 2003 6:56 pm


I know Pigpal had a lump removed from her boar's nipple, but I don't remember the details. Maybe you could do a search and email her?

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briana d

Post   » Mon Feb 24, 2003 6:59 pm


Thanks E.

Evangeline

Post   » Mon Feb 24, 2003 7:02 pm


No problem. I'm sorry that I don't remember much.

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lisam

Post   » Mon Feb 24, 2003 9:14 pm


My Addie had a lump next to one of hers. The vet removed it, but cautioned that it could return. Sure enough, it has. She also has two other ones that I monitor the size of, and when they get big will have them removed. When the vet removed the lump, he also took off her nipple.

She is a sow, however. I suppose boars get them too.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Feb 24, 2003 9:24 pm


Lisam, did your vet say what it was?

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lisam

Post   » Mon Feb 24, 2003 9:34 pm


He called it a breast tumor. He did not send it off to be analyzed, since he said they were quite common in guinea pigs, and usually benign. But the one on her side that had opened up on it's own was a sebaceous cyst. I am planning on having the next one analyzed.

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briana d

Post   » Mon Feb 24, 2003 11:19 pm


Reprinted with permission from Pigpal.
I first noticed a small hard lump about a cm away from his
nipple and thought it was probably a cyst, but decided
to wait and see how it progressed. It doubled in size
over about a month, until it was roughly pea-sized. It
didn't seem to cause him any discomfort at all and he
was perfectly fine otherwise.

I took him in to see Dr. Nakamura, who recommended
having it removed and biopsied. He said it could be
something benign, like a cyst or lipoma, but it didn't
feel like that to him.

Dr. N removed the lump, as well as the nipple and the
whole mammary gland, as Willie had no need of it and
he wanted to be sure he removed all portions of the
lump. He said it was larger than he initially
thought.

Willie did well in surgery and made a quick recovery.
He was on Bactrim for a couple of weeks to prevent
infection and I took home Meloxicam for pain relief,
but he didn't need it. The biopsy showed the lump was
cancerous, of a type that tends to spread. Dr. N felt
fairly confident that we caught it early enough that
it had not yet spread, but I am keeping a close watch
on Willie for signs of further problems. We had a
scare a few weeks ago, when a similar lump showed up
on the other side. I made an appointment to see Dr.
N, but in a couple of days the lump had disappeared on
it's own. Freaky.

My recommendation, if Sal is a good candidate for
surgery, would be to have it removed and biopsied, to
be safe. The whole thing cost me about $200,
including the biopsy and meds. Well worth it for the
piece of mind.
I'll definately mention this to Dr. Murray when I see him. I put some pictures of the lump up at: http://imageevent.com/pudgypiggy/salslumpnipple .

It was really hard to get a good picture so the pictures don't offer much but they give you an idea.

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Zoe

Post   » Tue Feb 25, 2003 12:45 am


Hi Briana! I just got back from seeing Dr. Murray this morning. Petunia was having possible bladderstone problems again. She's on a syringed water regime... again.

Petunia had a lump under her nipple. It started getting bigger and another showed up nearby. Dr. Murray removed it... along with her nipple... he had been concerned, but it turned out to be a lipoma (benign fatty tumor). I hope Sals lump is nothing serious.

Met lady in the office who was upset that her Monterey SPCA piggy (of the white with black guys) had had a tumor on his liver that did him in. And now her other piggy is sick.

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briana d

Post   » Sat Mar 01, 2003 3:04 am


I took Sal to the vet today and the lump is a tumor. He is scheduled to have a mastectomy on Monday. Once they remove the tumor I think I was told they send it to a pathologist and they confirm whether it is cancerous or not. I'm not sure - it's been a long day.

On a good note - that lady that Zoe mentioned adopted a pair of my guinea pigs. They'll be very happy in their new home.

pinta

Post   » Sat Mar 01, 2003 3:10 am


Hard to say re sending tumour to pathologist.

If you can afford it,I would. Beaches had a tumour that turned out to be a sarcoma(?) known to have threads coming out that would make it spread. Knowing this, we knew if it returned we would have to be very aggressive in removing surrounding flesh. Luckily, it hasn't come back which means most likely we got it all. But I check her religiously looking for any signs of a regrowth.

I'm so glad that lady got some pigs. She'll feel much better for it and they got a great home.

Evangeline

Post   » Sat Mar 01, 2003 11:13 am


I'm have it analysed, too. You need to know what you're dealing with in case this needs further treatment. AnIf not, it will at least give you peace of mind.

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