Marshmallow - Thyroid adenoma
- CavyHouse
- Supporter in '11
On March 19, 2009, we got Marshmallow from a local shelter. She was an owner surrender who the vet said was BAR (basically all right) aside from some slight bumblefoot.
In the next 6 weeks though, her weight fluctuated up and down but she was eventually down 100 grams.
We also noticed a grape-size lump in her throat around 4/9 and so took her in for an exam on 4/14. Our vet drained the cyst and said if it returned or she lost more weight, she would need it removed.
On 4/22/09, the cyst returned so we scheduled her for surgery. It was removed on 4/30 and we just got the biopsy back today (5/5/09). It is thyroid adenoma, so it's good we had it removed. Our vet said it should take care of her hyperthryoid symptoms, such as the weight loss. We're wondering if it might make her less grumpy, too, since she wasn't getting along with other piggies.
I did a search on GL for thyroid adenoma and only found one other reference. So I thought I'd post here about our experiences in case it might help others.
In the next 6 weeks though, her weight fluctuated up and down but she was eventually down 100 grams.
We also noticed a grape-size lump in her throat around 4/9 and so took her in for an exam on 4/14. Our vet drained the cyst and said if it returned or she lost more weight, she would need it removed.
On 4/22/09, the cyst returned so we scheduled her for surgery. It was removed on 4/30 and we just got the biopsy back today (5/5/09). It is thyroid adenoma, so it's good we had it removed. Our vet said it should take care of her hyperthryoid symptoms, such as the weight loss. We're wondering if it might make her less grumpy, too, since she wasn't getting along with other piggies.
I did a search on GL for thyroid adenoma and only found one other reference. So I thought I'd post here about our experiences in case it might help others.
- CavyHouse
- Supporter in '11
We did not find the lump via visual inspection. We found it from palpating. We've had a thyroid tumor piggy before and this felt like that one. It was located more in the throat and at least half submerged. Marshmallow has already gained weight since the surgery.
We got another piggy, named Big Boy, the same day from the same shelter (not cagemates). He came to us with CL - our first case. He had several smaller bumps that were more under his chin and more raised than the thyroid tumor on Marshmallow. We treated that with antibiotics.
However, near the end of Big Boy's treatment (I'll have to look up the dates), we started noticing the lymph nodes in his inguinal region (groin) were large, as were a couple new bumps under his chin that felt different from the CL bumps. So back to the vet.
Our vet did a needle aspiration and slides and determined that Big Boy has lymphoma. The lymph nodes in his inguinal region, sub-mandibular, pre-scapular (I may have that term wrong) and one under his right arm were quite enlarged.
We've been treating Big Boy for a month now with Prednisone (.1 ml BID) and have been trying chemo with L-spargenase ( probably spelled that wrong). The lymph nodes have gone down dramatically and Big Boy is feeling much better. Our vet did caution us though that this will probably only help a few weeks or months.
I'm mentioning Big Boy's symptoms in Marshmallow's thread because I thought it might help compare bumps.
As always happens in rescue, the really crummy stuff happens to the really great guinea pigs. Big Boy is one of the funniest, sweetest pigs I've met. He goes absolutely nuts when you pet him - does all the rumblestrutting noises - epecially on the nose, throat, head and behind the jaws.
We got another piggy, named Big Boy, the same day from the same shelter (not cagemates). He came to us with CL - our first case. He had several smaller bumps that were more under his chin and more raised than the thyroid tumor on Marshmallow. We treated that with antibiotics.
However, near the end of Big Boy's treatment (I'll have to look up the dates), we started noticing the lymph nodes in his inguinal region (groin) were large, as were a couple new bumps under his chin that felt different from the CL bumps. So back to the vet.
Our vet did a needle aspiration and slides and determined that Big Boy has lymphoma. The lymph nodes in his inguinal region, sub-mandibular, pre-scapular (I may have that term wrong) and one under his right arm were quite enlarged.
We've been treating Big Boy for a month now with Prednisone (.1 ml BID) and have been trying chemo with L-spargenase ( probably spelled that wrong). The lymph nodes have gone down dramatically and Big Boy is feeling much better. Our vet did caution us though that this will probably only help a few weeks or months.
I'm mentioning Big Boy's symptoms in Marshmallow's thread because I thought it might help compare bumps.
As always happens in rescue, the really crummy stuff happens to the really great guinea pigs. Big Boy is one of the funniest, sweetest pigs I've met. He goes absolutely nuts when you pet him - does all the rumblestrutting noises - epecially on the nose, throat, head and behind the jaws.
Just curious -- was Marshmallow on tapazole (methimazole) for hyperthyroid? My vet said that thyroid tumor removal has greater success when the T4 levels are medically regulated somewhat beforehand; otherwise possibility of "thyroid storm" after surgery due to the drastic change. My hospital did a thyroid removal on a piggy that didn't have a good outcome because of such a scenario, and I was considering the surgery for my Inca (now departed, but she had large thyroid tumor). Just wondering if there are any other tips for Marshmallow's success story? Thanks
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- You can quote me
We had one thyroid tumor removed on one of ours. The vet found it via palpation. He was hyper and had a thick, luxurious coat.
The tumor was actually involved with a major blood vessel in the neck. The vet who is probably the best surgeon in Atlanta (he now works for Zoo Atlanta) did the work and he recovered just fine.
The tumor was benign on histo. (Not sure of the -noma classification, but I was told it was benign and it did not recur.) His post-op care was successful and uneventful.
The tumor was actually involved with a major blood vessel in the neck. The vet who is probably the best surgeon in Atlanta (he now works for Zoo Atlanta) did the work and he recovered just fine.
The tumor was benign on histo. (Not sure of the -noma classification, but I was told it was benign and it did not recur.) His post-op care was successful and uneventful.
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- You can quote me
Lynx -- for our Littletan, yes, it was palpable (the vet found it, making me feel awful), much where CavyHouse describes -- in our case, somewhere under the chin/jaw, back down toward the throat, partially submerged.
LT was 'diagnosed' by the vet doing a fine needle aspirate and getting blood. Not pus, not cells, not tissue material, not clear fluid; blood (this was growing into a blood vessel). It understandably freaked her and we just scheduled surgery for the next day without worrying about what kind of lump it was.
No thread -- this was pre-my membership on GL.
LT was 'diagnosed' by the vet doing a fine needle aspirate and getting blood. Not pus, not cells, not tissue material, not clear fluid; blood (this was growing into a blood vessel). It understandably freaked her and we just scheduled surgery for the next day without worrying about what kind of lump it was.
No thread -- this was pre-my membership on GL.
Yes, my vet palpated Inca's neck lump, and in conjunction with her other symptoms (mostly weight loss despite eating a lot), we starting thinking hyperthyroidism. Unfortunately, T4 values were normal and even an aspiration of the lump told us "not thyroid." Inca received tapazole regardless because she seemed like a "classic case of hyperthyroid." Medicine may have helped in that her weight stabilized a bit (she didn't keep losing), but I could get her to gain weight.
I considered surgery to remove Inca's lump, especially since we felt it getting bigger, but I didn't think Inca would survive surgery because she didn't do well with anesthesia, was very low weight and boney, and had rapid-heart episodes (tachycardia). So I let her live out the rest of her life even more spoiled than usual. Neither the lump nor Inca's frail condition seemed to bother her, but in the end we think she had a "thyroid storm" from which she couldn't recover. A post-mortem biopsy of the lump classified it as "follicular thyroid adenoma" (plus there's a 4th word I'm forgetting that means "bone-like").
Inca's thread is here: https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40942
I considered surgery to remove Inca's lump, especially since we felt it getting bigger, but I didn't think Inca would survive surgery because she didn't do well with anesthesia, was very low weight and boney, and had rapid-heart episodes (tachycardia). So I let her live out the rest of her life even more spoiled than usual. Neither the lump nor Inca's frail condition seemed to bother her, but in the end we think she had a "thyroid storm" from which she couldn't recover. A post-mortem biopsy of the lump classified it as "follicular thyroid adenoma" (plus there's a 4th word I'm forgetting that means "bone-like").
Inca's thread is here: https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40942
- CavyHouse
- Supporter in '11
I thought I'd mention that Marshmallow has had a couple of URIs since her thyroid adenoma was removed. I don't know if it related at all but just in case, I thought I'd note it here. None of the other guinea pigs have had URIs during that time. Some piggies seem more fragile than others and she's one of those.