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DOTLDaddy's avatar
DOTLDaddy
Nomad
Dec 02, 2016

Poor Gretchen got lanced today

Gretchen has had a sebaceous cyst on her left side for the last year now. It has slowly grown to be the size of a golf ball, or even a little larger. Considering her age, or vet has always said to just leave it alone if it is not bothering her. Well, it has not been bothering her, but a couple of days ago a weak spot in the cyst ruptured slightly, and oozed blood and gook. The evidence was on her bed, and on one of the rugs she lays on.

We and our vet decided it was time to do something, and that thing was to lance the cyst. She said she got a tremendous amount of "stuff" out of the cyst, then flushed it out with saline solution, bandaged it with a large telfa pad and gauze, and wrapped her around the middle with a couple yards of cling bandage. :p She is on an antibiotic for the next week as well.



  • CA_POPPY's avatar
    CA_POPPY
    Explorer
    Dec 03, 2016
    Aww, Good girl, Gretchen! That must have been bothering her. At least the Vet-Wrap is pretty.
  • nineoaks2004's avatar
    nineoaks2004
    Explorer
    Dec 03, 2016
    One of ours had a large cyst on the side of her head from a snake bite, it started oozing after several weeks so we lanced it ourselves, it has been several years and the cyst has not come back.
  • DOTLDaddy's avatar
    DOTLDaddy
    Nomad
    Dec 03, 2016
    Deb and Ed M wrote:
    DOTLDaddy wrote:


    The good news is that our vet is pretty certain the cyst is not cancerous


    *stunned* - I didn't realize that was even a possibility with a sebaceous cyst. Glad the news was good! (And I hope it doesn't come back)
    Apparently there are several types of sebaceous cysts. The cancerous one is "sebaceous gland adenocarcinoma." As Doug said, they are relatively rare.
  • dturm's avatar
    dturm
    Moderator
    Dec 03, 2016
    Poor Gretchen. They can come back, but usually they scar over and don't. These things are rarely cancerous, good news.
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Dec 03, 2016
    DOTLDaddy wrote:


    The good news is that our vet is pretty certain the cyst is not cancerous


    *stunned* - I didn't realize that was even a possibility with a sebaceous cyst. Glad the news was good! (And I hope it doesn't come back)
  • RBak's avatar
    RBak
    Explorer
    Dec 03, 2016
    Had the same experience with one of my dogs and the cyst did NOT come back! Hope she heals quickly with a minimum of discomfort.

    Rita
    Buttons the Princess Sheltie
    Nicky, the spoiled Tennessee Walker
    Walt, the husband who puts up with us all
  • DOTLDaddy's avatar
    DOTLDaddy
    Nomad
    Dec 03, 2016
    Deb and Ed M wrote:
    Owie! Did the Vet think it can come back - or did that fix it for good?
    It's kind of a carp shoot. There is certainly a chance it will come back, but how fast and how large it will get again is ???. The only sure fix, as I understand it, is to surgically remove the sac. Our vet recommends that as the last option if it continues to be a problem going forward.

    The good news is that our vet is pretty certain the cyst is not cancerous.
  • Johno02's avatar
    Johno02
    Explorer
    Dec 03, 2016
    Been there, done that. Had them open at home, and have opened a few at home, horrible mess, but with antibiotics they heal fast. Usually do not come back in the same place, but it has happened.

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