guinea pig lump-urgent

Question
Kat-
I have two kids, and we recently adopted a guinea from our friends she has a lump on her side. it does not appear to be causing her pain and it has not grown. I have no idea what it is. Help!
-joey

Answer
Hello Joey,

It sounds like a sebeceous cyst. They really aren't harmful but if you let it be, it could (and likely will) eventually burst and then it will have to be flushed and cared for carefully until it heals and it could come back at anytime throughout her life. However, it can be surgically removed and will never return. I recommend having it removed as soon as you can so you don't have to stress over caring for the resulting hole and stress of possible infection and then further stress oof possibly having it return again later. The procedure is simple and with a piggy knowledgable vet, there is little risk. If it is a cyst (which seems the most likely), it's not urgent, but the surgery should be done soon to avoid having to deal with it rupturing. However, she should see a vet very soon to confirm that it is a cyst and not an abscess or a tumor. If it does turn out to be a cyst, the surgery can wait as long as it doesn't start growing again, but like I said before, sooner is better. Good luck with your piggy. I hope she'll be in prefect health again soon and that if you do opt for surgery that she'll have a swift recovery.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs