Tumors?

Question
My 1.5 year old Brownie had a Tumor removed last Friday and the day I brought her home there was what looked like a swollen lump right where the staples are. Well I just noticed that the lump is getting bigger and looks exactly like the tumor that was removed. Like I said it's only been a week and her staples have not even been removed yet. Is it another tumor? Is it something else? Should I have her put to sleep?

Answer
This could be an infection at the site of the wound and it would be best if you took her back to the vet for a recheck. Did the vet send you home with antibiotics for her post-op care? He should have.

Yes, it could be another tumor. On all the websites and forums that I know of on the internet not one of them tells the desperate rat owner the other side of the story about tumors. That is, the rats sold in pet stores are prone to benign mammary tumors. Your girl is at the age when female rats start to get tumors if they are prone to them (some females go their entire lives without getting a tumor). Almost all of a female rat's body is made up of mammary tissue. That's why a mammary tumor can show up on her back, or her sides, and not just in the armpit, groin, or nipples. Once she gets her first tumor she will get more. This is why I choose not to have tumors removed (well this and the post-op complications that arise too often), but some people will put their rats through surgery 2 or 3 more times throughout their ratty lives.

When you take her back to the vet for a recheck he will determine if it is post-op infection or another tumor. If it is infection she will be put on antibiotics after he has cleaned it up. This will require her being put under anesthetic again. If it is found to be a tumor while she is under anesthetic you will have to make a choice as to having it removed at this time, leaving it be and come home with you, or letting her go.

If it is a tumor, and you choose to leave it be, you don't need to have her put to sleep right now. Keep a watch on her quality of life. You could have her for many more months yet. When life becomes difficult for her, then you make the choice.

spazrats
http://spazrats.tripod.com