Sudden black mole-like growth near rabbits mouth? May be cancerous?

Question
QUESTION: Hello there:
I have a rabbit who is about 3 years old and a few weeks ago I noticed that there was a black dot near his mouth. At first I didn't think too much of it and thought it was simply a normal mole, but when I looked at my rabbit again today, it seems that it has grown to about 3x the size. It is slightly raised and it looks like there is a red line around it. He hasn't been acting strangely, he is still eating his food and very active, but I am still really worried. Is this an early sign of cancer or something else potentially life-threatening?
Thanks for taking the time to read my question and please answer ASAP.

-Amy

ANSWER: Dear Amy,

If it's pigmented, textured, and has irritation around it, I would *strongly* recommend that you have an experienced rabbit vet remove it completely with good margins and send it off for histopathology to determine what it is.  If it's cancer, at least it will be gone.

It's important to get this thing off him while it's still small; the longer you wait, the more tissue will have to be removed around the lesion.  If it's still small, the only problems you might face are cosmetic, as he'll have a scar where it was removed.  But that's better than letting it grow until it can't be removed, or--worse--has a chance to metastasize.  

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for the quick reply to my question.
When you say "getting it removed" is that something minor or is it a big surgery? Will the procedure be dangerous to my rabbit?
Thank you very much once again.

-Amy

Answer
Dear Amy,

This would be a minor surgical procedure, but anesthesia is never 100% risk-free.  Still, if your vet is very experienced with rabbits, the risk should be minimal.  And if this is cancer, then letting it grow larger would pose a danger to your bunny, should it eventually have to be removed.  As with any cancer, early diagnosis and treatment is critical.

If the lesion has tripled in size in only a few weeks, it's very important that you have this looked at very soon.

If you are worried about this, then it's even more imperative that you have this looked at soon.  If it's still very small, the vet might be able to remove it with liquid nitrogen or with local anesthesia, rather than general anesthesia.  (Be aware that general anesthesia is not only easier for the vet, but also more costly.  So you might be lucky to find a vet who's willing to be conservative with anesthesia and try the less risky procedures.)

I hope this helps.

Dana