swollen nose

Question
I have a 3 year old Dutch who moves between indoors and out. Two weeks ago he appeared to have a pink bump on the tip of his nose.  After a few days it began to grow, and at the end of the week it was almost covering the top of his nose.  I took him to a bunny vet who did a needle biopsy.  She said there where crystals in the sample and was thinking it was a mast cell tumor.  She thought she would try Benedryl 2x day along with an antibiotic to see if it would shrink, then surgically remove it after 5 days.  After 4, it was black and flat. The 5th day the bunny scratched his face in the cage and 95% fell off.  It left a pink divot on the top of the nose.  We are still giving meds. Do you think this is cancer or an infection?  I would love any feedback.

Answer
Dear Alissa,

Without seeing the lesion, I can't even begin to make a guess.  But the good news is that it has fallen off, and may be gone for good.  Mast cell tumors can sometimes be destroyed by injection with sterile water, but this might not be necessary at this point.

Keep an eye on the site of the lesion, and if it doesn't come back, you're in luck.  If it does come back, I would recommend that the vet send a biopsy of the tissue to a lab for more formal histopathology by an expert who can tell the vet what this really is, and possibly how to treat it.

I hope it's gone for good, though.  

Good luck,

Dana