Lump on Bumblebee's leg

[savvy]

Last night little Bumblebee took a tumble when he fell asleep on the ledge and rolled over.   I had a look to see if he had done any damage and noticed a swelling on his leg.

Today I took him to the vet to get it checked out.  It's not the soft tissue injury I thought it may be, it's a lump.  According to the vet, it's smooth edged, in the skin and a candidate for removal should that be necessary.   They've taken a biopsy so we know what we're dealing with and we're now playing the waiting game for the results.  I'm not even daring to hope that it's a cyst.

Otherwise he is fine, swearing a lot, over the sedation he had to be given, eating and drinking normally, weight 284g so he's gained, not lost.  We just need a good result from this biopsy.

[deguconvert]

Hoping and praying for a great result!!

[ntg]

He and Watson can be lumpy leg buddies! hope the biopsy comes back quickly amd with good news! It's already great news that it feels like it has clean margins though

[moletteuk]

Wow, that was quick work! Hoping it's good news for you.

[savvy]

Feb 2, 2018 17:25:41 GMT moletteuk said:

Wow, that was quick work! Hoping it's good news for you.

I'm quite lucky that my vets treat degus on a regular basis so there's always a vet there who knows how to treat them and I don't have to wait for an exotic vet appointment.

I told them straight off that he would need sedation so they didn't even examine him without anaesthesia, which reduced the stress on him a little.  He was still asleep when she told me it was a lump so they were able to do the biopsy straight away.

[savvy]

He seems much brighter today, has been running on his wheel which he avoided yesterday (understandable that he was a bit sore) and is eating a drinking as normal.

I think he has told Dixie all about it judging from the twittering going on between them, but he still hasn't forgiven me for the whole experience, lol.

Hopefully he will come around again, but I fear it may have set his confidence with me back several months.

[deguconvert]

It may have set him back, but I believe his forgiveness will come sooner than you think, and that he will become closer than ever before.

[claire]

I think the same. My little man was never friendly always at the back and hated being touched.
He had teeth issues. Multiple vet visits horrible treatments picking wounds and force feeding anti biotics but now he's actually more trusting than before and let's me pick him up

[moletteuk]

Did they say how long the biopsy result would take to come back?

And is he looking OK, any changes to the lump?

[savvy]

Because it was a Friday afternoon, the slides may not have gone off until the following Monday. I'm going to give them a ring on Monday if I haven't heard anything by then.

The lump looks the same as far as I can tell. He's behaving as normal, apart from trying to erm... clean himself, with very little headroom so having to learn to one side. His appetite is normal, he's kissing Dixie through three bars, racing around, all the usual stuff.

[ntg]

Feb 9, 2018 17:11:57 GMT savvy said:

He's behaving as normal, apart from trying to erm... clean himself, with very little headroom so having to learn to one side.

somebody has been watching him intently haven't they

[savvy]

Feb 9, 2018 17:22:49 GMT ntg said:

Feb 9, 2018 17:11:57 GMT savvy said:

He's behaving as normal, apart from trying to erm... clean himself, with very little headroom so having to learn to one side.

somebody has been watching him intently haven't they

He was squatting on the top of his hut at the top of his cage, everyone was watching him intently, lol, even my elderly neighbours! 

[savvy]

Just had the vet on the phone. Report is showing three things;

Cells consistent with an injury, but no bacteria present,
No division of cells which would indicate cancer,
Possible pre-cancerous cells, suspicious but not confirmed as pre-cancerous.

He's provisionally booked for surgery on Wednesday morning.

Need advice here guys! Is it fair to put him through the surgery, or do I wait and see.

[ntg]

Glad you got the results back Sav! Hope you're feeling okay about them

For where to go from here it depends what the procedure would be and what your possible choices are. With Watson's lump, amputation is the only option if it starts causing issues -
if it were a lumpectomy where there's enough tissue for relatively easy healing then I would consider getting it removed as a precaution. Wendy should be able to give you the best advice going forward since you've got the results. Just ask her plainly what she feels is the best way to handle this going forward.

Just to reassure, just because the cells are precancerous doesn't necessarily mean they will become cancerous (Sherlock's biopsy showed similar results). It's more about how you would identify if they had turned and whether it would be wiser to take precautions in removing them or whether waiting and seeing is feasible so that he doesn't have to go into surgery unnecessarily.

Just remember that you're in a good position with the lump having clean boundaries!

[savvy]

Thanks ntg, the vets phoning me on Monday to discuss further. She did want to do another consultation in the surgery, but we agreed that taking him to the vets twice in one week (especially as he has to be sedated) would be too much stress for him, so she suggested a telephone consultation to discuss the options.

I can see benefits and drawbacks in both leaving it and removing it, so at the moment I'm torn between the two.

[moletteuk]

I think since you've only known about the lump for a week and so only been observing it for that time, I don't think I would rush to surgery. The fact that the pre-cancerous cells are only suspected makes it seem like half of only half a reason to do surgery, if you see what I mean. I would probably want to give it chance for the injury part of it to heal and see what you are left with after that. You could monitor it by taking photos. Obviously, if the vet is keen to do the surgery and thinks it is low risk, then just do it, but I think there are reasonable grounds for waiting and seeing for 1 or 2 weeks while watching carefully. Just my two pence worth, I hope you have a productive conversation with the vet that makes the way forward clear.

[savvy]

Thanks moletteuk, wrong or right I think most vets are keen on the most expensive option most of the time. That's why I've asked on here as there's no monetary factor on the forum.

At the moment is Vets4pets who are treating him as Kings Road is about an hour by taxi, but I might see if I can get a 2nd opinion from Wendy before a firm decision is made. They treated Pixie so they do know what they're doing, I just want to make sure it is necessary and not just about running up a fee because they can.

Edit: I just want to do what's right for his health, both lump and stress wise.  It's not about the costs involved.

[moletteuk]

I think the injury part is bound to be causing some of the swelling, any kind of knock to a leg on humans or degus and you always get a lump.

[savvy]

Right! Just spoken to Kings Road Vets and Bumblebee is booked in for next Monday morning to see Wendy. Unfortunately she is on holiday after today until next week and I can't get him there today as I've got the builders here trying to sort out the bathroom once again. They are going to speak to Vets4pets to get his records and have agreed that it's too soon to be thinking about surgery as there's no cancer showing at present, and it's not fair to put him through the procedure if it might not be necessary.

I did ask about the delay of a week and they said that it should be fine, but obviously any changes and I can get in to see another vet.

He seems his usual self still, currently kipping off breakfast and sunbathing on the top of his hut, but I'm still stressing about it all. Natural I know, but still.

[moletteuk]

You've done everything you can right now and it's great that he seems fine in himself. I think the wait of a week might be quite useful, it might have gone right down by this time next week, let's hope so.