[Gpdd] Health: Update on Chico

[Mieke Staaks]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies I got about Chico's lump.
We are now a week further and since I took him to the vet last week on
friday,
a lot has happened to the lump...
Small abstract of what the vet last week said:
He thought at first it was a sebaceous gland that got infected/ious?
He tried to get some fluid out if the lump, but nothing came out.
The lump was about the size of a small marble, mostly sticking to the
outside of the body, covered with a horned layer of skin, no hair grows on
it.
The vet basically said he had no idea what it was, never seen it before,
but advised me to have it removed.

I then searched online and found a very similar description to Chico's lump
which was called Trichofolliculomas, apparently very common in Guinea
pigs... (more info: http://www.guinealynx.info/trichofolliculoma.html)

On saturday something had happened to the lump, It seems like the horned
part got stuck behind something and was separated from the lump...
The lump bled, then in the next couple of days it seemed to grown, but
yesterday it seemed like the whole lump was gone, except for the wound that
was still there
and hadn't closed in a week time...

As I didn't feel very happy with the vet I saw last week, and after
discussing this with my sister Janneke, I decided to take Chico to another
vet.
This vet had a look at it, also thought it was a sybaceous cyst, but then I
told him about no fluids coming out of it at the vet last week.
And I also didn't notice any fluids of gunk coming out it when it was open,
eventhough it seems to be completely gone now except for the wound (the
lump doesn't really show anymore...)

His guess was a sebaceous gland going wild, and some extra shin seemed to
have grown into the lump...
His advice was to remove the lump as well, because if it is a sebaceous
gland gone wild it will most probably keep troubling Chico...

So I made an appointment to have it removed for next tuesday.
I hope all goes well, Chico is a somewhat older boar, but always makes a
very healthy impression. He doesn't seem to be that bothered by the lump...
This vet seemed a lot more knowledgable, and I trust them doing surgery,
they also 'helped' Chico, so he could move in with the girls. Main reason I
choose them to do it then (and not my usual vet), was that they do all the
bunnies from the shelter where Chico came from, so they have a lot of
experience, and they didn't use injectable narcosis, they just use gas
aneastethic...

All keep your fingers crossed everything goes well for Chico on tuesday!

Mikey and the Guiny girlz: Woopy, Daisy and Lily (on the undercoverguinea
pigs blog with a halloween pigture!)
and my Valentine Chico
-- 
"Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room"
Mary Schmich, 1997
(Source: http://256.com/gray/quotes/schmich.html)