Post by Orlaith on Feb 15, 2012 16:15:55 GMT
Hey everyone!
The drama is over now, but Xander had an operation yesterday to remove a lump from his chest!
We noticed it two Sundays ago when we were cleaning the cages. It was just to the right of his left armpit and seemed quite hard and was about the size of a hazelnut, but since he'd had a bath the week before and we didn't feel it then (unless it was really really small), we figured that, given how quickly it appeared, it was most likely a cyst or abscess.
We brought him to the vet on Monday evening to get it lanced, but when the vet tried to drain it, there was no fluid to come out! Uh oh! We scheduled surgery for a week later in the off chance that it would go back down on its own, but it stayed put and so yesterday I brought my Xanman over to get his surgery. It wasn't easy, deciding to let him have a general anaesthetic, but my gut said that it was the best thing for him.
So, I collected my sleepy, dozy and lump-free Xan yesterday afternoon and had a chat with the vet. He didn't send the lump for analysis (it would cost €120 and he was able to remove it all - although he did give me the option if I wanted it), but he thought it was most likely a subcutaneous tumour as it had a really well-developed blood supply. He reckoned that if we had left it, it could have become really nasty and caused a lot of problems for our little man, but that everything should be fine now that it's all gone.
So, Xander has a little incision about an inch long on his shaved belly/chest and is still not quite back to himself, but he's eating away and pooping, so he's going to be fine, fingers crossed!
He has to go back in about 10 days for a check-up, so here's hoping I have no more to report about him!
The drama is over now, but Xander had an operation yesterday to remove a lump from his chest!
We noticed it two Sundays ago when we were cleaning the cages. It was just to the right of his left armpit and seemed quite hard and was about the size of a hazelnut, but since he'd had a bath the week before and we didn't feel it then (unless it was really really small), we figured that, given how quickly it appeared, it was most likely a cyst or abscess.
We brought him to the vet on Monday evening to get it lanced, but when the vet tried to drain it, there was no fluid to come out! Uh oh! We scheduled surgery for a week later in the off chance that it would go back down on its own, but it stayed put and so yesterday I brought my Xanman over to get his surgery. It wasn't easy, deciding to let him have a general anaesthetic, but my gut said that it was the best thing for him.
So, I collected my sleepy, dozy and lump-free Xan yesterday afternoon and had a chat with the vet. He didn't send the lump for analysis (it would cost €120 and he was able to remove it all - although he did give me the option if I wanted it), but he thought it was most likely a subcutaneous tumour as it had a really well-developed blood supply. He reckoned that if we had left it, it could have become really nasty and caused a lot of problems for our little man, but that everything should be fine now that it's all gone.
So, Xander has a little incision about an inch long on his shaved belly/chest and is still not quite back to himself, but he's eating away and pooping, so he's going to be fine, fingers crossed!
He has to go back in about 10 days for a check-up, so here's hoping I have no more to report about him!
