Dear Betty:
>chip has this LUMP on the back of his neck... like a blister sort-of...
>only its NOT a blister... it fills with liquid periodically and needs to
>be drained, it doesnt seem to bother him and I have complete trust in the
>doctor AND the shelter that have had him looked at ... they say its
>nothing serious, draining it periodically gets rid of it... I have looked
>at it carefully and it reminds me of what it looked like when the doctor
>put medicine in my wrist to treat a tendonitis... the way the meds made my
>skin bubble up... He is completely oblivious to me touching or pushing on
>it... I was just wondering if anyone out there might have some idea what
>causes this and if there is a way to prevent it, rather than to just keep
>draining it... he's such a trooper and I really just want him to enjoy
>life... If there is NOTHING else I can do... I, of course, will continue
>to make sure its drained when it gets big.
This is certainly an instance where a picture is worth a thousand words -
or more.
It's on his neck, but where - top, side, bottom? Like a blister but not a
blister - but like where you had medication inject to trat tendonitis...
(that is sort of personal for you, but I've never had that particular
procedure so I can't pinpoint your frame of reference.
I'm very torn here, due to lack of information I can get my hands around.
Things that I would need to help in the absence of a picture, would be the
diameter, is there hair covering or is it bald, color, is the overlying
skin ulcerated or scratched up, is it soft or hard, etc.
From what you have given me, we could be dealing with a sweat gland cyst,
a ruptured salivary duct, or a ouple of less common things. How did your
vet explain it?
Biopsy is always a possibility here - if something doesn't belong, and it
can be removed, removing it gives us the best chance of getting an answer,
and also often solves the problem.
Perhaps with more info, I can be more specific....
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3243]
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