To Jon-Anne concerning Bartok - >my youngest, Bartok, sable male 6 mo., was neutered on friday. when we brought >him home on saturday, i did not notice anything peculiar. last night when i >was playing with him, i noticed a lump above his left shoulder. (i could bhave >just not noticed it until then, but it definatly was not there before i took >him to get neutered). the lump is about the size of a small jelly bean (a >little flatter) and is just connected to the skin, not the muscle mass >underneath. it also has a tiny pin-point scab at the end closer to his head. >could this be where he was injected with the tranquilizer for his operation, or >is it something more serious? Jon-Anne - from your description it sounds like an injection site. Anesthetic is pretty well absorbed, but anything, if put in certain regions of the skin, will just sit there and form a lump. The two most common agents for causing lumps are vacccines and antibiotic injections. I would continue to monitor it. If it does not go away in 2 weeks or so, it is probably going to form a scar there that will require surgery to remove. Bruce Williams, DVM Department of Veterinary Pathology [log in to unmask] Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (202) 576-2453/2454 Washington, D.C. 20306-6000 [Posted in FML issue 0952]