[djfiggy]

It's been a rough few weeks. It started with a paw lump, which resulted in the vet saying I should keep an eye on it in the meantime--and detoured through a coincidentally discovered and debulked oral lump that turned out to be "inflammatory response" instead of cancer. If she wasn't under anaesthetic just so he could examine that paw, he wouldn't have found the oral lump, she wasn't having visible trouble eating and I had no idea.

But, the paw lump continues to be a problem because I see now that the top of the lump is bleeding. I can take care of the bleeding short term, but I'm pretty sure this isn't a matter of the lump getting cut by something, but more like in the long term it will not close.

My impression is this is cancer, because the last time she oozed blood out of anywhere that's what it was too. I'm definitely calling the vet back and reporting this.

I'm concerned about its location, though. Given where it is... what are the complications if she ends up having to lose the paw? Would this be a situation where it wouldn't be humane for her to keep going, or is missing a paw something other hedgies have coped with before?

 

[Kalandra]

Discuss with doc the possibility of doing a fine needle aspirate (FNA) on the lump. An FNA is where they stick a needle in the mass and draw out some of the tissue. The sample can then be examined under a microscope to get a better idea of what it is.

There have been plenty of hedgehogs that have been missing a paw, or a leg and have done well. I'd start out by trying to determine what the mass is, and what the possibility is that if it is cancer that is has spread.

 

[djfiggy]

Here's an update on the situation.

I decided on surgery. The decision was made last Saturday and the surgery happened on Tuesday, with the understanding that if they couldn't operate they would use fine needle aspiration or taking a slide sample to try and see what it was.

It turns out they found it so surprisingly easy to operate that it took half as long as they thought, halving some of the quoted pricing. There were two bumps to speak of that had increased in size from the initial examination a couple of weeks ago. The de-bulked lumps have been sent out for histology, to see if they're cancerous or not.

Now comes the challenge of making sure she doesn't pick at the sutures. She was a good girl and didn't do that the last time she had an operation, so hopefully, with the help of painkillers, she'll be good to herself again.

 

[Hedgiepets]

I hope everything works out for her.

 

[Kalandra]

Fingers and quills crossed that the best results come back.

 

[mel2626]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your little one!

 

[tie-dye hedgie]

Hoping for a full and speedy recovery!

 

[kurai18]

I'm so glad the surgery went well!!! I hope your hedgie recovers well and goes back to being a happy healthy hedgie

 

[djfiggy]

Things are back to normal for now, but I still await the test results. I may have to phone the clinic and ask if they simply neglected to call me.

On the bright side, maybe it's not that urgent if they haven't called. I would rather know for sure, though.

 

[Hedgieonboard]

Glad to hear that it went good and am hoping that the results come back with good news as well.

 

[Kalandra]

You should have had results back by now, its been long enough. I'd call the vet's office and ask if they have come in yet. If they haven't ask them to follow up with the lab.

 

[djfiggy]

Kalandra, thanks. In fact they called today and explained why it took long: they were going after a second opinion on what was found.

I may not remember the exact terminology as I didn't write it down, but I believe they said Type 2 Mastitis. Level 2, possibly. They're going to have another look at her on Saturday to see whether it is attempting to come back yet, but the prognosis was made to sound 50/50--would be terrible for a dog, would be treated as benign for a ferret, but Oona is neither a dog nor a ferret.