moveable lump on stomach

[swingtown]

Tank has a dime sized lump on her lower stomach. It is a soft lump that moves around when you touch it. I will be taking her to the vet first thing in the morning, but I am looking for information right now.

- Location
on her stomach

- Description (Breed, color., weight)
chocolate mini rex

- Age
5

- spayed/neutered?
yes

- Notes on Fecal and Urinary Output
- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? yes
- When did they last use their litterbox? a few minutes ago
- Any unusual behavior? no

- Medical History -- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before?
yes for eye surgery - got into a fight with another bunny and had her eyelid torn and it was stitched up (in March)

- Diet - what does your bunny eat? pellets, lettuce, hay, carrots
- when and what did s/he eat last? pellets today and lettuce tonight

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally?
no unusual movements/hopping is normal

- are there any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach?
no

- has the rabbit been outdoors?
not recently

 

[tonyshuman]

Thanks for all the info--it really helps. It's good that she's spayed--with a lump at her age and as a female, the first thought would be uterine cancer, so good thing we can rule that out!

There are a few possibilities. I'll list what I think it would be in order of probability. First, a benign fatty cyst is a common occurance, especially when a bunny gets to/past middle age. JimD's MooShu and Chippy had them, and so did some other bunnies. They can be drained by needle aspiration, and sometimes they'll reform, sometimes they won't.

Here's a good recent thread on that:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=43696&forum_id=16

Another possibility is an abscessed wound. If she got bit at all, by the other bunny or another pet, or even if she got a scrape from the environment (cage or something), the wound coud easily become infected. I am pretty sure that abscesses are usually quite hard to the touch compared to fatty cysts. If the vet does a needle aspiration, the pus in an abscess may come out (it's very thick, so it may not come out quickly). This is tricky because the best treatment for an abscess is NOT to drain it, but to give injectible antibiotics (a combination of penicillin G benzathine and penicilin G procaine called bicillin). Most vets will want to drain it, but with rabbits that doesn't work as well. Their pus is much thicker than other animals', so healing an abscess like that is very difficult because more of that thick **** gets back in there and it gets difficult for the tissue to reconnect to itself.

Here's a link to that:
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm

Another possibility is mastitis, or an infection of the breast tissue. It's really rare and I've only heard of it in does that were feeding a litter.

Finally, it could be the big C, cancer. Breast cancer isn't very common in rabbits, but it could happen.

Good luck! I hope the vet can determine what's going on, and I've given you an idea of what to expect.

 

[swingtown]

Thanks for the info. The vet opens at 11, so I am taking her in then. This vet used to have an amazing rabbit specialist (when we took her in for surgery in March), but she has since moved. I am hoping there is someone else there as knowledgeable as her.

 

[swingtown]

Well the good news is that the rabbit specialist is back working there, but that's where the good news stops.

It is a tumor and the vet is fairly certain that it is cancer. The lump was harder than I thought, so hard in fact that it bent the needle. She did some blood work today, but I won't know the results until Monday. Tank does have surgery scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, so we will see how things are then. The waiting is what is going to kill me.

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh no, I'm so sorry. Good luck with surgery. I hope it's an isolated or benign tumor. Please keep us updated, particularly on the biopsy results. [[hugs]]

 

[swingtown]

So the vet called while I was at work with the blood work results. Tank's glucose was high, but she said that could have been due to stress (in a carrier, riding in the car, dogs at the vets, etc), but also her Alkaline Phosphatase level of her liver was high.

She didn't say too much more other than the surgery will still happen tomorrow and she will call back later with more info.

 

[Flashy]

This sounds very much like what I went through with one of my buns. She had a lump, had it removed and cut open it looked like a melanoma, and then the blood results came back with high liver results too (although everything else was normal for her).

Hers was caught too late (she came to me with the tumour, as a foster rabbit) which meant it spread and it went to her lungs, which did eventually mean she did die. However, that was 10 months after she came to me and more months on top of that that she had the lump for.

So whilst that sounds scary, you have gotten this sorted ASAP which means that your bun will have all the best chances possible that it won't have spread and will just be an isolated lump.

 

[swingtown]

swingtown wrote:

So the vet called while I was at work with the blood work results. Tank's glucose was high, but she said that could have been due to stress (in a carrier, riding in the car, dogs at the vets, etc), but also her Alkaline Phosphatase level of her liver was high.

She didn't say too much more other than the surgery will still happen tomorrow and she will call back later with more info.

Well I talked to the vet some more last night. She said Tank's liver count was supposed to be at around 20 and hers was 223, so that is a bit scary. She goes in for surgery this afternoon to get the tumor removed. ray:The vet seems to think the liver count will even itself out with the tumor gone and will do blood work again in a month to check.

 

[MagnoliaDee]

Oh I'm so sorry that she has to have surgery. I will keep prayers out for her... esp. for it being just the one spot.

 

[Flashy]

Please let us know how she gets on.

 

[tonyshuman]

ray:

 

[swingtown]

Well now I wait again. When the receptionist called to remind us last night of the appointment, she said to pull Tank's food at midnight, so we did. When I got home from work to take her to the vet, she had diarrhea.

I took her to the vet anyways. They told me that the receptionist had messed up and we were supposed to pull Tank's food at 8am today (there was even a specific note for the receptionist to tell me 8am). They think that because she was without food for so long, that caused her digestive issues.

Since they won't operate on a bunny with digestive issues, we had to reschedule the surgery for next week Thursday (Aug. 13).

On a good note, I think (and the vet does, too) that the tumor is shrinking, so by next Thursday she may not even need surgery.

 

[aurora369]

Even 8am is not the best in terms of taking food away. Rabbits cannot throw up, which is why food is taken away from cats/dogs before surgery. Many people have had rabbits go in for surgery still munching on hay and still come out fine.

It is very important for rabbits to always have access to food because of how their digestive system works. With holding food can cause all sorts of tummy troubles, as you have now experienced.

Receptionists unfortunately are notorious for providing cat/dog instructions to a bunny patient in terms of pre-operation instructions. Personally, I always provide food right up until my bun goes to the vet, and I always bring some of my hay and pellets with me so they can have some as soon as they feel up to it after surgery.

--Dawn

 

[Pipp]

Oh, so sorry! Good thing the vet knows what she's doing. Rabbits should eat right up until a couple hours before the surgery.

I guess you're pushing a hay diet until it clears up?


sas :goodluck

 

[tonyshuman]

Argh I hate it when that happens. Hay is a good diet to clear up diarrhea.

 

[Haley]

Nothing more to add, just hoping she is better soon. Its frustrating when the receptionists dont know rabbits arent supposed to have food withheld. Hope she is better soon.

 

[swingtown]

Haley wrote:

Nothing more to add, just hoping she is better soon. Its frustrating when the receptionists dont know rabbits arent supposed to have food withheld. Hope she is better soon.

The thing that irritates me is that the vet and another receptionist wrote specific rabbit instructions on the surgery schedule next to my name, so that they would get the information correct. They even highlighted the info so the person would see it and they still got it wrong. I know people make mistakes, but it sucks having to wait another week now.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I know what you mean about the recepts not knowing what to do or tell that's correct for rabbits.

I'm praying with you, but as far as the vet, best to be safe than sorry, that's for sure. Too many times mistakes can be made and it's too late to save the anilmal.

Best of luck, let us know how it goes. I'm optimistic!

 

[swingtown]

AngelnSnuffy wrote:

Best of luck, let us know how it goes.

Well Tank is home from her surgery today and resting.

They removed the lump and the surgery went well. The biopsy results will be back in 3-5 days, so I will know more then.

 

[tonyshuman]

That's good to hear! I hope he's back to himself soon.