Hi all,
Our cocker had a lump on her ribcage in 2018 which was diagnosed as a sebaceous cyst - vet advised to bathe in saline and hope it would go away on its own.
Unfortunately it didn't, got bigger and eventually (a couple of months later) burst and left a large scabby wound. Back to the vets who said we'd been unlucky and that the best thing at that point was to remove the cyst under GA and close the wound with a couple of stitches. We did this in Jan 2019 and a couple of other tiny cysts were identified and removed at the same time - all biopsied afterwards and confirmed non-cancerous.
Today I've just found another one on the other side of her ribcage! She's 9 years old, bathed and groomed regularly, in excellent health and a healthy weight.
In the interim we've ditched her pet insurance as the premiums went sky high when she hit 9 and we just couldn't afford it. For that reason I'm loathe to go to pay the vet to tell me to wash with saline and see what happens...
Does anyone have any experience of these cysts and have any suggestions on what to do to maximise chances of avoiding another costly & traumatic removal op? I've read a few online forums suggesting perhaps try a dietary change, but she eats good quality fish-based dry kibble which suits her stomach (as many foods didn't in the early days) so I'm reluctant to go down that route unless there's a consensus here that it might solve things.
Grateful for any advice, thanks!