The never-ending CYST - Page 1

Hi all,

I'd like to preface this post by saying - Yes, I am taking my dog to the vet. However, it'll be about two weeks before his appointment. Living in Chicago, the estimate for just taking him in and seeing what this (I presume) cyst is between 200-300, then another 500 minimum to remove. So, the vet I like to see does not currently have an open appointment for me for a while.

Now to the issue at hand.

My year and a half old Shepherd developed a small cyst on his shoulder/back area. I watched it grow for a few months until one day, while playing, it popped. There was a lot of blood and sebum, so I cleaned it out with hydrogen peroxide and kept an eye on it. The hole in which the cyst drained from was persistently not closing. I kept the area clean and dry and just waited. It filled up once more, and with a little pressure, I was able to drain it again.

A week or so went by with nothing. No swelling, and even with a little pressure around the wound, nothing. It seemed to be mostly closed.

Yesterday when I came home from work, I noticed that it was swollen again, this time it was a darker color. I squeezed gently and pure blood shot out of it. I looked, and while the old hole was still there, this blood had come out of a brand new ruptured hole in the cyst. I did the same thing - cleaned it until it stopped bleeding, and washed it out.

Has anyone had this happen to them? I'm sure people have had experiences with cysts - any information for care and treatment would be so helpful.

Thank you!

Epidermal Inclusion Cysts (Sebaceous Cysts)

Epidermal inclusion cysts, also called sebaceous cysts, are common surface tumors found anywhere on the body. Kerry Blue Terriers, Schnauzers, Poodles, and spaniels are most often affected. Epidermal inclusion cysts begin when dry secretions block hair follicles, causing an accumulation of hair and sebum (a cheesy material), and the subsequent formation of a cyst.

These cysts produce a dome-shaped swelling up to an inch or more in size beneath the skin, though most are smaller. They can become infected and may need to be surgically drained. This sometimes leads to a cure.

Treatment: Surgical excision is the treatment of choice, although it is not always required.

 

It doesn't really sound like a cyst to me. No noxious smelling cheese like contents? Has the dog had an injection in that area lately? I'm thinking abcess or foreign body. If it were my dog, I'd apply warm compresses a few times a day til I can get to the vet's. Can't hurt.

Oh, we had the bad smelling white stuff when it first popped. But since then, when it fills up, it's just been pus and blood. Doesn't seem to cuase him any pain or discomfort at all, either.

we took care of a dog that had 4 of these on his sholders he was a gsd and they never went away but we would pop them and then it would come back about 4 months later

First and foremost, QUIT with the peroxide--you do any wound no favors when you apply peroxide, as it actually destroys the granulation cells necessary for it to heal.  If you want to clean it out, plain warm water or plain sterile saline solution is adequate.  In the case of deep wounds, such as a cyst or puncture wound from a bite, it's also a good idea to flush the area with water or saline [a used, but clean, syringe works well for this].

I suggest clipping the hair away from around the site so the well that has formed doesn't get hair matted down into it, and to make it easier to keep it clean. Between now and when the vet sees him, clean the site twice a day as mentioned above, and yes, you can express any material that forms in there in between cleanings. Once cleaned, a small amount of an over-the-counter triple antibiotic cream [not ointment] can be applied into the well and the surrounding skin.  It's possible that the site may heal by the time your vet appointment arrives, but I'd still suggest you have the area looked at just to be on the safe side. Cysts are generally not a big deal for the most part, but they can on occasion precede a malignant lesion in that same area, so you want a baseline record of what the vet observes while it's still rather fresh.

I had a very similar sutuation with one of my females. It turned out to be an alergy. May I suggest changing foods in the meantime and see if it helps, it did for me.

Ah, hexe, thank you so much. I had read peroxide might not be good, but then read just as many times that it WAS good. Internet for medical advice is never a safe thing.

I'll do just what you say - hopefully with better results this time.

I agree with hexe on the peroxide.  IF you use it it needs to be *diluted* (undiluted it will just harm healing or new tissue/skin cells), but there are so many other, better things depending on the type of wound or affliction.

I've had an intance where I "pop" a small sebaceous cyst on my dog and it returns a few times.  Seems like you really have to get it all the first time or it will come back.

I think once you know it's there, you keep checking on it, and the more you play with it, the bigger it gets. One of mine had a biggish one on his left side, it burst, and I squeezed everything out. That just kept filling up. Had it removed, and hey presto, about 2 inches away, another one popped up. Left it alone, and hey presto! Disappeared.
His dad also was very prone to cysts, but if left alone they just went of their own accord.