Cyst broke open - Page 1

I have an (almost 4) year old female GSD. Friday a cyst (had for 10 mos) was red and irritated. Took her to the vet, they wanted to do surgery this week. It broke open and drained Sat am. Large amount of pale pink/red watery fluid. Vet gave 500m Cef which I started her on Fri night.

Deep depression and I could see the white pasty plug the vet was telling me was probably in there. It's closing up fairly rapidly (was about a 1" dia depression. I don't like the risks of putting a dog under for surgery unless its absolutely necessary.

Because I saw the white plug... I imagine it will be necessary eventually but - does anyone know how long it could take to reform? She had the thing 10 mos before any problems. Any chance it might resolve on its own or anything I can do? Thanks!

No one likes to put a dog under general anesthesia unless it's necessary.

That said, if the cyst has burst once, it's going to do so again, and there's really no way to predict how quickly it will fill back up. Each time it goes through the burst and recover cycle, it damages more of the underlying tissue, and makes it more likely the vet will need to make a larger incision to get clean margins that will allow uncomplicated healing. It is highly unlikely it will go away of its own accord--there's a better chance it will become infected or ulcerated eventually.

Depending on where the cyst is located, you may also be looking at a limited availability of skin to close the opening--that was the case with another poster whose dog developed a lesion on the muzzle. There's not really much in the way of 'extra' skin that can be pulled together to close up a large hole left behind by a large cyst or mass in that area--so the best option is to remove the mass ASAP, while it's still small enough to easily close the hole left behind with the removal.

Thank you hexe. She's on some pretty strong antibiotic now. I would like to wait until the wound heals a couple of weeks before the surgery. The reason being I'm sure she'll have to be on antibiotics again for a stretch after and was hoping not to have her on for maybe 14-17 days straight.

Plus, the area (side of back) is flat no lump left at all. I viewed some surgeries online for this type of thing and it looks like they want to pull the lump out as a whole. Right now, it's deflated and empty?

Do you know what caused the cyst

I highly recommend surgical removal. Our dog recently had a histiocytoma removed from his muzzle. Fast recovery time and no scar.

I'm not certain letting it heal is best, but obviously do what your vet recommends.

I also suggest removal asap.

If you don't get that hard yellow plug out of there, the cyst will come back. I know this from experience.

I could be completely wrong, but it feels like the Vet is trying to help you make his next car payment. He/she should have diagnosed and told you what kind of cyst it was. If it is just a sebaceous cyst, they are harmless and only need to have the inner sack removed if they continue to spread as they refill. If it is a mast cell cyst/tumor, that is cancer and a totally different situation. All the Vet had to do was draw some fluid from the cyst and he would know what kind of cyst it is. Sebaceous cysts are recurring and all you have to do is squeeze them when they fill up and clean off the opening. A 1" opening is large for a sebaceous cyst.

My Ronin gets sebaceous cysts all the time and right now has one along his spine that is also getting blood as well as pus, because of the site and blood vessel involvement, it has to be surgically removed and at 15 we are just periodically draining it with a needle beacuse he is too old for general.  My vet taught me a long time ago how to lance and clean them out.  You HAVE to get the plug or core out, otherwise it will keep coming back.  I have chlorhexadin (NEVER use hydrogen peroxide, it kills healthy tissue and causes scarring) to disinfect the area after clipping the hair, then I numb it with lidocaine gel (takes 30 - 40 minutes to fully numb), then with a sterile scalpel, I lance/open the site and get everything out including the core (sometimes I get lucky and it all comes out in one big sack complete with the core), then I pack it with triple antibiotic cream and keep an eye on it and keep the site clean with soap and water and packed with antibiotics until it forms a scab or seals then I leave it alone.  Once I clean one out and get the core, it does not come back.  It is absolutely gross, like the worlds biggest pimple.  Oh and be careful to use safety glasses and point the lancing site away from you because sometimes they are really under pressure and when you lance it, well you can guess. 😝

Thank you all for your replies. I'll be taking her to a new vet next week. It was amazing to see the process and how fast this wound healed from the inside out.