Sebaceous cyst getting larger ... WWYD?

[onelanerode]

My 5-year-old hound mix has had a few small (slightly larger than a pinhead) sebaceous cysts since we got him four years ago. There were three we had found, and we had two of them biopsied when he was a 3-year-old just to be sure that’s what they were.

He went in for his annual checkup about a month ago, and vet noted the main cyst because it’s right on his loin area and hard to miss (it’s one of the ones that was biopsied two years ago). It had gotten just a bit bigger over the preceding two years, but in the month or so since that vet visit, it’s grown to be pea-sized. It doesn’t seem to bother him and I’ve not seen him scratching/biting/licking at it.

So should we get this checked again since it’s grown fairly noticeably in a short period of time?

[Casey09]

It wouldn’t hurt to have it re-looked at.
I had a dog that would get huge sebaceous cysts. They did get concerned that if one of those huge cysts broke open it would cause infection because the stuff that was in them was nasty. He had several surgeries to drain cysts. His were huge, though, and your guy’s cyst still sounds pretty tiny.

[lolalola]

Why don’t you have it removed? If it continues to grow, it may break open. That’s what happened to my old Keeshond, and it was really nasty.

[SquishTheBunny]

I dont know if I should post this publically…but, man, I love those things. I will fight off any other vet who dares to squeeze the cottage cheezy fillin’ from them.

And back I go into my hole of shame…

[Kryswyn]

I don’t even let vets get near them, so I may be like SquishTheBunny. You might think so, you might very well think so, I couldn’t possibly comment.

[Wayside]

My dog used to have a ton of little sebaceous cysts. If they didn’t rupture on their own so I could drain them, I’d generally lance them with a stertile hypodermic needle, and then squeeze all the waxy stuff out.

Interestingly, since I switched her to the Kent Native level 3 food, which is pretty high-fat, she hasn’t had hardly any of them.

[onelanerode]

Removal is sounding like a good option … not sure I’ll go the home remedy route though, bleh! :dead:

He’s on Natural Balance venison and potato food. He is allergic to chicken, lamb and beef, so our choices are quite limited. He cannot even have chicken fat, which is present in quite a few foods that are otherwise chicken-free. I’d love to have him on something better, but every time I’ve tried, his ears have flared back up again. He does pretty well on this food though: good energy level (maybe too much energy, :lol: ), nice shiny soft coat, reasonably good teeth.