160 Bear Christiana Rd
Bear, De 19701
302-322-6488
Dr. Jim Berg
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Rabbit Questions
Dear Dr. Berg,
I have a 4-year-old rabbit named Bailey. Last year, he began getting this lump under his chin about the size of
a walnut. When you touch the lump or hold it, you can move it. Occasionally, the lump will come back then be gone
in the next few days. Can you please tell me what this is?
J. W., Wilmington
Dear J.W.,
Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell what a lump might be from your description, and very difficult to accurately
tell what it is even if one is able to feel and see it. I would strongly advise that you have it checked out by
your veterinarian, and that you ask him if he would recommend a biopsy be done or removal.
Your veterinarian will give you an idea what it might be expected to be based on experience with the many other
lumps and bumps that he has felt in the past. And, though it is impossible to tell for sure what a lump is by feeling
or looking at it, there are certain criteria that we look for when we look at a mass on an animal.
First, the location matters as there are certain areas where we tend to see "bad" growths: the mouth,
the rectum, the iris of the eye, ear margins in cats, lymph nodes, and especially the breast tissue. Second, the
rate of growth matters; bad growths tend to grow quickly whereas harmless ones may grow slowly or not at all. Third,
the shape of the lump as well as if it is firmly attached or not matters; bad lumps tend to be irregular and hard,
and tend to attach themselves to surrounding tissue. Good lumps tend to be encapsulated, be smooth and round, and
tend to be loosely attached so that you can move them somewhat when you feel them.
Whether or not to biopsy or remove a lump is a judgement where you must weigh the risk in the removal or biopsy
versus the benefit to be obtained by the surgery. If your veterinarian feels the lump may be dangerous, or if it
is bleeding or getting infected, or if it is in such a location to be a problem for your dog's normal life, then
the reward for removal goes up. If your dog is older, or has other health conditions, or tends to chew sutures
out, or is a poor healer, the risk of removal goes up. The decision whether or not to operate is one that you and
your vet will need to determine together.
From your description, it is possible that the lump could be a cyst, which is like a sac that may fill up and empty
with fluid, so that it appears to "appear" then "disappear", when all that is actually happening
is the sac is filling and emptying with fluid. It could also be a lymph node. Lymph nodes may swell and shrink
in response to inflammation or infection in the area; take a good look at your dog's teeth, because they could
cause just such a swelling. But a swollen node could also mean lymph node cancer, and a biopsy of the lump may
be the only way to tell for sure. So I would strongly urge you to see your veterinarian as soon as possible.
I might relay a story about my Uncle Ralph's dog. He had an extremely smart German Shepherd, and when we went to
visit him, he would ask me to "check a lump" on his four-legged family member. It was a round soft lump
(not a bad shape and not attached) located right above the tail (not a bad area) that had been growing very slowly
for several years (slow growth is good), and which was not bothering the dog at all (but it sure bothered Uncle
Ralph). I advised him that it probably did not need an operation right away, and to just keep an eye on it to be
sure that it didn't grow or change shape rapidly, and that it didn't bother the dog. It felt like it was a mass
of fat that is common in some dogs, which we call a lipoma, or "fatty cyst"
Eventually Uncle Ralph went to his local vet and had the lump removed NOT because it was a danger to the dog, but
because it bothered Uncle Ralph to pet the dog and feel the lump. The biopsy said that it was, indeed, a fatty
cyst and that no further treatment was likely. So for my Uncle Ralph, it was worth the peace of mind to have the
removal done even though it was not bothering the dog. His dog did fine, the biopsy came back OK, and Uncle Ralph
slept easier at night.
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