# Removing a cyst



## Hops (Dec 2, 2013)

My one-year-old girl developed a lump on the top of her head a few months ago. It is smaller than a pea. At first I thought it was a bug bite, but it didn’t go away so I took her in last week and had the vet take a look. He told me it was a sebaceous cyst and nothing to worry about…harmless. He also said it appeared to be “walled off,” meaning it probably won’t ever go away on its own, but that I could get it removed if I wanted to. 

Estimate he gave me for removal was $780! They wanted to put her under and everything. I don’t understand why they can’t just use a little bit of local anesthetic, slice it off, and stitch it up. That’s what the dermatologist does when you have a skin legion or mole removed. I also think that’s what a lot of other veterinarians do for removing something this small. And based on what I've seen around the internet, some people remove them themselves...(not that I would go there, but the thought did cross my mind).

Is this a rip-off or what? I love our vet, but am now thinking about calling around. 

I wouldn’t mind as much if it was on another part of her body, but it’s right smack dab on the top of her head and nearly every person who sees her asks about it. 

I suppose she’s going to live with it for now, though. If it was for a lifesaving procedure, yes, but at this point in my life I just can’t afford $800 to make my Vizsla more aesthetically pleasing.

Have any of your dogs ever had a small cyst removed and was it under general or local anesthesia? Any suggestions for this? Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

Liz


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Its probably the going rate.
I paid $250 to have two spots removed and sent off to the lab for testing with my old vet. They were tiny, but came back as sarcoma, so I was glad we caught it early. 
After my vet retired I used a different vet for my other female to have a lump removed from her toe and sent to the lab. That was close to $800, but I did get good news from the lab.

They are going to sedate a dog anytime they need surgery.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

My family's 11 year old chow mix has been living with a 2-3 inch diameter cyst for the past 3 years or so. She has longer hair and it's located on her back so it's less of an aesthetic issue, but it also hasn't effected her in any significant way. We get it drained/aspirated every once in a while, but haven't considered surgically removing it, so I can't recall a price for that. Basically they just stick a needle in it, charge us 20 bucks, and send us on our way. 3-4 weeks later it's back. I keep meaning to buy some needles to do it at home. 

I do think removing cysts is more involved than a mole, but that does seem high. I'd "shop around" if you really want to remove it.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

I can't help you with the cysts... but when our V got a puppy wart on his leg, we were quoted at around $400 to surgically remove it (which they wanted to do, but we opted to leave it, and it went away on its own). It seems to me that most vets only do general, not local, anesthesia for these things (which I agree, seems odd, but they must have a reason). When our V had to have a couple stitches for a bite, they also had to put him under and that was about $300. So I would check around. Unless they're planning to biopsy the lump, etc. I would think that price is pretty high. A neuter/spay is usually under $500 with pre-op bloodwork, painkillers, etc. Of course, it probably depends a lot on where you live as well.


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## Mount sweetness (Oct 3, 2014)

go onto facebook and join the groups VizslaTalk and Vizsla Dog Lovers

we are having honest conversations about these exact allergy issues as we speak

it is very important to raise awareness, you are not alone


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