# Large lump under spay incision...



## KRayl

Well, we're 8 days past surgery for Avery's spay and it looks like we're headed back to the vet tonight. For the last couple of days, she's had a lump developing under her incision. (The incision looks good - it's underneath that's questionable.) The lump is the length of the incision and pretty much the size of a golf ball and it's not getting any smaller. :uhoh:

I'm wondering if anyone has anyone run in to similar complications after their pups were spayed?

This girl keeps me on my toes!


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## paula bedard

No, I've only had males. Good luck. I hope she's fine. Almost sounds like a hernia. ?


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## ssouva

*GeoAndMaggiesMom*

A visit to the vet is always a good idea when in doubt. We recently adopted a five month old rescue golden, Maggie. She was spayed shortly before we brought her home. She also developed a lump under her incision. The shelter lady told us that it was a hernia and that it was very common. We were going to the vet anyway. So, I asked about her lump. The vet said not to worry. And, a few days after our vet visit, it started shrinking and was gone. I hope that your doggie is fine and that it is just a bump on her road to recovery.


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## KRayl

ssouva said:


> A visit to the vet is always a good idea when in doubt. We recently adopted a five month old rescue golden, Maggie. She was spayed shortly before we brought her home. She also developed a lump under her incision. The shelter lady told us that it was a hernia and that it was very common. We were going to the vet anyway. So, I asked about her lump. The vet said not to worry. And, a few days after our vet visit, it started shrinking and was gone. I hope that your doggie is fine and that it is just a bump on her road to recovery.


That's what I was hoping to hear! Thanks.  We're definitely taking her to the vet tonight but, in the meantime, I'm curious as to what's going on.


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## moverking

Maybe a seroma, hematoma or a stitch reaction? That sounds more swollen than it should be.
Can't find any good pics, but here's a google page with similar symptoms:
http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&q=post spay hematoma pics&ndsp=20&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw

Run it by your vet...and give Avery a hug...I always admire your siggy pics of her, she's a doll and you're a good photographer!


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## Merlins mom

This happened with my last foster girl. The incision looked great, but there was a mushy feeling lump kind of next to/under the incision. My vet told me that if the area didn't feel hotter than normal to the touch, and if there was no discharge from the area (clear discharge would be okay) that it was just fluid build up. She also told me to put warm compresses on it several times a day. I think the lump started forming about 4 days after the spay, and it was gone in about a week. 

I know this has happened to a few other people here after their girls were spayed. By all means though, talk to your vet if you are uncomfortable about anything.


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## KRayl

moverking said:


> Maybe a seroma, hematoma or a stitch reaction? That sounds more swollen than it should be.
> Can't find any good pics, but here's a google page with similar symptoms:
> http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&q=post spay hematoma pics&ndsp=20&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw
> 
> Run it by your vet...and give Avery a hug...I always admire your siggy pics of her, she's a doll and you're a good photographer!


Thanks! :wave: I need to get some more recent photos up...she's getting big!

I did a few searches on-line and it came up with a few possibilities. Hopefully whatever it is will be a simple, quick fix. She's dying to get out there again to play!!!! (and we're ready for it, too! haha!)


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## SoGolden

KRayl said:


> Well, we're 8 days past surgery for Avery's spay and it looks like we're headed back to the vet tonight. For the last couple of days, she's had a lump developing under her incision. (The incision looks good - it's underneath that's questionable.) The lump is the length of the incision and pretty much the size of a golf ball and it's not getting any smaller. :uhoh:
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone has anyone run in to similar complications after their pups were spayed?
> 
> This girl keeps me on my toes!


What was the outcome with the Vet? did I miss it somewhere?


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## KRayl

Hello, 

Sorry - I'm just seeing this now. It turned out to be a reaction to the sutures and it ended up going down on its own after about a week. We ended up having to keep her low activity for TWO weeks. That was hard!

She's good and healed now, though.


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## SoGolden

Good to hear she is well again! Thanks for the update.


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## martinrt

When Allee was spayed she got a good sized bump that seemed to keep coming and going. We got her to the vet who drained the fluid from the bump, but about a week or so later it was back. This continued for about a month before the vet finally said she wanted to open her up a bit again to see if maybe some of the stitches were not dissolving as they were supposed to. That was it! She just the incision open and a few bits of stitches had worked their way out of the skin/stomach/fat linings and were basically just sitting there causing constant irritation. Once removed she was fine. They would have dissolved eventually if we hadn't taken her back in, but it could have taken a while since they weren't in as direct of contact with the skin as they should have been.


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## AquaClaraCanines

We need new pictures!


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## obrnjlt

KRayl said:


> Well, we're 8 days past surgery for Avery's spay and it looks like we're headed back to the vet tonight. For the last couple of days, she's had a lump developing under her incision. (The incision looks good - it's underneath that's questionable.) The lump is the length of the incision and pretty much the size of a golf ball and it's not getting any smaller. :uhoh:
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone has anyone run in to similar complications after their pups were spayed?
> 
> This girl keeps me on my toes!


I am having what seems to be the exact same dilemma. I had my 5 month old golden, Lilly, spayed last week (8 days ago). Yesterday I noticed a "lump under the incision that has gotten as little bit bigger today. Her incision looks great. They used skin glue, so no sutures. Th lump is soft, and does not seem to be painful when I push on it. Should I take her back in? Seems I've read from several people and on other sites that these usually resolve on their own. Pls let me know what your vet says. I may plan to take Lilly back in tomorrow for them to take a look. Im a fairly new pet owner so dont know what to do!


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## Karen519

*Obrn*

OBRN

I would call the vet and ask, they might want to see it. I don't think it's anything, but it is always better to get it checked.


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## obrnjlt

I cant find my note I wrote to you, sharing that my 5 month old, golden, Lilly, was experiencing the same "lump" under the incision. I took her to our personal vet (she had not done the surgery). She aspirated a serosanguinous (bloody) fluid and said that it was b/c they had not sutured all the layers, leaving a pocket inside that filled with fluid. She also put a pressure dressing and told me to give her tranquilizers twice per day to keep her calm & quiet, to recover from the surgery. Needless to say, the pressure dressing had shifted back from the incision and lump by today, so I removed the dressing. The incision still looks good, but the lump is there and seems the same. Im trying to keep her quiet and not out walking her for the usual hour and a half per day, so hopefully we will be through this soon.


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## gracieskyler

Hello! My goldendoodle was spayed 2 weeks ago and she is having a similar issue. The vet thinks it “may” be a suture reaction and they all keep saying we have to wait it out and keep giving her antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. But it doesn’t seem to help. Anyone have any insight? I am a new dog mom, have had my pup for 4 months and have never gone through this.


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## HeatherPQ2M

KRayl said:


> Well, we're 8 days past surgery for Avery's spay and it looks like we're headed back to the vet tonight. For the last couple of days, she's had a lump developing under her incision. (The incision looks good - it's underneath that's questionable.) The lump is the length of the incision and pretty much the size of a golf ball and it's not getting any smaller. :uhoh:
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone has anyone run in to similar complications after their pups were spayed?
> 
> This girl keeps me on my toes!


Our Maggie is 6 months old and was spayed one week ago tomorrow. She has swelling under the surgical incision that has no bleeding or drainage, warmth, erythema or tenderness. It was not present this morning and ten minutes before the vet closed today, I noticed it. It is soft and my initial thought was fluid - like seroma or hematoma. Then my ER brain turned on and I became concerned about hernia. She is eating/drinking and pooping “normally,” she’s not vomiting, she’s without obvious fever, she’s trying to get us to play with her, and she has zero signs of pain. So…here I am snooping online and wishing I had access to an ultrasound at home. We will find out what it is tomorrow morning - unless something new happens and makes me worry enough to pay the animal ER charges. My paranoia means she will have her food and water picked up at midnight just in case.
I read some of the comments here and although we don’t know my dog’s specific diagnosis yet…I feel compelled to post some warnings/information. Skin adhesive (glue) is only on the outside, there are layers of tissue/muscle under the external wound that have been closed with sutures that are expected to dissolve. They do not glue the muscle they cut back together. So not having to return for removal of external stitches does not mean there are no internal ones. I question why someone would say a hernia is normal after a spay - I think the woman likely meant to tell you it was a seroma. (Scary things to mix-up.) If it’s a hernia after a spay, it means there’s a gap in the muscle due to stitches holding the muscle back together have failed. (Causes can include the aggressive zoomies.) Umbilical hernias are enlarged gaps in muscle where the umbilical cord went through. Hernias are noticed when the stuff that is supposed to be behind the muscle pokes out of the gap. If the “guts” move in and out of the gap without getting trapped, it’s not as emergent as if it’s trapped outside the gap and “strangulated.” When a hernia is strangulated, the piece of bowel that is poked out the gap is at risk of dying. I tell my patients to think of what happens when you put a rubber band tightly around your finger and don’t take it off. Or, when ranchers use bands to castrate bulls. It’s not good. If this happens, it could cause a plethora of unwanted and/or expensive problems - including death. So, even though we all hope it’s something minor…it could potentially be much more. A hernia that has bowel that moves in and out is vulnerable to getting strangulated - so it can’t be written off as normal. The things my puppy doesn’t have (that I listed off above) are signs/symptoms that the soft bulge is a bigger or emergent problem. Please don’t assume it’s a stitch or a seroma and get it checked. And. get it checked emergently if your pet is not acting well or is having pain. It not only prolongs suffering, but could cost you your pet and/or a lot more money to wait.


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