can a cyst grow back in same spot

[testdeprived]

Hi, I own a 4 yr great pyrenees named winston. Last june we found a small subcutaneous (under skin and not visible)cyst on his left side by his hip but not really it was more on his skin(the fatty area) Anyway, we took him in september to have it aspirated, and there was nothing but clear liquid so the vet diagnosed it immediately as a cyst. I, being the paranoid person that I am, wanted a second opinion..I made an appt with a vet 1 week later. During the period between appts, winston developed an abcess at the aspiration site. The second opinion vet(who is not our primary) treated the abcess, and got it cleared up within a week. Once it was clear, it was discovered that the cyst had exploded and was now gone(good news).

anyway, i have noticed the cyst is growing back in the same spot. Should i be concerned? I dont think cysts can be cancerous right? I was thinking of bringing him into the primary vet, although then i have to explain how it exploded after the other vet treated the abcess and that might be awkward.

so it doesnt sound cancerous right?

[testdeprived]

ghilly thanks for the post. just to clarify though it is a cyst under the skin!

margot, our last guy was a golden and he died at 8 of high grade mast cell cancers despite us treating him like royalty. We knew for our next dog we would research breeders and find a reputable ones. We intiially were looking at irish setters, but the breeders on the irish setter club site were rude as all he..ll. One told me ''what do you care if  ihealth test..you want a pet quality dog right?

i said eff it and went on pet finder and fell in love with winston the great pyr....we adopted him from eleventh hour rescue in rockaway nj. He was only 90 something pounds and is now 125-130! We have had him for 2 yrs come july. the bad thing about adopting a 2 yr old is yu dont know what he was fed or what meds he was on, etc. With my golden we adopted him at 11, so we had good control.
winston we adopted at 2.

You also have no control of knowing if they were neutered too early or not.

[Ghilly]

Sebaceous cysts occur underneath the skin and are the result of a damaged hair follicle.  They can absolsutely recur in the same spot, but if they recur to the point of being a problem, there IS a way to stop them from coming back but it involves surgically removing the hair follicle that is responsible.  If it's only an occasional thing, it's probably best to just let it be.  The cyst CAN have an off-putting odor due to the fact that they are made of keratin.  It's best not to mess with them too much because you can cause them to become infected and form an abcess, which will then have to be drained and treated with antibiotics.  You can apply warm compresses to the area 3 times daily, but when you do this, CAREFULLY apply a warm, wet rag to the area with a steady pressure.  DO NOT RUB the area because that will aggravate the cyst and could cause it to become infected.  You can also put a triple antibiotic on the affected area.

Ghilly

[Margot49]

I think I understand what you are asking.  The average life span for a GP is about 10 - 12 years, not bad for a large breed.  Of course, like any pure bred dog, they can potentially have health issues that may be seen most often in that breed.  I suggest you look up some information.  A reputable breeder, of any pure bred, will know of potential health problems in their breed and will do any tests available ( like hip Dysplasia, eye diseases, cancer, etc) and try not to breed affected or carrier dogs.  This goes for the females and stud dogs.  There is more science in this then people realize.  That being said, you can do your best and have recessive genes pop up.  So, it is really not how many or how few are breeding but "who" is doing the breeding.  
Does that make sense?  :-)

[testdeprived]

do pyrs usuallyy live longer than other large breeds bc they are less popular so less poorly bred if tht makes any sense?

[testdeprived]

thanks margot! i'll take him in when he needs his pyr claws cut you set me aty ease.

[Margot49]

Yes, cysts can grow back if some tissue or the root, so to speak, is left.
On almost any suspicious lump I at least have my Vet aspirated it and send it out just to be on the safe side.  

[testdeprived]

bump

[testdeprived]

hi, i think he might have meant clear as in no cells..i dont remember i just know he did 2 aspirations and both were clear he was 100 percent certain and didnt send them to the labs.

the second opinion vet said if they were mast cells he wouldnt get an abcess and she was pretty certain since it ruptured that it was a cyst....it's been a few months so just wondering. thanks

[skydnsr]

It doesn't sound cancerous to me, but since I'm not a vet, and you're worried about it, you probably need to have Winston seen by somebody.  I don't think the vet would have called it a cyst, if he thought it was cancer.  Some types of cysts do tend to recur, such as sebaceous cysts, although those are filled with a waxy or oily material and not clear liquid, so I really don't know what this is.  If you want to know for sure that it's not cancer, a doctor will have to biopsy it and send a sample to the lab.  If you want to make sure it doesn't come back, a doctor will probably have to make an incision through the middle of the cyst, extending the incision well beyond the boundaries of the cyst on either side, then remove the entire cyst and  stitch the incision lines back together.