Bump Watch

I have actually had a health problem with Payton that I have been wanting to share but haven't been able to yet. She has a fluid filled bump on her side that our Vet is calling a Seroma. It is not bothering her in the slightest but it is bothersome to Mark and I that she has it. We have been waiting for it to shrink and go away along with giving her a couple doses of antibiotics daily to ward off infection. It seems like the bump got really big, shrank to almost nothing, and is bigger today. The Vet said that if it doesn't go away on it's own she will have to drain it internally. Not a good option, so we are waiting to see if it does go away on it's own. It's not easy to just play the waiting game. I will have to take her back to the Vet if she doesn't heal in the next couple of days. Like I said, it's business as usual for Payton. She doesn't even know that it's there. So she is not in discomfort while we wait to see what happens.
Of course I need to let you know how this may have happened. I was extremely worried when I discovered the bump because I have read about "bloat" being deadly. I went to a web site and refreshed myself on the symptoms of bloat. http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/bloat.html Some of the symptoms were similar to what Payton had. Bloat should be dealt with immediately. When I called the Vet about Paytons bump she asked to see her right away. We actually live only a few blocks away from our Vet so we were right there. After feeling the bump Dr. Lutz asked me if Payton played hard. I told her "Yes, all the time." Dr. Lutz said that her bump was a Seroma. Probably caused by playing hard with her sisters(I know that Payton and Kylie had a big game of American Gladiator going on right before I discovered the bump). She described it as an internal abscess that is just under her skin. She said that if her bump were bloat it would be hard and Payton's bump is soft, it feels like fluid. Dr. Lutz did take some X-rays to be sure it wasn't something else. Nothing unusual showed up in the X-rays except that she was due to poop which she did right when we got home. Of course her vet bill was over $200 with the X-rays. Luckily we have pet insurance to help out with emergency vet visits so that we never have to weigh the cost of treatment with the needs of our dogs.
*UPDATE* Paytons bump is getting smaller. It is not totally gone, but Dr. Lutz put her on one more week's worth of antibiotics to give it some more time to heal on it's own. I will keep you posted.

Peace,
Jamie