Microchip Lump?

[Rylie]

Nailah was microchipped when she was spayed May 14th. She now has a lump a little larger than a marble at the site. Is this normal? My vet says that sometimes they rarely develop fibrous tissue around the chips but I just wanted to see if anyone has had the same "reaction?" I know some of you breeders probably have a lot more experience with these microchips. Are there any known adverse reactions to these chips? My vet says he's never seen any which only makes me wonder.

 

[admin]

There are adverse reactions and your vet needs to take a look at it, IMO.

 

[Wyldthingz]

Are you sure it is the chip and not the vaccine? Did she have a vaccine there? Rabies? The dog rabies? I would certainly double check that is a chip and not a injection site carcinoma? The use of dog rabies in cats can cause a lump or tumor. I had one that developed a lump that eventually disappeared but if it starts to grow, I would be very concerned. I doubt that it is from the microchip unless she has formed scar tissue around it. Better safe than sorry. I have never had that with a microchip nor seen one in all my year past experience at the vet.

 

[Per Lausund]

If she has a lump the size of a marble where the id-chip was injected or where a vaccine was given you need to get your vet (the same as chipped her?) to have another look. The following possibilities , in order of probability, are some of the things you could find:
Infection at the site of the chip, possibly with a slow granuloma formation around the chip
Reaction to hair being brought in with the chip when she was chipped, giving a foreign-body reaction (very like a granuloma)
Vaccine reaction if she was vaccinated at that spot.
Any reaction resulting in a tumour (not the same as cancer!!!) should be looked at and diagnosed.
IMHO!

p

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

A lump that size is not normal for microchip or vaccine... and so I would definitely get it checked out!

 

[Breheart]

Keljin had a very small lump when he got his microchip as well, but it went away on its own after 2-4 weeks. At first I thought I was just literally feeling the microchip under his skin, but then I realized after a month that I could no longer feel it so that was probably the wrong idea I had. His though felt more flat, almost like a scab but under the skin instead of on top. Marble size though sounds a bit more concerning. Let us know what you find out, hoping for nothing serious.

 

[Patti]

I would ask the vet to try to aspirate tissue from the lump and look at it under a microscope - if it's too dense to do that then I would think a biopsy would be in order.

 

[Rylie]

*sigh* Ugh yeah I'm not sure where they vaccinated her for sure but the lump is right behind her left armpit. I don't know why a microchip would go there instead of between the shoulder blades but that's what the doctor guessed. I wasn't impressed with how nonchalant he was about her lump. She put up quite a fuss when she went in to be spayed, my guess is he wasn't really looking forward to fighting her again this soon after her spay. He insists we wait a few weeks but this morning she woke up with a slight limp maybe because of messing with it so much? either way I think I should call him back or find another vet... again.

 

[admin]

I agree Rylie...either he sees her and tries to get to the root of the problem or I would find a new vet.

 

[Wyldthingz]

I would ask the vet to try to aspirate tissue from the lump and look at it under a microscope - if it's too dense to do that then I would think a biopsy would be in order.

My vet does not like to aspirate a possible lump from a potential injection tumor. She said it better just to excise the whole thing because they are so highly malignant if it is the cancer- messing with it can cause more issues.

The good news that if it is, it can be removed if taken out quickly and completely.

I would just want to know if it was actually the chip or something else ASAP.