Help! Sudden lump on cheek!

[Alice the Mini Lop]

Hello guys. I just checked on Alice, and she has a very large very firm lump on her cheek. She is running/bouncing around like normal, and she seems to be eating fine. She is not behaving out of character at all. This lump seems to be completely new (is that even possible??) as she free roams my room and I believe I would have seen it. She is an almost three year old spayed mini lop female, with absolutely no history of any issues, dental or otherwise.
I’m taking her into the vet tomorrow as long as they except her. We are trying to avoid an emergency vet visit but we will definitely go immediately if it is necessary. Does anyone have any idea what is going on?

 

[Catlyn]

Could you share a picture?

 

[Alice the Mini Lop]

Could you share a picture?

I moved her into the old dog cage in my closet. Here are those photos (that is NOT part of a dewlap)

 

[Alice the Mini Lop]

Oh and just to be clear I took her out of the temporary cage setup into the closet for those photos. She has NEVER free roamed this particular space.

 

[Catlyn]

Hmmm. It might be swelling but i'm not sure. @JBun can help more than i could. But if she's all normal then i'm sure she'll be fine until her vet tomorrow.

 

[JBun]

Given the location, dental related abscess would be the most likely cause. Non dental related abscess, cyst, or a tumor are also possibilities.
Medirabbit (facial abscesses )
Medirabbit (abscesses)
Medirabbit (abscess management )

 

[zuppa]

Hi, I would suggest using emergency services if available. We had a rabbit long time ago and one evening I've discovered something very similar under his chin and just like you say we were going to see a vet next day. Unfortunately in the morning he was dead. I have no idea what it was possibly abscess we didn't go to vets to find out we were so shocked he was only 2 year old healthy good rabbit and it was so quick it looked like just swollen gland on one side, he had it on the left side. I hope there's nothing serious with your bun but just if you can get her to see a vet sooner better safe than sorrow. Good luck and please keep us updated.

 

[Catlyn]

Musti managed to live with an abcess on/in his knee for nearly three months without it bursting or anything. It did cause him tremendous pain and he wasn't happy about it all and the bulge made him an invalid with no hope of surviving. Just make sure that the vet gives you absolute clear instructions on what the lump is and how they're gonna go about fixing it.

 

[Alice the Mini Lop]

For those wanting updates: we are on our way to the vet right now because this is the earliest they could get her in.
Alice is still eating well and bouncing around like normal. We have to drop her off at the vet instead of staying because of corona, but I will update you guys on what she has once the vet either tells or calls me.

 

[Alice the Mini Lop]

Ok. So still at the vet, but they have now told me this is an advanced issue. They said this is a soft tissue abscess, likely caused by a dental issue. They don’t know this for sure though, because they don’t want to put her under just for a check up, but they said it’s highly likely. They have also said these are tricky to treat, and they have now recommended that I go to a specialist. They (Snider Veterinary Service) recommend Parkway Small Animal hospital as a start, and then some out of state (I’m in Michigan) vet in Toledo, Ohio (Bird and Exotic Pet Wellness Center), if they can’t handle it.

I’m not really happy with this development for monetary reasons, but I will definitely go this route instead of just euthanizing her for no reason.
Alice also apparently had a small fever, so they gave me three weeks worth of antibiotics for both that and the abscess (apparently it won’t cure the abscess but it should control it?).

Thank you for following her story so far, and I’ll update you guys once she gets her next appointment scheduled (though honestly I may post more questions, like if anyone knows how good these vets are).

 

[Catlyn]

The abcess antibiotics are because the bacteria that is in there might also cause inflamation(dont know if i spelled that right) so even if the biotics do nothing to the abcess in and on itself, they should help with stopping the abcess from growing.
At least that is what i understood from ehat the vet told us about Musti's abcess.

 

[Alice the Mini Lop]

The abcess antibiotics are because the bacteria that is in there might also cause inflamation(dont know if i spelled that right) so even if the biotics do nothing to the abcess in and on itself, they should help with stopping the abcess from growing.
At least that is what i understood from ehat the vet told us about Musti's abcess.

Oh I see. When Musti had an abscess, did it need to be surgically removed? If so, how did that work? If it didn’t, how did it go away? I know that situation was a bit different from Alice’s current one, and I’m probably going to ask around for more close situations eventually, but it’s good to get as much information as I can.

 

[Catlyn]

Oh I see. When Musti had an abscess, did it need to be surgically removed? If so, how did that work? If it didn’t, how did it go away? I know that situation was a bit different from Alice’s current one, and I’m probably going to ask around for more close situations eventually, but it’s good to get as much information as I can.

No, sadly he didn't make it. He was already so ill from the other issues that he had, incl skin and ear parasites, severe weight loss and muscle weakness, dull and numb and lethargic actions. He didn't even move when he was passed on around our hands at the vet. Just grinded his teeth. We decided that we wouldn't do any surgeries for him since his life quality would've been nonexistent. Think of a rabbit that has a hind leg missing/just dragging on behind, they wouldn't live well, would they? So we let him pass on.
The abcess didn't go away, it only kept growing and hardening with tissue rot as the horrible vet only claiming to be savvy didn't even explain what treatment he was doing. That vet was the last link to connecting Musti's rbw bridge. (i should mention that it wasn't our local vet, they did the best they could before directing us on to bigger cities. He couldn't give any good reccommends tho(unfamiliar w the case) so we went for the first vet that had the fastest appointment time, that was the bad one, the last and third one was excellent.)
The abcess would've had to be surgically opened, constantly cleaned and other stuff. It would've closed by itself over time. But it might've come back, mightn't've not. If it were his only problem, i would've paid that 180€ without a doubt but his joint was all destroyed from the bacteria so there wouldn't've been any good in doing that.
If the abcess in your Alice is located anywhere within the essentisl joints and tissues, you really need to seek out highly proffessional savvy vets ASAP.
One more edit: after looking at the xrays later on, we noticed that he first pair done two weeks after the bulge appeared showed the tissue accumulation but no affected bone or joints. From that point on everything went much faster as the second, non savvy vets photos another week layer already showed damage. You might not have much time until it becomes untreatable, better hurry!