If your Dog has a Cyst, what your Veterinarian may do. Dr. Dan explains

Hey Guys! I removed a handful of skin and subcutaneous cysts this week, so I wanted to talk about skin and subcutaneous cysts today. Cyst or sebaceous cysts are very common in the dog. A pet owner may notice a soft and easily movable mass under their dog's skin. These cysts may grow quickly or slowly. A cyst is a fluid filled pocket or sack. The cyst is like a little balloon with fluid in the middle. The veterinarian needs to remove the whole cyst to resolve the problem. If a cyst is just drained, without removing the sack, the cyst will refill or even get infected. This is why I will remove the all cyst at one time surgically. I will sedate the dog or cat (not a common), and using a punch biopsy tool or scalpel blade surgically remove the cyst. Usually just a stitch or two is needed to close the incision site. I will open the cyst up then to confirm that I remove the whole cyst. If the cyst looks abnormal, I will send it in to a pathologist to diagnose the cyst.