Possible toe amputation

[Mrkngpen]

I have a 7yo female who is very healthy. Over the last year she has developed a bump like cyst on her long back toe. I took her to the vet a few months ago and after an xray they determined there was no break. They aspirated it and found some pus. They put her on a course of antibiotics and said not to worry about it unless it kept growing.

Well, it has gotten even bigger and is now the size of a pea. I have an appt for Monday and they said the possibilities are lancing it or amputation. I'm leaning towards amputation but I'm worried about the cost. Any ideas? An office visit is $45 to give you an idea.

Lancing it worries me because its been there so long and it seems like it will just be a temporary fix.

 

[CooperDragon]

Does it look like it's spreading to any other digits? It's possible that it's gout. Might be worth testing for that as well but it's hard to say. Did the vet run a test on the fluid drained from the toe to see if it is a bacterial infection (and which one if so)?

 

[Mrkngpen]

Here is my original post on the topic so you can see a picture, tho it is bigger now:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=198198

It is not spreading to other digits. It has been in the same location for at least a year.

The vet did test the fluid that was aspirated but he just said that it had white blood cells and was pus, nothing more specific than that.

I am still waiting for a call back with a cost estimate.

 

[CooperDragon]

That's a rough call. Does it seem to bother her?

 

[Mrkngpen]

Not really, though she pulls away if I press on it. The reason I want to address it is that it is SO big and swollen now that it looks like it's about to burst. I'm just worried about it bursting or something and the infection getting into her blood stream. I mean, if the vet says to not worry about it, then I won't.