I have a 9 yr old Siberian Huskey mix. About a month ago, I noticed a deviled egg sized mass on top of her front paw. Had I not grabbed her paw while playing with her, I would not have noticed it, as she shows no signs of irritation. We shaved the area to get a better look; the mass is light pink, squishy and shows absolutely no signs of irritation. She does not lick the mass, nor does she exhibit any signs of pain. She is active, eats and drinks well. We soaked her paw in ice water and poked the mass with a small 22 gauge needle, but no fluid came out. We’ve since soaked it in epsom salt, but there has been no change in the size of the mass. I read about interdigital cysts, but this does not seem to contain pus and does not seem infected. Does this sound like a harmless cyst that could go away if left alone? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Elaina
Azle, Texas

The mass sounds harmless, but its not guaranteed to be. It probably will not go away on its own, but it probably also wont cause significant harm.

Why does it sound harmless? It is not red or irritated, it is not causing pain or discomfort, and it is not growing or changing or spreading into deeper tissue. However, it is not possible to determine whether or not a mass is dangerous just by looking at it. It needs to be sampled. This can be done by means of fine needle aspiration. A veterinarian should insert a small (25 gauge) needle into the area, aspirate some of the contents, and send the sample to a lab for analysis.

Meanwhile, I dont recommend further cold water baths or epsom salts baths. And I especially dont recommend inserting any more needles into the mass yourself.