Cyst is surgery worth it?

[Schuyler_pigs]

My guinea pig Eliza has a large cyst (2 inch) on her stomach along with a smaller (1/2 inch) cyst on her shoulder. I took her to the vet 3 days ago and the vet said there wasn't much to do except either have surgery done, or euthanize her when it pops. Eliza is almost 3 years old, which is still young for a guinea pig to be euthanized. But the surgery costs $400 which is a lot for me. I'm 16, and I won't have enough money till after Christmas to pay for it. I'm willing to spend the money on her if it is guaranteed she'll live through the surgery and have a long happy life after she recovers, but that's not always promised saying anesthesia is a challenge in its own with guinea pigs and recovery can be hard. So is it worth it? Am I a bad pet owner if I choose not to go through with it? what would you do? the vet said the surgery has a 75% survival rate, which i feel like isnt' the best chances.

 

[bpatters]

Well, the first thing I'd want is another opinion. A true cyst should be fairly easy to remove, assuming it's just sitting under the skin and on top of the muscle, and isn't embedded somewhere. It should cost less than $400, unless they're including the costs of sending samples off for analysis. And burst cysts do not always require euthanasia. And the survival rate for a simple cyst removal should be way higher than 75%.

Was this an exotic vet, or a small animal vet?