Liz I don't know how I missed the original post about Buddy's surgery. I just went back and searched and it was a huge thread. Considering his history I know you have great concerns and rightfully so. Out of the two things that you are pondering the infection sounds the easiest to treat. I do hope that the vet will be able to give you some good answers. I think the fact that the lump was missed on his recent exam hopefully means that it just appeared and maybe you are going to be able to tackle this thing early on. We'll all be waiting and hoping for the best. I sure would hate to see Buddy have to go through more surgery!