![]() One was convinced that the mass was fluid-filled. When the nurses and other doctors in the practice saw the mass, they all shrieked and commented on how big and firm it was, how sad it was that this poor dog had cancer and how challenging the surgery would be. They just wanted to get this ugly tumor off to help their dog. The guardians’ philosophy was that the mass had to come off anyway, so a biopsy wasn’t necessary. We discussed the possibility of taking biopsies before surgery, which would require sedation and additional expenses. ![]() ![]() I explained that we could not assume anything about the final diagnosis. Click here to learn about the many misnomers surrounding anesthesia. But my colleague’s suspicion, given the size and the firmness of the mass, was that this was some form of cancer.Īfter Chloe was referred to me for surgery, I had a heart-to-heart with the guardians to make sure they understood the facts of anesthesia and surgery. This means that either there were not enough cells in the samples, or that the cells were too damaged to reach a diagnosis. However, every test was deemed inconclusive. ![]() To put this into perspective, Chloe weighed about 12 pounds.Ĭhloe’s family veterinarian had done several fine needle aspirates to try and determine how bad the mass was. Meanwhile, the mass had reached the size of a grapefruit. Eventually, the mass started to bother her: she was having difficulty walking. ![]() Unfortunately, waiting was not helping Chloe. In addition, they were worried about putting a 12-year-old dog under anesthesia to have the mass removed. His website is He is the co-author of “Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound” ( Chloe was a sweet 12-year-old Italian greyhound, who had had a mass hanging between her back legs, "for several years,” according to her guardians.īecause the mass initially didn't seem to cause any problems, the guardians didn’t think it was a big deal. Phil Zeltzman is a traveling, board-certified surgeon in Allentown, PA. ![]()
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