 |
| Hairy |
Hairy is a 10 year old Labrador Cross who presented to us this month to
have his teeth cleaned. During the pre surgical examination, we
found Hairy to have moderate dental tartar. The owner had
suggested that he had possibly been losing weight over the past year,
and he did look thinner. Abdominal palpation revealed a possible
mass in the cranial abdomen. Since we are in the middle of our
Cancer Screening Campaign, we suggested running the diagnostic tests
before proceeding with the dental work the owner had come in for.
Our screening campaign consists of radiographs (x-rays) of the chest and
abdomen along with abdominal ultrasound. These combined modalities
give us the best chance of early detection of tumors.
Hairy's chest radiographs were free of any abnormalities. The
abdominal radiographs, however, showed a suspicious mass in the mid
abdomen, probably associated with the spleen.
|
 |
 |
|
Normal Lateral view of the Chest |
Notice the round mass in the center of the
abdomen |
Ultrasound examination revealed the mass
associated with the spleen. The mass measured approximately 3x3
inches in diameter. We did not see evidence of metastasis on the
ultrasound.
Based on these findings, we recommended taking
Hairy to surgery to remove the mass. The owners consented to
surgery and we performed an exploratory laparotomy. Opening the
abdomen, we found the splenic mass just as we had seen on the ultrasound
and radiographs. We looked throughout the abdomen for signs of
metastasis. We found one irregular nodule on one of the liver
lobes, but it did not look very aggressive. We removed the entire
spleen and took the liver nodule as well and sent them to the lab for
analysis. We closed the abdomen and performed the dental prophy
that the owner came in for originally.
|
 |
 |
|
Ultrasound image of the splenic mass |
This is the Spleen with the giant tumor in the
center |
Hairy recovered uneventfully and we discharged
him two days after surgery. A few days later we were pleased to
get the report back from the laboratory indicating that the tumor in the
spleen was benign and the liver nodule was just an old age change called
a regenerative nodule.
Looking at all splenic tumors in dogs, the odds
of a tumor being benign vs. malignant are about 50:50.
Unfortunately, even the benign tumors tend to be fragile and can rupture
easily and the dog can bleed to death if that happens. Therefore, we
always recommend removing these tumors as early as possible. In
Hairy's case, the removal of his spleen probably saved his life.
He has a normal life expectancy and when we saw him at suture removal,
he and the owner were doing great!
This case underscores the usefulness of
screening for cancer with diagnostic imaging. We encourage all of
our clients to take advantage of our spring
Cancer Screening Campaign
and have your pets screened at significant savings.
|
