Biopsy On Wart Type Lump

[mydannyboy]

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Hi

Dylan's 4.5 years old. He's got a wart type lump on his neck just below his ear. The vet has seen it and said that had he been older - say around 8 - then he would assume it was a wart. He thinks it is but due to his age suggested removal / biopsy etc. He said worst case scenario it could be a mass????? something tumour ( not sure of the word)

We said we would do the procedure but now I'm doing the head in the sand thing of "let's leave it - it's a wart". He's not the usual "procedure for everything" vet so now I'm worried. Let alone going through the anaesthetic etc.

Anne

 

[wild whippies]

Mast Cell tumor or Mastocytoma as they're also known.

Relatively young dog and surgery carries a good outcome.

My own dog was diagnosed with a suspected one at 4 yrs old. Both my regular vet and the surgeon suspected mast cell tumour and recommended surgery. The lump was about 10cm in diameter, raised on a plateau of what appeared to be ulcerative tissue and was located on my dogs rear hock.

Surgery was aggresive, it had to be because they suspected the tumor was of a high grade and they thought that it looked so nasty that he wouldn't have long to live.

When his results came back, it was what is known as a histiocytoma, a far less sinister lesion common in sighthounds that often just go on their own.

When we seen both vets, I did ask if a histocytoma was possible and was the ulceration more likely to be related to the lump being on his hock and obviously getting a bit of a hammering because of it's location. Whilst no-one said we was wrong, they didn't want to mess about guessing either. I should also add he was a racing whippet and I didn't relish the idea of him having a 4cm border of tissue being taken out from aroung the 10cm lesion as this extends in all dimensions i.e. underneath the lump as well as around it.

Would I knowing what the outcome was, still have gone ahead with surgery?

Most definately yes.

Even if the vet turns out to be wrong, your dog can cope with a reasonable amount of flesh being removed from that area. Chances are (and the chances are very high in your case) that the lesion will be a low grade if it is a mast cell tumor. Having it fully removed and a low grade gives a very good outcome.

(Jeebs's was felt to be a high grade because of the big plateau of ulceration but even so, he recovered from the surgery and returned to racing)

Leaving it there, if it is a mast cell gives it the opportunity to change into a higher grade tumor. Not knowing for sure what it is will drive you daft and if it does change, you'll be full of regret for not doing the surgery.

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/mct.htm

 

[mydannyboy]

HiDylan's 4.5 years old. He's got a wart type lump on his neck just below his ear. The vet has seen it and said that had he been older - say around 8 - then he would assume it was a wart. He thinks it is but due to his age suggested removal / biopsy etc. He said worst case scenario it could be a mass????? something tumour ( not sure of the word)

We said we would do the procedure but now I'm doing the head in the sand thing of "let's leave it - it's a wart". He's not the usual "procedure for everything" vet so now I'm worried. Let alone going through the anaesthetic etc.

Anne

Thank you for your reply. I'm glad your dog was ok.

I've looked at the link you attached and it doesn't look like any of the lumps shown. This isn't red and nasty. It's skin colour. I'm still hoping it's a wart. He's booked in for the removal though.

 

[wild whippies]

They can be very different in appearance, none of the piks in the link look like the one Jeebs had but the link is probably the most understandible one and a lot less frightening than some that really focus on the more sinister grades.

It might well be a wart as you say but I tend to think once the vets mentioned the possibility of a mast cell tumor you've just got to resign yourself to the possibility even though it may well be unlikely.

I used to work in oral surgery, we'd get hundreds of lumps and you could be pretty sure they weren't sinister but I imagine the vet, just like the surgeons cannot give you a 100% guarantee on what anything is unless they've looked at it down a microscope.

I know it's a dilemma and it doesn't help when you know you've got an anaesthetic involved either but its one of those where parting with a few hundred quid for what essentially might be nothing just prooves to be worth doing, just to have peace of mind.

Best of luck :luck:

 

[TillynPip]

Tilly is 6 years old and I have found a lump in the armpit of her front left leg. Vet has seen it and doesn't think it's sinister so we decided to monitor it for a short while. However, it has grown and I have decided that I'm going to ask her to remove it and see what histology find. I've decided that I would rather risk having a wart removed un-necessarily than leave it and find out too late that it's malignant. It's a horrible thought and I feel sick to my stomach that they may find something nasty in my gorgeous girl. Good luck with your boy and keep us posted.

 

[mydannyboy]

Tilly is 6 years old and I have found a lump in the armpit of her front left leg. Vet has seen it and doesn't think it's sinister so we decided to monitor it for a short while. However, it has grown and I have decided that I'm going to ask her to remove it and see what histology find. I've decided that I would rather risk having a wart removed un-necessarily than leave it and find out too late that it's malignant. It's a horrible thought and I feel sick to my stomach that they may find something nasty in my gorgeous girl. Good luck with your boy and keep us posted.

Hi fingers crossed for both Dylan and Tilly then. It's horrible isn't it. I'm also feeling sick and want to cry all the time but I guess we have to be positive cos they feel our vibes and all that ( yes I love cesar millan and I admit it!!!) Dylans not even booked in until 21st. Hopefully good results all round. Please keep us posted on your Tilly xx

 

[Fleesh]

All paws crossed for Dylan here. Can't believe he's 4 and a half now, it's such a long time since we last saw you "up Rosso" with the girl pack.

:luck: :luck:

 

[mydannyboy]

All paws crossed for Dylan here. Can't believe he's 4 and a half now, it's such a long time since we last saw you "up Rosso" with the girl pack.
:luck: :luck:

Hi Fleesh

Thanks for wishing him luck. Can't believe you remembered meeting us it was so long ago. Be great to "bump" into each other again!!

Will keep everyone posted x

 

[boothros]

Know how you are feeling people, and Wild Whippies thankyou so much for posting the link. Fins had a lump right on his elbow joint for a couple of weeks now. A well meaning relative told me it was surely just a wart and as I cant feel anything much behind it, I let my initial panic die down and tried to believe them. The lump is however virtually identical to the second photo in the report. I'm finding it hard to face the fact that I know have to go to the vets and possibly learn some very bad news. Fin is 10 though not many people believe it and is currently in such good health that I dont think I could bear to cause him pain or suffering with something horrible like chemotherapy. Also WW, how did your dog cope with losing the flesh around the hock? From what Ive read so far, if it is a mast cell, I cant see that Finny would have enough flesh in the area to lose before there would just be bone. I feel so guilty about all this because I'm pretty sure I would be thinking differently if this were one of my youngsters, I'd want to be as proactive with every treatment possible but because Fins older I feel like I'm writing him off somehow whilst at the same time trying to do the best by him. Behind all this is the guilt that I shoudnt have let myself be persuaded by the relative and should have gone to the vet immediately like I planned to and that somehow by delaying any possible treatment I might have let him down even more. I so hope everyones dogs turn out to be ok, something like this really rips the heart out of you and makes you realise how lucky you are to have your beautiful dogs in the first place and that you should never ever take them for granted.

 

[oakmoorehill]

Owen had a lump on the inside of his back leh when he was young. The vet who did his jabs wanted to remove it but I took him to another vet who told me it was a histiocytoma. He had scratched it and had got infected but as it wasn't bothering him the vet was happy to put him on antibiotics to clear up the infection whcih needed to be done first even if he had removed it and then to wait and see if it went. After about 7 weeks it started to get smaller and after 10 weeks it had gone completely. His was about the size of a 10p.

 

[wild whippies]

Know how you are feeling people, and Wild Whippies thankyou so much for posting the link. Fins had a lump right on his elbow joint for a couple of weeks now. A well meaning relative told me it was surely just a wart and as I cant feel anything much behind it, I let my initial panic die down and tried to believe them. The lump is however virtually identical to the second photo in the report. I'm finding it hard to face the fact that I know have to go to the vets and possibly learn some very bad news. Fin is 10 though not many people believe it and is currently in such good health that I dont think I could bear to cause him pain or suffering with something horrible like chemotherapy. Also WW, how did your dog cope with losing the flesh around the hock? From what Ive read so far, if it is a mast cell, I cant see that Finny would have enough flesh in the area to lose before there would just be bone. I feel so guilty about all this because I'm pretty sure I would be thinking differently if this were one of my youngsters, I'd want to be as proactive with every treatment possible but because Fins older I feel like I'm writing him off somehow whilst at the same time trying to do the best by him. Behind all this is the guilt that I shoudnt have let myself be persuaded by the relative and should have gone to the vet immediately like I planned to and that somehow by delaying any possible treatment I might have let him down even more. I so hope everyones dogs turn out to be ok, something like this really rips the heart out of you and makes you realise how lucky you are to have your beautiful dogs in the first place and that you should never ever take them for granted.

First of all don't presume what's in the link is the same as Fins. The second pik, I think looks like a histiocytoma (common as anything in sighthounds) but it obviously isn't. I've attached a pik of one of ours with a histocytoma so you can appreciate the similarity.

Common things are common, in the grand scheme of things, a dog is far more likely to get a simple cyst, wart, histiocytoma than mast cell.

Yes mast cell tumour is the commonest form of skin cancer BUT the vast majority are low grade. Those that are high grade tend to be unseen by the owner e.g. in the spleen or are clearly behaving aggresively (i.e. big, ulcerous and just plain nasty looking)

Cancers, whether human or canine tend to be more aggresive in the young. They are often very slow growing in the elderly.

For example Jack (5 yrs) had about 4 months with his tonsillar cancer. Our old dog Joey had adenomas on his rectum at 13yrs old, he was pts when they became a problem to his well being at 15yrs old.

Please don't beat yourself up over this. I've had other dogs have histiocytomas before Jeebs and after that that have never been near the vets. The only reason I took him was because it looked nasty. I don't doubt for a second if you thought there was something sinister going on you'd of gone the vets, regardless of anyone's opinions. Remember even the vets got it wrong!

Riley's histiocytoma. (yes I am sad lol)

 

[TillynPip]

Know how you are feeling people, and Wild Whippies thankyou so much for posting the link. Fins had a lump right on his elbow joint for a couple of weeks now. A well meaning relative told me it was surely just a wart and as I cant feel anything much behind it, I let my initial panic die down and tried to believe them. The lump is however virtually identical to the second photo in the report. I'm finding it hard to face the fact that I know have to go to the vets and possibly learn some very bad news. Fin is 10 though not many people believe it and is currently in such good health that I dont think I could bear to cause him pain or suffering with something horrible like chemotherapy. Also WW, how did your dog cope with losing the flesh around the hock? From what Ive read so far, if it is a mast cell, I cant see that Finny would have enough flesh in the area to lose before there would just be bone. I feel so guilty about all this because I'm pretty sure I would be thinking differently if this were one of my youngsters, I'd want to be as proactive with every treatment possible but because Fins older I feel like I'm writing him off somehow whilst at the same time trying to do the best by him. Behind all this is the guilt that I shoudnt have let myself be persuaded by the relative and should have gone to the vet immediately like I planned to and that somehow by delaying any possible treatment I might have let him down even more. I so hope everyones dogs turn out to be ok, something like this really rips the heart out of you and makes you realise how lucky you are to have your beautiful dogs in the first place and that you should never ever take them for granted.

Don't beat yourself up (I get first place for doing that!), you will do what is best for your boy. Get him to the vet for an opinion and then you've got the ball rolling and can take it from there. Looks like there's going to be a few of us posting results. Fingers crossed for a happy outcome for all the lovely hounds.

 

[wild whippies]

I forgot to mention another dog of ours who had a lump.

K.B. had a wart on his hip. It was no bother, didn't change or anything so we just kept an eye on it. Late one night at feeding time he was bouncing about and caught it on the edge of something. It bled profusely for hours and simply wouldn't stop. Everything we did was hopeless until we got a pair of haemostats (type of surgical plier that locks) and literally clamped the vein closed as we rushed him to the vets.

He went into surgery immediately to have the vein closed and was told the wart had 'tapped' into the vein which was why it wouldn't stop bleeding.

So, even if any of these lumps come back as simple warts, there may well be a benefit to having them removed in a controlled situation rather than the chaotic one we went through in the early hours of the morning!

Best of luck to all concerned :luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[boothros]

I forgot to mention another dog of ours who had a lump.K.B. had a wart on his hip. It was no bother, didn't change or anything so we just kept an eye on it. Late one night at feeding time he was bouncing about and caught it on the edge of something. It bled profusely for hours and simply wouldn't stop. Everything we did was hopeless until we got a pair of haemostats (type of surgical plier that locks) and literally clamped the vein closed as we rushed him to the vets.

He went into surgery immediately to have the vein closed and was told the wart had 'tapped' into the vein which was why it wouldn't stop bleeding.

So, even if any of these lumps come back as simple warts, there may well be a benefit to having them removed in a controlled situation rather than the chaotic one we went through in the early hours of the morning!

Best of luck to all concerned :luck: :luck: :luck:

Very useful WW, just goes to show that even a simple wart can be something to be conerned about. Thanks for your support everybody, Fin now booked into vets on Wednesday and I feel happier just having made the appointment. Ps WW, thanks also for your photo which does look just like Fins. :thumbsup:

 

[Whippets4eva]

I forgot to mention another dog of ours who had a lump.K.B. had a wart on his hip. It was no bother, didn't change or anything so we just kept an eye on it. Late one night at feeding time he was bouncing about and caught it on the edge of something. It bled profusely for hours and simply wouldn't stop. Everything we did was hopeless until we got a pair of haemostats (type of surgical plier that locks) and literally clamped the vein closed as we rushed him to the vets.

He went into surgery immediately to have the vein closed and was told the wart had 'tapped' into the vein which was why it wouldn't stop bleeding.

So, even if any of these lumps come back as simple warts, there may well be a benefit to having them removed in a controlled situation rather than the chaotic one we went through in the early hours of the morning!

Best of luck to all concerned :luck: :luck: :luck:

Very useful WW, just goes to show that even a simple wart can be something to be conerned about. Thanks for your support everybody, Fin now booked into vets on Wednesday and I feel happier just having made the appointment. Ps WW, thanks also for your photo which does look just like Fins. :thumbsup:

Hi Sharon, Sorry to read about Fin and the worry it is causing you. Hope you get positive news at the vets Wednesday :thumbsup:

Thinking of you hun :huggles:

:luck: :luck: To the rest of the dogs mentioned here xx

 

[boothros]

Hi Sharon, Sorry to read about Fin and the worry it is causing you. Hope you get positive news at the vets Wednesday :thumbsup:

Thinking of you hun :huggles:

:luck: :luck: To the rest of the dogs mentioned here xx

Been to vets and in her mind, shes quite sure its a histiocytoma (phew) She was all for leaving it and watching it but I NEED to know so she did a fine needle aspirate and I should get the histo results in a few days. Still on tenderhooks as all I can do is wait but I'm a bit happier than I was and Fin is bemused as to why he's getting so many more hugs and bikkies all of a sudden.

 

[Whippets4eva]

That sounds positive hun, i know how worried you must of been but does sound like good news

Lets hope the tests confirm that it is nothing sinister, thinking of you :huggles:

 

[mydannyboy]

HiDylan had his op on Monday. Large scar for a small wart type lump. It appears to be healing well. Stitches out and results known next Wednesday

Anne

 

[wild whippies]

Best of luck :luck: Been wondering how Dylan was getting on.

 

[boothros]

How are everyone elses whippies getting on with their lumps? Fins thankfully was confirmed as histiocytoma and huge thanks to everyone on this thread for all their info. Good luck with Dylan x