anaro
Cary, NC
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Maddie had her lump (cyst?) removed from her right shoulder today. She is still wobbly and whining occasionally but seems ok. They cleaned her teethe while they had her sedated. The vet found a small tumor type thing near one of her teethe and wants to remove the toothe and lump as well. Maddie doesn't seem bothered by it at all (eats dry food and glucosamine chews just fine) so after talking w/ the vet, we decided to leave it alone unless she appears uncomfortable. Maddie is already missing some teethe from being hit by a car and breaking her jaw before we got her. We want her to still be able to eat. She is 10yrs old now and as a lab/shepard mix (we think), she is getting up there in years. We are going to do everything to keep her comfortable but not be aggressive with treatments. It seems that everytime we look, we find a new growth on her. It is really hard for us but I think that is what is best for Maddie. The vet was ok proceeding with or without treatment on her. She seemed to agree with the keeping her comfortable idea as she still has a very good quality of life. We will be watching her carefully for any signs of distress but hopefully we will still have another year or two with her. She really is the best dog we've ever had and my 4 yr old really loves her.
Here is a before and after picture:
This is on her right shoulder.
The vet has us leaving it alone (no wound care, no dressing). Instead of a collar, we have to keep a t-shirt on her to keep her from messing with it. If that doesn't work then a cone it is.
* This post was
edited 02/03/12 07:55pm by anaro *
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PapPappy
Wilmington, NC
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Glad that she's out of the surgery.
I wouldn't worry about that tooth being pulled....since dogs can do just fine without all their teeth. A friend has an older dog, with no teeth, and she eats kibble with the best of them.
You may end up having Maggie put under again, to have that tooth removed at a later date, so it might have made sense to have it done this time, but it's water under the bridge, since it's already done....
Still, glad that things went well!
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C-172-AV8R
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It is hard to know what is best for your pal. Follow your heart and know you have our thoughts and that some how having people sharing makes it a little easier.....We have a Chihuahua who had eight teeth pulled...and it hasn't stopped her from gaining weight.......Mike
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ljr
Pennsylvania
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anaro wrote:The vet found a small tumor type thing near one of her teethe and wants to remove the toothe and lump as well.
I forget what they are called now but that sounds like the thing Roxie had removed, along with a tooth, last summer. They tend not to be malignant but they can be a nuisance.
Larry
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emzee
california
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awww what a sweetheart. I am glad everything went well. She is one lucky dog to have such nice parents.
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dturm
Munster, IN
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ljr wrote:anaro wrote:The vet found a small tumor type thing near one of her teethe and wants to remove the toothe and lump as well.
I forget what they are called now but that sounds like the thing Roxie had removed, along with a tooth, last summer. They tend not to be malignant but they can be a nuisance.
Epulis
Glad the surgery went well.
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AZPops
Wherever the Job takes us...
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Great to hear the surgery went well!
Pops
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sher9570
NY/Fl
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So glad everything went well, just keep her comfy and she'll be happy!
Sher
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CatandJim
Tulsa, as in Oklahoma
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I'm happy to hear the surgery went well. I would encourage you to get that tooth attended to after she recovers from this procedure.... before it causes problems for her. Of course, the choice is yours and it may not be too problematic.
Give her some ear scratches from me!
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anaro
Cary, NC
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Thank you all for the well wishes and thank you Dr Doug for the link.
I guess I should explain a little better why we were reluctant to do the oral surgery. Maddie had a bit of a hard life before she came to us many years ago. She was a rescue that was found when someone hit her w/ a car. She had a broken jaw, a penetrating leg wound, was pregnant and lost the litter. The jaw had been broken in a fashion that the emergency vet felt it was better to leave alone and let several front teethe point down permanently. She went for many years like this without issue. Then we started to notice the teethe were beginning to rotate. Both us and the vet kept an eye on this for awhile until it rotated to a point they needed to be removed. That was done a couple of years ago. It took her awhile to adjust to not having those teethe any more. In addition to that, her hip on the leg that was hit is getting some pretty bad arthritis now. She is beginning to struggle with stairs and getting in and out of vehicles. She limps off and on. We give her glucosamine and NSAIDS but she still gets uncomfortable at times. She is beginning to develop a cough and periods of rapid breathing. This cyst probably contains cancerous cells. It has occurred and been treated before and come back with a vengenance. She has another tumor like thing growing on her neck now. Also, some questionable spots on her belly. Her eyes are developing skin tags and one has a growth on it. She has had cataracts for years and we think her eyesight is getting worse. In addition to all of the above, we have noticed changes in her behavior over the last year that could be attributed to either separation anxiety or canine cognitive disorder. Depends on how you want to look at it. The vet keeps saying separation anxiety but she does the odd behaviors around us as well. She appears more confused at night. All of this adds up to a dog that only has a matter of time before her quality of life is not any good. Having had to make decisions on animals since I was a kid (held my dog to be put down in 7th grade, made the decision on a cat w/ FHLV and a badly injured shoulder in 8th grade, made the decision myself on putting my horse down after a crippling injury when I was in high school, etc.) I have seen these signs before. I am no stranger to this, but it still hurts everytime I see an animal aging because I know what is coming. I just kinda feel like getting the mouth surgery would make her more uncomfortable than if we left it alone. The vet actually told me she felt better about leaving it alone after she learned the story behind the original teethe being pulled because it is in the same area. She was afraid, the original teethe came out due to the same thing. I know you all want me to get it removed and I will if it bothers her or interferes with her eating at all.
Thank you all again oh and Maddie is feeling better today.
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