Katdogs Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 My heart stopped for a moment last night when I thought Jodie had an engorged tick on her top lip/muzzle. Then we saw that it was just a lump contained in the skin, though dry and warty-looking on top, and she's not showing any sign of any illness. I had to go to the vet today to buy cat-food so took Jodie with me for confirmation that there were no problems, it just a wart or injury. The young vet on duty said it was probably a 'skin tag' and nothing to worry about, but she'd do a basic needle aspiration and check under the microscope anyway... I sat for almost half an hour, thinking 'geeze this clinic is starting to get pricy, they're always over-servicing and charging for things we don't need'... Then the young vet finally came back, with the senior vet who owns the practice. The cells were not just skin cells, but a mix of 'gland', 'mucous', 'blood', 'protein' and 'fibre'(?). I know I've got those terms slightly wrong. They seemed very concerned. Apparently there's involvement of a whisker follicle/sac(?). They lost me completely with the science, but the phrase 'potentially a secondary' is burnt in my brain. The potential diagnoses range from just an infection, through to secondary cancer and a short time left with us. Jodie's the most stoic dog and refuses to show pain, but having a lump the size of a pea growing inside her whiskers should be causing a lot of discomfort. She didn't even flinch with the needle - and it's a massive great tube of a thing! She was playing handsies with the vet while he was talking to me, and cuddling into him for a belly rub. So we've come away with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, Panalog ointment, and a week or 10 days to see if it reduces or gets worse, then probably chop it off and send it away for proper pathology anyway. So much for worrying about over-servicing. Now I just hope it's something that can be dealt with, with the minimum of pain to our girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I hope it's benign...you're in my thoughts, I know how hard it is waiting for the pathology results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbreedlover Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 uummm could be just a wart or an ingrowing hair folicle that has got a bit infected. or not........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 (edited) If the aspirate was not conclusive why are they waiting to remove it???? especially if there is question about what the lump actually is.. Edited to add that I really hope it is just something simple like an infection that can be cleared with antibiotics Edited December 29, 2009 by Staffyluv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdogs Posted December 29, 2009 Author Share Posted December 29, 2009 I hope it's benign...you're in my thoughts, I know how hard it is waiting for the pathology results. Thank you! uummm could be just a wart or an ingrowing hair folicle that has got a bit infected.or not........ I was hoping for the first option. They never ever said 'wart' though! They just sounded confused? If the aspirate was not conclusive why are they waiting to remove it???? especially if there is question about what the lump actually is..Edited to add that I really hope it is just something simple like an infection that can be cleared with antibiotics I don't know why they're waiting... maybe just to see if it's an infection that clears? Hope so! Can a tumour be so aggressive that a week makes a difference? The vet did say that if she was his dog, he'd be trying the drugs first, then making a decision about what further tests to do. He also said that if she was insured for a million dollars and the insurance company was making the decisions, the lump would be off for full pathology straight away. How much does lump removal and full pathology cost, anyway? He said it would probably only take a few minutes, even though it's a tricky area to cut through (with all the whisker follicles and nerve endings in that spot, it's like "sago pudding" rather than flesh, he said). Maybe I should have just asked him to just do it? Honestly I'd be happier if we saw our normal vets there. There are two who do most of the consults and one of them is great with dogs, the other with cats, but it feels like they know me and I know how they talk. The two vets on today did their best but just left me feeling a bit confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 If you are as concerned as I am sure you are - and I would be too, I would have it removed and sent off. Yes you might send lots of money for a wart or an infected hair folicle, but really it is your choice how you spend your money and what you choose to spend it on when it come to you dog and her health. If you decided you want it removed go and ask to have it done. My dogs are now insured and when my dog recently sprained a toe it was that fat and sore I was worried it was broken. The vet said we could leave it a few days(in hindsight I would have known it was only a sprain) but that few days meant we would be into Christmas and there fore a week before she could get treatment for a broken toe if it turned out to be that. I got an xray ( without sedation as she is very good to handle) and knew that day is was only a minor problem. So yes having insurance is helpful, but that shouldn't determine how that vet deems suitable treatment for your dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 If it were my dog and the aspirate was inconclusive I would want it removed and sent to pathology for a conclusive diagnosis - but that is just me and my personal experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Well - when I was feeding and playing with both of your dogs at Christmas - there were absolutely no signs of any lumps on Jodie's face - and we had lots of kissy cuddles. I'd be going with the most probable diagnosis of an infected follicle or gland - Jodie could have been rooting around under a bush for her ball and spiked herself on something, and it's just got a bit of dirt in it and gotten a bit of an infection... see how it responds to the AB's and cream... ... and you know that Stephen is great at giving the possible worst case scenarios for things that may be simple - Karen or Julie would have most likely given a better diagnosis methinks - they practice (and see) much more than Stephen does nowadays. Just think - if Jodie had a secondary cancer lump that came up in a matter of a couple of days - she would definitely be showing other signs of an underlying bigger problem - especially for a skin mum who is attentive to her babies as you are. Besides - who did the FNA on the lump? They may have gotten it in the wrong spot... has happened before... When you go back for the followup, try to get Karen or Julie to look at Jodie - they will work out what it is pretty quickly I reckon, and put your mind at rest. T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomez the Norfolk Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Over here the initial aspiration, pathology, and subsequent biopsy yesterday was $650 usd - what they did is basically a punch biopsy which removed the lumpy thing a couple of stitches and a bandage - a lot of the cost was the sedative and pathology... All the best for Jodie, I hope it's nothing too serious for both of you, it really sucks, doesn't it? Gomez sends licks...he can't really wave with his bandage on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomez the Norfolk Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Any more news on the bump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdogs Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 We've just finished the tablets, have been applying the ointment, and had a lovely holiday on the south coast with several trips to the beach and a bit of rabbit and possum poo added to the diet. The holiday is one of the reasons that the vet didn't take off the lump straight away, but I didn't want to advertise on the www that we wouldn't be home for a few days! If the vet had said it was definitely something that needed operation immediately, we would have cancelled the holiday of course. Turns out there was no point getting the lump removed before our holiday because Jodie kept risking her face being smashed in anyway, trying to round up the horses! A Percheron X Clydesdale has an awfully big hoof! Luckily these horses are pretty tolerant of small dogs around them, they're used to it. The lump is slightly bigger, and perhaps a little bumpier looking. So Jodie's booked for lump removal (and a dental) tomorrow, and we'll see what happens then. Fingers crossed they find nothing nasty and we can call it a cosmetic procedure. And just to keep us on our toes, Stevie started another hotspot on the way back from our trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kynta Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 We've just finished the tablets, have been applying the ointment, and had a lovely holiday on the south coast with several trips to the beach and a bit of rabbit and possum poo added to the diet. The holiday is one of the reasons that the vet didn't take off the lump straight away, but I didn't want to advertise on the www that we wouldn't be home for a few days! If the vet had said it was definitely something that needed operation immediately, we would have cancelled the holiday of course.Turns out there was no point getting the lump removed before our holiday because Jodie kept risking her face being smashed in anyway, trying to round up the horses! A Percheron X Clydesdale has an awfully big hoof! Luckily these horses are pretty tolerant of small dogs around them, they're used to it. The lump is slightly bigger, and perhaps a little bumpier looking. So Jodie's booked for lump removal (and a dental) tomorrow, and we'll see what happens then. Fingers crossed they find nothing nasty and we can call it a cosmetic procedure. And just to keep us on our toes, Stevie started another hotspot on the way back from our trip Best wishes for tomorrow. Hope all goes well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 We've just finished the tablets, have been applying the ointment, and had a lovely holiday on the south coast with several trips to the beach and a bit of rabbit and possum poo added to the diet. The holiday is one of the reasons that the vet didn't take off the lump straight away, but I didn't want to advertise on the www that we wouldn't be home for a few days! If the vet had said it was definitely something that needed operation immediately, we would have cancelled the holiday of course.Turns out there was no point getting the lump removed before our holiday because Jodie kept risking her face being smashed in anyway, trying to round up the horses! A Percheron X Clydesdale has an awfully big hoof! Luckily these horses are pretty tolerant of small dogs around them, they're used to it. The lump is slightly bigger, and perhaps a little bumpier looking. So Jodie's booked for lump removal (and a dental) tomorrow, and we'll see what happens then. Fingers crossed they find nothing nasty and we can call it a cosmetic procedure. And just to keep us on our toes, Stevie started another hotspot on the way back from our trip Everything crossed for good results for Jodie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdogs Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 So, Jodie's back with two stitches in her face. She was a bit wobbly but still managed to round up a few old tennis balls we'd missed collecting from around the backyard. The lump was described as 'odd, a one-off, never seen anything quite like it' but 'doesn't look nasty'. There was a little thing inside quite a deep sac of goop which was a bit like a piece of gravel but not quite so hard - they think a foreign body has gone into the base of a follicle, and was 'keratinased', and may have been there for a while, but not sure why it then swelled up so dramatically, especially looking like a skin tag or wart rather than a proper abscess. Maybe it got knocked again. Anyway, they're keeping the lump in formalin so that if anything similar comes along it's available for full pathology. Jodie now has nice white teeth, too! That was a lot more expensive than I expected it to be, considering she was already anaesthetised. They tried to tell us that she'd be ok in an elizabethan collar but then they wussed out on putting it on her (out of our sight, but I know they tried and failed!) and just lent it to us for if we need it. So far so good. Whew, what a relief! I just wish we'd been able to get decent photos of the lump for reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomez the Norfolk Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Good news! Must be the season for unidentified lumps - Gomez's was also the same - we don't know what it was, but it wasn't bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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