Vet found lump on Suzie's spleen
I found a lump under Suzie's front leg close to chest. Vet said it was nothing to worry about. That was the news I wanted to hear. He continued to do an annual check up. He was feeling her tummy for an uncomfortable amount of time. Then he looked up and went back down to feel again. He then tells me there is a lump on her spleen. What???!! I am a mess. The vet said not to worry and he wants to see her again in three months. I went on the internet (mistake) to research this and found nothing but bad news. Anyone have experience with this? |
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| Not to scare you but my hound Gideon had a lump on his spleen and it was aggressive terminal cancer. |
| Hi Carol, Sorry to hear this news. Much like each of us has to be our own advocate when it comes to our own health, we need to be the advocate for our furkids. If you're not happy or comfortable with waiting 3 months, tell your vet. Get him to do more testing now. If for no other reason then to calm your nerves. Good luck with Susie and please keep us updated. |
| When you are not comfortable, a second opinion is the best thing to do. I hate the idea of looking back and saying why didn't I.... |
| The vet said that Virginia had an enlarged spleen, then did xrays and saw a mass. We got a second opinion from a specialist. Virginia and her spleen are perfectly fine. No enlargement, no mass. It was worth it to get the second opinion, just to save ourselves the anxiety. I hope that this ends up being the same for you, something of nothing. |
| Thanks all! Mark you are right. Kim I am so happy that virginia is well. I am going to talk with my vet again and get a second opinion. Suzie is the sweetest girl. |
| I would do as Kim and others mentioned. I wouldn't be comfortable with waiting 3 months on any sort of internal mass or lump. Besides driving me nuts, if it is anything serious, waiting 3 months would be bad. Good luck to Suzie.  |
| The vets's office called about blood tests run. All were normal. That's good. I made an appointment with the vet to discuss what's going on. I was so shocked when he told me, I did not ask a lot. Now I have many questions and concerns. |
| Went to vet the morning. He stated it is an enlarged spleen. Could do ultrasound but he feels it will just show what he already knows. He believes the best is to do exploratory surgery, possibly a spleenectomy. All my choices are not good. If I don't do the surgery, she can die from a ruptured spleen or if it is cancer...well.... But it can also be an autoimmune problem and then the surgery is not needed. But no way to tell. Surgery scares me. |
That sounds about right - options are 6 of one, half dozen of another.  |
| How much risk with exploratory surgery? What are the benefits of doing the exploratory surgery? Will the benefits outweigh the risks? What's the risk of doing nothing? What's the benefit of doing nothing? Again, will the benefits outweigh the risks? I would think you'd want these questions answered in order to make an informed decision. |
| The risk of surgery is the normal risk of anesthesia etc. Benefits of surgery....if she has a benign tumor, she can live ok. For how long don't know. If it is cancer, nothing can be done. Then she has maybe two months or so I am told. Risk of doing nothing is...even if benign the tumor can rupture and cause death. Or if cancer ...no good ending here. It's rolling the dice. If it is something else, don't know how long that will progress. Vet believes the surgery is worth it. I hate putting her through it. I am weighing this all. |
| Get a second opinion. Our vet said enlarged spleen. Xray showed enlarged spleen and 'mass'. Ultrasound, done by a specialist, not our normal vet, showed everything was fine. Virginia's blood work was fine, too, just like Suzie's. What are they basing this on? If they didn't do an ultrasound, why do they think that there is a mass? Sorry, I am not trying to be difficult, I am just a bit cynical about vets these days and it seems like they are basing this on little information. Maybe I am missing something, though, in which case just ignore me. |
| Carol--sorry you are facing tough decisions about Suzi. I am with Kim on the second opinion and ultrasound. Our very first sheepie had surgery to remove his spleen and it did not go well. That was a long time ago and now there are so many more options with ultrasound etc. Thinking of you and sending good thoughts for Suzi.  |
| If I'm reading your posts correctly, your vet is making a diagnosis and recommending a very invasive surgery based solely on palpating her spleen. The only other test he has done - her bloodwork - is normal, yet he's talking about a potential cancer diagnosis? Not to mention that, after initially telling you to wait 3 months, now he's telling you this mass can rupture and kill her if they don't operate? What's he going to tell you in Act III? Personally, I'd stick with non-invasive options for as long as possible. Get the ultrasound and have it read by a specialist. That may (or may not!) tell a very different story. I'll also add my voice to the suggestion of a second opinion. If your vet is confident in his diagnosis, he'll welcome the second opinion to confirm it. Good luck! |
| Thank you. I have a lot of faith and trust in this vet, but you all are right, I am getting a second opinion. I too thought it was strange not to do an ultra sound. He said it would not show anything different then what he felt. Also yes first he said wait six months then three. I think he said surgery because I went to him to ask more questions regarding my concerns. So to ease my mind and see what it is he believes surgery would be best. I am calling another vet this morning. I am also going to call a specialist in Orlando |
oesmom2 wrote: Thank you. I have a lot of faith and trust in this vet, but you all are right, I am getting a second opinion. I too thought it was strange not to do an ultra sound. He said it would not show anything different then what he felt. Also yes first he said wait six months then three. I think he said surgery because I went to him to ask more questions regarding my concerns. So to ease my mind and see what it is he believes surgery would be best. I am calling another vet this morning. I am also going to call a specialist in Orlando One thing that I learned through this experience with Virginia was that not all vets are great at correctly positioning dogs for xrays and/or ultrasounds. That is why we went to have the specialist do the ultrasound and read it. Our vet was not at all offended and in fact encouraged us to do this extra step just to make sure. We spent extra money on the ultrasound and specialist, but in the end it saved Virginia from undergoing what would have been pointless surgery. I do so hope you get the same outcome that we did!! |
| I have an appointment Tuesday with a vet I have been to for X-rays etc.. I had the same concern with getting a quality scan done. This vet is well equipped for this. She will be honest with me about going to a specialist. She has done that for me in the past. Today I have written to a few of the top veterinarian colleges. Two have answerd me. Both believe in doing ultra sounds monthly to measure growth, if any, before doing any surgery. Will see after Tuesday if I will go to Orlando for a specialist. |
| Please keep us posted on what the vet says. I am here if you need me....We are all here for you. I know how hard it is to take one step at a time, and not look to 'what if's"...Stay in the here and now. Make a list of all the questions for this 2nd vet so you can get all of your concerns addressed. Don't count on your memory....write everything down..... Hugs to all of you!!!! Val  |
| So glad you're getting the ultrasound! Good luck, and keep us posted. |
| Update: went to second vet yesterday. She did a physical exam, looked at Suzie's records and then did an X-ray. So far it's an enlarged spleen. X-Ray does not show any tumors in lungs or near heart. The spleen did not show any other signs but enlarged. Next Tuesday I am going back for an ultrasound. I had a list of questions two pages long. Vet was patient and answered all. Now another week of waiting for more info. |
| Waiting is so tough! Her blood work and everything else were normal, appetite, behaviour etc.? It is going to be tough to keep fingers and paws crossed for another week but we will be thinking about you! |
| I hate waiting! But you're taking careful steps and making good progress. Sending good thoughts your way. |
| Several years ago Tonks had her first lump- we did extra blood work, and everything came back normal. With bloodwork done, we had what we needed for anesthesia, and we decided to get the lump removed while she was having her teeth cleaned- that way it was anesthesia we would have had her go under anyway. The lump turned out to be nothing. But I had great peace of mind knowing that. The next year she had 3 lumps. We waited for her teeth cleaning time, and had all three removed. One looked very suspicious, and the vet sent it out for biopsy. Still came back normal. Third year- another lump. I'm resigned to the fact that Tonks is a lumpy dog. But I'll always ask that my vet to do the extra blood work, and then get the lumps removed when she has her teeth cleaned. I'd rather know she's fine than worry. Yes the blood work is expensive, but if one of these times it turned out to be malignant and I didn't check it properly, I don't think I would ever forgive myself. Good look with the tests and second opinion; I think you are doing the right thing asking lots of questions! I'll keep my eyes peeled to see how you do, and we'll be thinking good thoughts for you and Suzie!!! |
| Sorry that I missed this earlier about Suzi. Good for you to get another opinion, even though you respect your vet. Most "good" doctors do not mind one bit, and welcome another opinion. Fingers and paws crossed for next week, hopefully its nothing to worry about. |
| Checking in to find out about Suzi--so far so good it seems. Fingers and paws crossed here for a good outcome. Special thoughts for you as you wait. |
| Update... Ultra sound this morning only showed an enlarged spleen. No sign of tumors or other problems. Vet wants to do another ultra sound in three months. Since blood work was normal and she has no signs an illness, vet does not feel there is a rush to do anything right now. |
That's great news!  |
| Great news! |
 That's great news!! |
| Awesome. |
| Great news! Cindy |
| Wonderful news! I wonder if she had some sort of infectious process going on making those enlarged areas on her spleen. |
| Carol: I'm sorry to see that you've been going through this with Suzi. Crossing fingers and paws that the good news keeps coming. I have met Suzi and she is really a sweetheart. |
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