Things That Go Bump in the Night

I was just settling down last night with my pet and while running my hand across his back I was horrified to find this lump!! Is it cancer? He won't die will he? Over reacting? Too dramatic? Probably not. Concern is well founded, although the majority of these lumps are classified as benign sebaceous adenomas (warty growths) or lipomas (fatty masses).

There are, however, some other rather ominous growths which left alone could have disastrous results. Unfortunately, a potentially malignant and possibly lethal growth called a mast cell tumor tends to masquerade as a soft mass and is frequently misdiagnosed as a lipoma by clinicians who only give a cursory exam. Quick removal of these masses may be curative! It has become procedure at our office to regard any mass as potentially lethal and perform a small needle biopsy. This consists of simply and painlessly placing a small needle with syringe into the bump and reviewing the contents under the microscope. The results usually allow us to understand how serious the mass is and whether further treatment, if any, would be required. Fortunately, the vast majority are benign but if there is still a question, further treatment usually requires removal.

Two recent advances can make removal less traumatic to the more elderly patient. Cryosurgery (freeze surgery) and laser surgery are starting to become more popular in certain practices. We have chosen cryosurgery quite frequently as a result of it being less expensive than conventional surgery and most importantly with elderly patients, it can be performed without general anesthesia. Rather, a simple local nerve block is sufficient. The procedure is very rapid and the pet goes home in a few hours. Within a month the mass has sloughed and the skin is normal. The financial savings to the client, combined with the avoidance of anesthetic risks, has made this technique quite popular in our practice for certain procedures . As human medicine advances, so too does veterinary medicine, and the outcome generally means a better quality of life for the patient.

Compliments of Michael E. Reinhart, D.V.M.,
Jacaranda Animal Hospital: 941-497-1676.