Ulcerated tumor on shoulder 8 y/o lab. - Page 1

General » Pets

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Ulcerated tumor on shoulder 8 y/o lab.

Posted: 2/15/2015 12:09:56 PM EDT

My yellow lab has a rapidly growing tumor that has ulcerated. Surgery scheduled this Thursday but the tumor has damn near doubled in size since Friday.

I am thinking surgery is a no go and just put her down. Trying to get into vet tomorrow morning.

Anyone have experience with this?

Posted: 2/15/2015 12:31:53 PM EDT

[#1]

Talk to the vet first.
My ex,s mutt had a huge tumer that was starting to rupture and her vet said he could do nothing.
I took him to my vet and he said no problem.Used a laser to remove during surgery and he is fine to this day.Bill was alittle over 400.

Posted: 2/15/2015 5:52:37 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
My yellow lab has a rapidly growing tumor that has ulcerated. Surgery scheduled this Thursday but the tumor has damn near doubled in size since Friday.

I am thinking surgery is a no go and just put her down. Trying to get into vet tomorrow morning.

Anyone have experience with this?

View Quote

Honestly, i can't give you much advice on it without pictures and a history. How old is your lab? Where is the tumor located? Is she spayed, If so at what age (in regards to a possible mammary tumor). A picture and answering these quick questions would be tremendous but i still can't provide a diagnosis (most likely).

Cschelk2 DVM

Posted: 2/15/2015 9:21:30 PM EDT

[#3]

Quote History

Quoted:

Honestly, i can't give you much advice on it without pictures and a history. How old is your lab? Where is the tumor located? Is she spayed, If so at what age (in regards to a possible mammary tumor). A picture and answering these quick questions would be tremendous but i still can't provide a diagnosis (most likely).

Cschelk2 DVM

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
My yellow lab has a rapidly growing tumor that has ulcerated. Surgery scheduled this Thursday but the tumor has damn near doubled in size since Friday.

I am thinking surgery is a no go and just put her down. Trying to get into vet tomorrow morning.

Anyone have experience with this?

Honestly, i can't give you much advice on it without pictures and a history. How old is your lab? Where is the tumor located? Is she spayed, If so at what age (in regards to a possible mammary tumor). A picture and answering these quick questions would be tremendous but i still can't provide a diagnosis (most likely).

Cschelk2 DVM

Thank you for posting. She is 8 years old. She was spayed as a puppy. She is purebred with papers.

Tumor initially popped up basically in a day or so about a month month and a half ago.

It was as big as a tennis ball maybe a shade smaller.

It started to bleed and then ulcerated because she kept messing with it. We have another lab and they play rough.

The ulceration got worse took her to vet. Get said it wasn't critical and surgery could wait just keep it bandaged and change dressing every few days. Dog constantly pulled off bandages and ate gauze pads etc. she would shake from the itch and then scratch it and caused a hot spot that stinks. Saw vet again and got on antibiotics and a prednisone shot last week maybe Wednesday.

Since Friday the mass has become more ulcerated and is growing quickly.

It is not uniform in shape and has bumps.

It is located on upper left shoulder near neck. Hot spot is above it on neck.

I can't photograph it as it is currently wrapped up.

Here is a photo from the web. This is kinda what it looks like

Posted: 2/15/2015 9:25:09 PM EDT

[#4]

I had a 10 year old GSD who had a tumor appear on her neck. Took her to the vet and he removed as much as he could. It had spread elsewhere inside her. It took about 6 months and it went into her brain and we had to put her down. Good luck with the dog.

Posted: 2/17/2015 11:00:35 AM EDT

[#5]

Got home to a bloody mess last night. Got her cleaned up and rebandaged. Vet is doing surgery today.

Posted: 2/17/2015 12:58:39 PM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
Got home to a bloody mess last night. Got her cleaned up and rebandaged. Vet is doing surgery today.

View Quote

Let us know what they determine; i'm assuming they are sending it off for histopathology to determine the type of tumor?

Posted: 2/17/2015 2:00:57 PM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:

Let us know what they determine; i'm assuming they are sending it off for histopathology to determine the type of tumor?

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Got home to a bloody mess last night. Got her cleaned up and rebandaged. Vet is doing surgery today.

Let us know what they determine; i'm assuming they are sending it off for histopathology to determine the type of tumor?

They are holding back a sample to send when we can afford the tests on it.

Posted: 2/17/2015 3:47:30 PM EDT

[#8]

out of surgery, mass weighed 4 pounds. lots of blood vessels lots of cleaning out. only had the skin layer left to close up. installed a drain. she survived it and is waking up now. very likely it will grow back rapidly and no way to get clean margins and be able to close up. skin is tight now.

may grow back in a month or so. if it does grow back rapidly vet recommends putting her down.

no need to send sample off as it is so aggressive.

fingers crossed that she is ok but no high hopes.

Posted: 2/17/2015 10:24:02 PM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:

They are holding back a sample to send when we can afford the tests on it.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Got home to a bloody mess last night. Got her cleaned up and rebandaged. Vet is doing surgery today.

Let us know what they determine; i'm assuming they are sending it off for histopathology to determine the type of tumor?

They are holding back a sample to send when we can afford the tests on it.

How much is the pathology consult?

Posted: 2/18/2015 11:11:54 AM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:

How much is the pathology consult?

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Got home to a bloody mess last night. Got her cleaned up and rebandaged. Vet is doing surgery today.

Let us know what they determine; i'm assuming they are sending it off for histopathology to determine the type of tumor?

They are holding back a sample to send when we can afford the tests on it.

How much is the pathology consult?

$170 surgery was 539

She looked much better and whined for attention last night she light a neck scratch around the cone she ate well and peed. The pain killers really helped her sleep only got up once last night.

I think I threw my back out lifting her into truck though.

Posted: 2/26/2015 5:24:45 PM EDT

[#11]

Update?

Posted: 2/27/2015 3:49:39 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
Update?

View Quote

Still alive. Large incision lots of stitches. drain tubes are out. she is more active which is good and bad, need to stay calm and rest to heal but she is a lab and I have another lab so keeping her calm is like telling water to stop running downhill.

cone is on but she has broken off a chunk of the cone .

Posted: 3/10/2015 8:52:57 PM EDT

[#13]

Stitches are out. No more cone much better dog. Now a lymphnode on neck is swollen. Dr did needle biopsy and sent off for pathology. Came back clean mainly white blood cells, pathologist said likely inflamation from all the shit she has been through. The biopsy was no charge as it was do e as part of a hi def imagining study the pathologist was conducting. Apparantly he is developing remote imaging procedures for pathology so it was nice to save money and further vet medicine which trickles down to humans eventually.

Dog is. Ow on another round of antibiotics. My back hurts from liftinher in and out of truck for these visits, but she is a sweet girl according to vet.

Posted: 3/11/2015 1:39:09 AM EDT

[#14]

So far so good.

Posted: 3/24/2015 7:17:08 PM EDT

[#15]

Antibiotics did not work which means it is a another blood vessel fueled mass.

Pain management is now name of the game. Will give her a nice quiet week or so and then put her down.

She was a sweet stubborn and bitch of an alpha female while we had her. She was a special dog to me and comforted me when I was down.

Had since she was a puppy.

I gave her a good shot with surgery etc but it is time to put her down before this tumor bursts and causes a nasty chain of events for her.

Posted: 3/24/2015 8:29:20 PM EDT

[#16]

Damn. I'm sorry about your girl. 8 is way to young to lose a good dog. Give her a steak for me.

Posted: 4/16/2015 5:46:39 PM EDT

[#17]

I am glad I gave her a week as her mood and spirits have recovered nicely. The mass either shrunk a little or it shifted to a more comfortable place. it has stabilized and she is mostly of pain meds and is in great spirits and is getting into shit and begging from the kids again. I won't put her down until her quality of life deteriorates.

So for now she is still with us and hopefully she keeps improving.

Posted: 4/16/2015 6:31:33 PM EDT

[#18]

Good to hear! Did you give her a steak?

Posted: 4/16/2015 7:27:49 PM EDT

[#19]

not yet it is on the agenda. i dont want to disrupt her food and medicine.

Posted: 4/17/2015 10:51:06 AM EDT

[#20]

Good on you for doing everything possible to help her. You've gone further than anyone would perceive as necessary. I'm sure you would have found support here either way you went. Hope your girl recovers. Sounds like she's a good dog deserving of every possible chance.

Posted: 4/23/2015 5:55:10 PM EDT

[#21]

We have an 8 YO Lab mix that had a golf ball-size mass removed from her shoulder today. Not ulcerated, but what the Doc called a Mast Cell Tumor. Hope your friend continues to get better.

BD

Posted: 4/30/2015 9:37:59 AM EDT

[#22]

She has started to build fluid and swell in her legs and neck and shoulder so it is time.

She comes home from the vet tonight, we say our good byes and put her down tomorrow.