Hi guys, I just got back from the vet.
Two weeks ago Oreo developed what I thought to be a abscess. This weekend the area around it, I thought "swelled" and looked worse. I just got back from the vet, and I found out that she has a really quickly-growing mammary tumor in her groin, that has opened to the outside.
I have no idea what to do. The vet said removal is an option, but it is extremely likely to reoccur, and there are risks with surgery and recovery, as we know. Naturally there are risks with doing nothing, too, because the wound may get infected and the tumor may grow at unpredictable speeds. From speaking with my vet, it sounded as though she would be leaning toward not removing it, because of surgery and recovery risks and recurrence, but obviously it is my decision and she didn't directly say "I wouldn't do it". Also, the tumor is open, and the fear is that, unless all the tumor tissue is removed, the surgical wound wouldn't even close.
She gave me metacam to stop any discomfort and to stop Oreo from picking at it, and she also gave me "trimeth/sulfa" to hopefully prevent infection in the wound. She put an antibiotic paste and a bandage over the hole, hopefully to help keep it moist and medicated until the antibiotics kick in, but Oreo ripped it off and licked the paste off as soon as we got in the car.
This is the full report:
Urogenital/Vent: ruptured mammary tumor lower right mammary gland; large cavitation with cellulitis, swelling, resness, and caseous material. Mass and surrounding area are painful to touch.
Oreo has a mammy tumor....we can pursue surgery to remove the mass, but these have a high rate of recurrence. There is a higher risk of anasthesia in smaller patients. If we are not able to obtain completely clean margins, there is a chance the surgical site will not heal. There is also a risk of post-operative infection, and self-mutilation/removal of the stitches.
The other option is palliative care. We can keep her on pain medications and antibiotics to try to keep her from being in pain. We will need to keep the tissue clean, medicated, and covered as much as possible. As the mass grows, we may have to make decisions about her quality of life.
I imagine that most of you would say to try and remove the tumor, but I'm scared to do that. However, I'm also scared to just keep her like this with an open wound she is picking at(hopefully she will stop...). If the tumor wasn't ruptured, and if it was, say, in her armpit or more above, I wouldn't be as worried to remove it, or keep it because I have seen giant tumors on very happy rats....
I always go in with no idea how bad it is. I always expect a "abscess" or, in NoName's case, "bloating"....
Two weeks ago Oreo developed what I thought to be a abscess. This weekend the area around it, I thought "swelled" and looked worse. I just got back from the vet, and I found out that she has a really quickly-growing mammary tumor in her groin, that has opened to the outside.
I have no idea what to do. The vet said removal is an option, but it is extremely likely to reoccur, and there are risks with surgery and recovery, as we know. Naturally there are risks with doing nothing, too, because the wound may get infected and the tumor may grow at unpredictable speeds. From speaking with my vet, it sounded as though she would be leaning toward not removing it, because of surgery and recovery risks and recurrence, but obviously it is my decision and she didn't directly say "I wouldn't do it". Also, the tumor is open, and the fear is that, unless all the tumor tissue is removed, the surgical wound wouldn't even close.
She gave me metacam to stop any discomfort and to stop Oreo from picking at it, and she also gave me "trimeth/sulfa" to hopefully prevent infection in the wound. She put an antibiotic paste and a bandage over the hole, hopefully to help keep it moist and medicated until the antibiotics kick in, but Oreo ripped it off and licked the paste off as soon as we got in the car.
This is the full report:
Urogenital/Vent: ruptured mammary tumor lower right mammary gland; large cavitation with cellulitis, swelling, resness, and caseous material. Mass and surrounding area are painful to touch.
Oreo has a mammy tumor....we can pursue surgery to remove the mass, but these have a high rate of recurrence. There is a higher risk of anasthesia in smaller patients. If we are not able to obtain completely clean margins, there is a chance the surgical site will not heal. There is also a risk of post-operative infection, and self-mutilation/removal of the stitches.
The other option is palliative care. We can keep her on pain medications and antibiotics to try to keep her from being in pain. We will need to keep the tissue clean, medicated, and covered as much as possible. As the mass grows, we may have to make decisions about her quality of life.
I imagine that most of you would say to try and remove the tumor, but I'm scared to do that. However, I'm also scared to just keep her like this with an open wound she is picking at(hopefully she will stop...). If the tumor wasn't ruptured, and if it was, say, in her armpit or more above, I wouldn't be as worried to remove it, or keep it because I have seen giant tumors on very happy rats....
I always go in with no idea how bad it is. I always expect a "abscess" or, in NoName's case, "bloating"....
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