Dr. Phil Zeltzman’s Blog

What follows is to “compensate” for the totally depressing stories I shared a few weeks ago.

No one wants to hear their beloved pet has cancer. Especially when that potential diagnosis is conveyed by multiple professionals: the family vet, sometimes an ultrasound specialist, and yours truly, a board-certified surgeon.

But just because the word cancer comes up in the discussion does not mean that is what your pet has, although in the moment that may be all you hear. When faced with the scary idea of “the C word,” always remember one thing: we don’t know until we get the biopsy results.

The following are 5 stories that support the previous statement. There is always hope until we see the biopsy results.

 Rori, a 12 year old Westie, was diagnosed with a lung mass. Her owner was told that statistically, it would most likely be cancer. Rori underwent open chest surgery (thoracotomy) to have her lung mass removed and biopsied.

After a week of agonizing wait, the biopsy revealed… that the tumor was benign (bronchioalveolar adenoma).

Three other dogs had a similar history:

Purdey, an 8 year old Irish Setter

Max, a 10 year old schnauzer

Schen, a 5 year old golden retriever.

All 3 had a mass in an anal gland. Statistically, such a mass is very likely to be cancerous.

The mass was removed and biopsied.

After a week of agonizing wait, the biopsy revealed… a benign condition called chronic anal sacculitis, i.e. long-standing irritation of the anal gland.

 And then there was Scout, the 9 year old female Lab. After several bouts of “bladder infection” and several rounds of antibiotics, she had an ultrasound of the bladder. A bladder mass was found. Statistically, such a mass is very likely to be cancerous (transitional cell carcinoma).

Scout went to surgery. I removed about one third of her bladder. The bladder mass was removed and biopsied.

After a week of agonizing wait, the biopsy revealed that the mass was… benign! It was a benign polyp.

Moral of the stories

I decided to share these 5 happy stories with you in hopes that you will always remember, should you ever face this situation: we don’t know if a mass is cancerous until the biopsy report says so.

EVERY YEAR, MULTIPLE PATIENTS NEVER GET THE SURGERY THEY NEED, OR THEY ARE EUTHANIZED, BECAUSE VETERINARIANS OR OWNERS ASSUME THAT A MASS IS CANCEROUS.

I am very thankful to these 5 clients that they did not give up on their pets.

And I am very thankful to my referring vets that they did not give up on their patients.

“Everybody” just knew they had cancer. But their owners just loved their pet too much and couldn’t put them to sleep without at least the benefit of surgery.

Of course, I am perfectly aware that the diagnosis could just as easily have been cancer. In fact, it was supposed to be, based on experience and statistics. And we talked about the odds, very openly, when we talked before surgery.

All 5 patients were statistically “supposed” to have cancer. But their loving owners, willing to provide the best possible care for their pet, were not going to give up without a fight.

The goals of tumor removal are:

. to obtain a diagnosis

. improve quality of life (e. g. being able to urinate or defecate or breathe)

. increase life span

. and decrease future risks (e.g. decreasing the risk of spreading of cancer).

Don’t lose hope at the mere mention of the word cancer.

Stay positive and wait for the biopsy report.

Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ, Fear Free Certified

Dr. Phil Zeltzman is a traveling veterinary surgeon in Pennsylvania & New Jersey. An award-winning author, he loves to share his adventures in practice along with information about vet medicine and surgery that can really help your pets. Dr. Zeltzman specializes in orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries for dogs, cats, and small exotics. By working with local family vets, he offers the best surgical care, safest anesthesia, and utmost pain management to all his patients. Sign up to get an email when he updates his blog, and follow him on Facebook, too!

You’ve been told your pet has cancer… the last thing any pet owner wants to hear.

You may feel lost as to what comes next. Try to find out as much as you can from your vet.

Be sure to ask what your pet’s exact diagnosis is. This is an emotional time, so make sure you write down the exact name.

Discuss all of your treatment options. Find out if your pet needs to be seen by a specialist. Ask your vet the best type (Surgeon? Chemo pro? Radiation pro? Nutritionist?) and where to find one.

Don’t be afraid to ask your family vet, your surgeon or your oncologist (cancer specialist) how many other patients they have treated with a similar diagnosis. Arm yourself with all the facts and it will help you decide what you want to do next.

Here is a short list of questions you should ask and have clear answers to. Save it as a handy checklist if you ever need it…

1. What is my pet’s exact diagnosis?

2. How do we know for sure it is cancer?

3. Can we confirm it with specific testing such as a biopsy?

4. What is my pet’s prognosis (aka outcome)?

5. What is the ideal treatment?

6. What are possible complications of the treatment?

7. Who is the best specialist to treat this type of cancer?

8. How many patients like my pet have you seen in your career?

9. How many similar patients have you treated successfully?

10. What’s the goal of treatment? Curative or palliative?

We have many options to help pets with cancer in this day and age. Don’t give up!

Dr. Phil Zeltzman is a traveling veterinary surgeon in Pennsylvania & New Jersey. An award-winning author, he loves to share his adventures in practice along with information about vet medicine and surgery that can really help your pets. Dr. Zeltzman specializes in orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries for dogs, cats, and small exotics. By working with local family vets, he offers the best surgical care, safest anesthesia, and utmost pain management to all his patients. Sign up to get an email when he updates his blog, and follow him on Facebook, too!

Remember Mochi, the 1 year old, 3 pound dwarf bunny who had a shattered femur (thigh bone)?

It was a big challenge because the bone was smaller than a pencil…

But 2 months later, follow up X-rays made me happy. Look at the beauty of Mother Nature in action.

Pre-Op Lateral View

Post-Op Lateral View

2 Month Post-Op Lateral View

Pre-Op VD View

Post-Op VD View

2 Month Post-Op VD View

Dr. Phil Zeltzman is a traveling veterinary surgeon in Pennsylvania & New Jersey. An award-winning author, he loves to share his adventures in practice along with information about vet medicine and surgery that can really help your pets. Dr. Zeltzman specializes in orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries for dogs, cats, and small exotics. By working with local family vets, he offers the best surgical care, safest anesthesia, and utmost pain management to all his patients. Sign up to get an email when he updates his blog, and follow him on Facebook, too!

I recently experienced two tragic examples of how pet owners get in trouble.

I am not sharing these stories to make you depressed, but to inform you so this never ever happens to you.

Broken bone

A pug, let’s call him Pugsley, had a broken shin bone (tibia). The bone was repaired with a plate and multiple screws. As always, I insisted that the owner follow the recovery instructions to a T to ensure a successful outcome.

This included strict confinement in order to protect the repair. This means strict rest to a large crate, on ground zero, with no furniture, no jumping, no running etc.

But those instructions weren’t exactly followed by owners… Pugsley fell and re-broke the bone. The bottom end of the bone was so badly shattered, that it was not fixable. The only option was amputation. The owner, mortified, agreed to sacrifice the leg.

And then, literally minutes before surgery was going to start, they changed their minds and decided to euthanize their dog on the surgery table.

This dog died, for no fault of his own…

It was a very sad day, both for the client and the veterinary team. And for Pugsley…

More broken bones

An un-neutered (aka intact) male, Labrador, was hit by a car.

It is very likely that he decided to follow his instinct – or his nose – after sniffing a female in heat in the distance. He was not on a leash and ran away.

The poor dog was hit by a car and ended up with multiple fractures and dislocations. On one side, the thigh bone was shattered, the pelvis was fractured and there was a dislocation between the spine and the pelvis (sacro-iliac luxation). The opposite side had a hip dislocation.

This meant the dog had no good leg to stand on. Surgery could fix all of these injuries, but at a high price tag…

The owner agonized over the decision, and ended up choosing euthanasia.

It is a well-known fact that non-castrated dogs are more likely to run away because they are attracted to a female in heat. That’s one of the many reasons vets recommend neutering, in addition to multiple other health benefits.

Dr. Phil Zeltzman is a traveling veterinary surgeon in Pennsylvania & New Jersey. An award-winning author, he loves to share his adventures in practice along with information about vet medicine and surgery that can really help your pets. Dr. Zeltzman specializes in orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries for dogs, cats, and small exotics. By working with local family vets, he offers the best surgical care, safest anesthesia, and utmost pain management to all his patients. Sign up to get an email when he updates his blog, and follow him on Facebook, too!

Toga, a 1 year old standard poodle, was playing outside. He slipped on ice and ran into a tree. This apparently benign incident led to severe limping on a back leg.

X-rays confirmed a shattered femur (thigh bone).

I was called in to repair the fracture at Blairstown Animal Hospital in NJ.

We ended up using a big plate, a wire, a pin and 15 screws.

Toga, a 1 year old standard poodle, was playing outside. He slipped on ice and ran into a tree. This apparently benign incident led to severe limping on a back leg.

In order to heal, Toga will need to be strictly confined to a small room, with no jumping, no running and no stairs for 2 months. He also needs to be walked on a leash to eliminate only.

So far, 1 month after surgery, he is recovering nicely at home.

Dr. Phil Zeltzman is a traveling veterinary surgeon in Pennsylvania & New Jersey. An award-winning author, he loves to share his adventures in practice along with information about vet medicine and surgery that can really help your pets. Dr. Zeltzman specializes in orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries for dogs, cats, and small exotics. By working with local family vets, he offers the best surgical care, safest anesthesia, and utmost pain management to all his patients. Sign up to get an email when he updates his blog, and follow him on Facebook, too!