{"id":1328,"date":"2019-06-04T11:55:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T15:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/?p=1328"},"modified":"2022-07-11T09:51:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T13:51:29","slug":"will-weez-need-an-amputation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/will-weez-need-an-amputation\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Weez need an amputation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weez, a cute 12 year old Cockapoo, had a swelling under her left armpit (aka the axilla).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Weez,<\/p>\n

No signs were present otherwise: she was eating, drinking and acting normally. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since the swelling continued to grow, her owner wisely went to see his family vet. She diagnosed a mass of unknown origin.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The vet (again, wisely), recommended surgery to remove it and biopsy it. <\/span><\/p>\n

The suspicion, based on experience, the location of the mass and its fast growth, suggested that it was likely a cancerous mass (soft tissue sarcoma, nerve sheath tumor, lymphoma etc.). In addition, there was a chance that it involved some important nerves in the armpit (aka the brachial plexus).<\/span><\/p>\n

Since those nerves cannot be sacrificed, we discussed a small possibility of amputation.<\/span><\/p>\n

A physical exam and blood work confirmed than Weez was a good candidate for anesthesia.<\/span><\/p>\n

To my relief, my own exam revealed that there was no need to sacrifice the leg!<\/span><\/p>\n

So we removed the mass uneventfully, and it as sent to the lab for analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Weez recovered smoothly from anesthesia and surgery, and went home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her activity had to be restricted and she had to wear a cone (E-collar) around her beck for 3 weeks. She was also given oral antibiotics and pain medications.<\/span><\/p>\n

One week later, the results of the biopsy were shocking \u2013 in a fantastic way!<\/span><\/p>\n

Amazingly, the mass was benign! It is called a fibroma, which is a non-cancerous tumor, and very unusual in that location.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is still a small risk that the tumor can come back, so I asked Weez\u2019s owner to monitor the area by feeling it monthly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Weez\u2019s owner was ecstatic. He wrote: \u201cCannot be any happier and blessed to have had Dr. Zeltzman operate on our girl. He was able to remove a tumor and save her leg from being amputated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This story reminds me that board-certified cancer specialists (oncologists) and surgeons have 2 similar sayings:<\/span><\/p>\n

* The 3 deadliest words in the English language are \u201cJust watch it\u201d and<\/span><\/p>\n

* The 5 deadliest words in the English language are \u201cKeep an eye on it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What we mean by that is size doesn\u2019t matter when it comes to masses.<\/span><\/p>\n

A tiny mass the size of a grain of rice can be cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bottom line: even though this mass was luckily benign, it is important to remove masses as soon as possible. Have your family vet check your cat or your dog as soon as you notice any lump or bump, so that they can guide you through the next steps.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> So please don\u2019t procrastinate. Removing a mass when it\u2019s small is less invasive, less costly, and gives much better chances for a cure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ, Fear Free Certified<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weez, a cute 12 year old Cockapoo, had a swelling under her left armpit (aka the axilla). No signs were present otherwise: she was eating, drinking and acting normally. Since the swelling continued to grow, her owner wisely went to see his family vet. She diagnosed a mass of unknown origin. The vet (again, wisely), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[209,91,157,48,156],"class_list":["post-1328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fibroma","tag-mass-removal","tag-phil-zeltzman","tag-tumor","tag-veterinary-surgeon"],"yoast_head":"\nWill Weez need an amputation? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Weez, a cute 12 year old Cockapoo, had a swelling under her left armpit (aka the axilla).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/will-weez-need-an-amputation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will Weez need an amputation? 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