Vet Times

Tag: tumour

  • Don’t remove a mass without knowing what it is

    —

    by

    I came across a paper that advised we should know exactly what a mass is before surgery. The rationale being as follows (Ettinger, 2015): “Do something: aspirate or biopsy, and treat appropriately. “Why diagnose early? Obtaining a definitive diagnosis with cytology or biopsy early and before excision will lead to improved patient outcomes for superficial…

  • When is a lipoma not a lipoma?

    —

    by

    We recently had a case where a freely mobile, soft mass on the ventral abdomen, which had been present for a number of years, had started to get larger. We carried out a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, and I fully expected this to confirm the presence of a lipoma (a benign fatty tumour common in dogs).…

  • Neuro-exams can be very helpful

    —

    by

    A nice six-year-old Labrador with a history of possible trauma, complete forelimb muscle atrophy and proprioceptive deficits was brought to see me. Radial paralysis was high up on the list of differentials, but the poor chap had not shown any response to conservative management. I noticed it had mild anisocoria, slight ptosis and third eyelid prolapse, indicating the…