Guest DebSzal Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Gracie had her toe amputated on December 7th due to a tumor. As of December 21st there has been no definate diagnosis. The pathology report could not specify what type of growth it was but did note some decalcification and is doing more testing. Is this unusual? The vet did take a lot of tissue above and below the tumor (in addition to the entire toe). Gracie's recovery has been uneventful. But I am still anxious about the ultimate diagnosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcsheltie Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 That is unusual. I am so tired of medical mysteries I could scream. But I think it is a good sign that it did not come back immediately as something bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greytluv Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 That would drive me nuts. Any way to send it to Dr. Couto? I don't know if that's done or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest speedoketo Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 The decalcification is an unexpected finding, hence the additional testing. You can't expect a pathologist to be able to instantly diagnose things every time with a single sample. Pathology is complex and there are many, many shades of grey between benign and malignant, it's not always so clear cut. Give it time, I hope they find something. I'm sure it's being looked at by an expert in the field though, good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 When there is boney involvement it will take much longer to obtain results. The path Dr needs to decalcify the bone before he/she can continue. I know it's hard to wait. If after receiving the final path report and you still have questions I would send the report to Dr Couto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverbosun Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 The way it was explained to me was that you need certain sequencing in the sample to get a definitive diagnoses. If you have some of the sequence but not enough to meet the criteria for a diagnoses, that is when you don't get a definitive answer. I think of it like DNA. Also the surgeon I recently saw at Angell said there was a 10% chance that a biopsy could come back as inconclusive. Not much help I know, but unfortunately all too common. Quote Barbara Majestic and Ranger "If you want to hear the patter of little feet I'll put shoes on my dogs." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DebSzal Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Thanks sooo much for the good advise. The vet did mention taking time to decalcify the bone for additional testing, but I really didn't understand the process till now. You GT guys are great. So I wait and pray that whoever is reading the results has the wisdom to figure out what is wrong. I'm also trying to accept the possiblity that there is no definative answer. With the holidays, everything is so delayed. I'll repost with the results one way or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.