Growth On Gums

[kudzu]

also, it doesnt seem to be so much black/pigmented as it is vascular. its like its just a little bruise attached to his gums.

In one of the pictures it actually reminded me of an hemangioma. Some of us have a tendency towards these. And I've a few on & in me without any problems. There can be a problem with bleeding though. Something like that in his mouth I would think would need to come out.

 

Remember what out vet dentist told me. The overwhelming majority of the oral tumors are benign. You need it checked, of course, but the odds are dramatically in your favor.

 

Try nit to worry too much.

[jaym1]

I am being a little more rational about it today.

 

As you are all aware, aside from the emotional attachment that one feels toward any pet, greyhounds are particularly sympathetic because of the hardships that so many of them have to endure before they even get to us. Watching him acclimate to life after retirement has been particularly rewarding -- it was a long and difficult road, but he has recently come into his own, and his real personality has only been apparent for a few months, even though I have had him for almost a year at this point. If he can remain healthy, he will have such a long and happy life ahead of him living with me and his cousin, who i also adopted about 6 months ago. So even though I am aware that this may very well be a benign, or at least relatively non-life-threatening issue, even the possibility of seeing him endure a serious health struggle at this point in his life is difficult to think about.

[tbhounds]

Will be thinking of you tomorrow.

[JAJ2010]

Sending good thoughts. Hope there is great news and it's just cosmetic (hugs)

Edited September 24, 2012 by JAJ2010

[jaym1]

hm. the external mass became much paler, then fell off sometime this evening. it was really hanging by what seemed like a thread the whole time. i hope this doesnt complicate any sort of biopsy.

 

Edited September 24, 2012 by jaym1

[JJNg]

You didn't happen to find the piece that fell off, did you? If you have it, keep it moist (water or saline solution), put it in the fridge, and take it to the vet with you in the morning. If not, they should still be able to biopsy the part of the gum where it was hanging off.

Edited September 24, 2012 by JJNg

[JohnF]

That's actually a good sign, now it looks like a 'regular' Epulis. Show the vet the previous photos. And as mentioned already, if you can find the piece of tissue then preserve it and take it along. Good luck.

[Charlies_Dad]

I agree, that is a good sign. Hope all goes well today.

[GreytNut]

Absolutely show the previous photos to the vet. They will want to know what it looked like.

 

Please keep us posted!

[jaym1]

Just got back from the vet. I had sent her all the photos this weekend, so she knew what it looked like. Like most in this thread, the dark color concerned her. But because that bit of tissue has since fallen off, she was less concerned than she had been from looking at the photos. She suspects that this may have been the result of some sort of trauma -- he is a prodigious chewer of sticks and rawhides, and is pretty rough and tumble at the dog park. We are going to wait a week and see if the remaining swollen part, which is only 2 or 3 mm, goes away or not. If it stays the same, or there is any additional growth, we are going to have it biopsied.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Hope it all goes away without any more problems.

[seeh2o]

Whew! Fingers and paws crossed that it stays gone!