Wren Has A Tumor On Her Butt

[dmswartzfager]

*facepalm*

 

She's had this bald spot on her right butt cheek, about an inch below where the hair whorls, if you're lucky enough to have a greyhound with hair on the butt, for oh, probably two years now. It was the size of a dime when I first saw it - kind of shiny purple-y - and while I've been poking and prodding at it and watching it slowly increase in size to about a quarter, I wasn't too worried. But then sometime within the past week, it started looking red and angry, and gained a third dimension to it, so I had Dr. Kortney take an aspirate on Saturday. We both looked at the slides then, and she noticed that the nuclei of the epithelial cells had some variation in size and shape, so we sent the slides out to the pathologist on Monday. Results came back yesterday as I was getting ready to leave work, and the pathologist suggested neoplasia of a type related to nerve sheath tumor/fibrosarcoma/hemangiopericytoma family.

 

I'm not overly concerned, just *facepalm* that of course my dog gets a tumor on her butt. Our anesthetic procedure schedule is jam-packed for the next month, but we did have a single slot open tomorrow, so since I'm the anesthetic nurse tomorrow anyway... we'll remove the spot then.

 

 

 

In other news, Symbra has passed her 16-month ampiversary.

[Batmom]

Hope all goes well!

[Guest IrskasMom]

Deanna sending good Thoughts and gentle Hugs for Wren.

[krissn333]

Aw poor Wren! Hope it's easy to get rid of.

 

And Symbra!!!

[GreyPoopon]

for Wren

 

for Symbra

[TwiggysMom]

Sending good wishes for Wren tomorrow, and big congratulations to Symbra on passing the 16-month mark!

[Charlies_Dad]

Hope all goes well with Wren. And that is awesome to hear about Symbra!!!

[greytpups]

for Wren and for Symbra

Edited June 13, 2013 by greytpups

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Hemangioperiocytoma is difficult to excise with clean margins but Dr. Couto has a protocol for treating it with intralesional 5-FU which has results similar to that of radiation (~2 years without recurrence (if that is what the spot turns out to be). Kebo had one on his leg and is approaching the one year mark since excision and chemotherapy.

[BatterseaBrindl]

[dmswartzfager]

It is a grade II hemangiopericytoma. Margins were not that great; as little as 0.5 cm on one side, but I was aware that the margins would be poor going in, and still opted to have it done at "my" clinic, where I would be doing the surgical prep and anesthetic monitoring (and I scaled/polished her teeth quick when Dr. Kortney was done ) instead of going to a specialist and also paying gobs more.

 

Marcus had a hemangiopericytoma excised shortly before we adopted him; as far as we know, it did not reappear in the 18 months he was with us.

 

Given her age (she's 12) and the fact that it was a fairly quiescent tumor for at least two years (probably more like three or four years) before it got angry, I feel it far more likely we'll lose her to something else before this recurs and becomes a life-threatening problem.

 

Below is a picture of the stinker, who decided to start licking the incision on her butt yesterday. E-collar is not really an option at my house because of the dog door, so I put Symbra's costume jeans on Wren, and that seems to have deterred Wren. The foot bandage (and IV fluids bag cover) is from Wren's decubital ulcer; I thought I'd be able to get away with splinting her foot after she dislocated her toe back at the end of February. I saw the ulcer forming on one side, but missed the ulcer on the inside of her foot until it was too late. Dr. Kortney stitched it shut, but the sutures popped, so we've been trying to just let it heal, using manuka honey and all.... We've had a healthy granulation bed for months, but for some reason, the epithelial layer refused to grow. So, while Wren was out, Dr. Kortney made the ulcer angry and stitched it shut again, and so I've put a modified Robert Jones bandage on it to immobilize the joint where the ulcer is, and hopefully the sutures will hold this time. I'll change the bandage later tonight and take a look.

 

[EllenEveBaz]

Poor Wren -- all those ailments and procedures piled in together -- she does look very sorry for herself. Your feisty girl reduced to wearing mom jeans!

 

Sending congreytulations to Miss Symbra.

 

And smiling at your signature with memories of dear Marcus, Frazzle (a favorite with me), sweet Carrie, and handsome Tyler.

[GreyPoopon]

Poor old girl. I hope she heals quickly and soon feels much better.

[Batmom]

Best thoughts for your girl to heal quickly!!!

 

Pretty girl wearing pants -- .

 

 

 

 

 

FWIW, which is not much, angel Batman would leave a sore (such as one on the butt) alone if I put a Band-Aid on it.

[carronstar]

Heal well, Wren.

[dmswartzfager]

And... the sutures on the foot were ripping out and it smelled infected. argh. I took her to work with me today, and we took a sample for culture and sensitivity testing.

 

Other than the bruising and edema all down her right leg (from the surgery; the left leg is the one with the ulcer), the incision from the tumor looks good, so that's a blessing, at least. I have her pants off for now, and will just keep a real close eye on her and see what she does... and probably put the pants on her while we sleep.

 

Wren thanks you for all the well wishes.

[Guest greytbookert]

oh poor Wren! I hope she is feeling better soon!

[ozgirl2]

Poor Wrennie!! Hope she heals well...

 

And YAY Symbra!!!