Dog Spleen Removal – Splenectomy Surgery
The spleen is one of those organs of the body that most people have heard of but many are uncertain where it is and what it actually does. Although it has several important functions, dogs can manage to live a normal life without a spleen if it has to be removed. The most common reasons for removal (splenectomy) are if the spleen has ruptured (usually after a road traffic accident), or if it develops a tumour. Both of these can lead to very sudden illness which needs fast diagnosis and treatment to save the dog’s life.
Biggles the Springer Spaniel has recently had his spleen removed and is recovering well. Although I am not his vet, I helped to care for him during his convalescence, and with his owner’s permission, I would like to tell his story.
Biggles is a typically lively spaniel, who enjoyed a normal Sunday romping around with his companion. On the Monday morning, his owner found him collapsed and weak and had to rush him straight to his vets.
Diagnosing a Tumour of the Spleen
After examination, blood tests and x-rays, his problem was diagnosed as a tumour of the spleen and Biggles was operated on the same day. Unfortunately, his tumour was large and ulcerated which meant Biggles had lost a lot of blood from the circulation into his tummy. As a result, he needed several days of intensive care including fluids by drip and drugs to prevent vomiting and infection.
After several days of hospitalisation at the vets, Biggles began to feel so much better that the challenge was to stop him from doing too much. After major surgery he had to take it very easy, which was hard for him. Very short walks on a lead, away from his boisterous friends, were all that he was allowed during his recovery, but now he is beginning to get back to normal gradually.
Why is the Spleen Important?
So, where is the spleen and what does it do? The spleen is situated on the left side of the abdomen, close to the stomach. It is smaller in size than the liver but larger than a kidney. It is sometimes described as being shaped like a slipper because it is long and narrow with curved borders and has a narrower part in the middle. It is a very vascular organ, meaning it is full of blood vessels and blood storage areas.
The main jobs of the spleen are to act as a blood storage reservoir, to make red blood cells, to filter out and remove old blood cells and to fight infection as part of the immune system. Luckily, these jobs can be carried out elsewhere if the spleen has to be removed.
What to Look Out For
If a tumour develops on the spleen, it may grow very slowly but sometimes the symptoms can become apparent very suddenly, as in Biggles’ case. Symptoms can include tiredness, a swollen belly, anaemia (seen as pale or white membranes in the mouth and eyes which are normally pink) and loss of appetite. If the spleen is ruptured by an accident, or if a tumour bleeds heavily, the symptoms will be shock, collapse and possibly death.
The treatment of choice for a ruptured spleen or a tumour on the spleen is surgical removal of the whole spleen. If there is a tumour, checks will be made as far as possible to make sure that it has not already spread to other organs. If there is no evidence of spread, the spleen is removed and a sample of the tumour sent to a laboratory for microscopic examination (histology). This will help to decide if the tumour is benign or malignant, and whether any further treatment such as chemotherapy might be needed.
Not all tumours of the spleen are malignant. One of the more serious types is haemangiosarcoma, which can spread aggressively to other organs. Others can be local to the spleen and benign in character.
I am delighted to say that Biggles showed no signs of tumour spread at the time of his operation, and his histology results were good. There is every chance that Biggles will need no further treatment and will soon forget the whole experience as he continues to enjoy his life.
You may also be interested in;
- Ruptured cruciate ligaments in dogs – which is the best surgery?
- What happens when the vet’s removing a lump?
- Life and Death – GDV or bloat
- What happens when your vet does an ‘Ex Lap’?
- Could my pet have internal bleeding?
Discussion
My beautiful 2-year-old whippet/lab cross called Nala sadly passed away today.
A week ago she stopped eating and began to have low energy and on Wednesday she started to vomit bile multiple times. We had two visits to the vets during that week and they suggested we take her back so they can take scans and bloods.
So yesterday we did just that. They called us and said they have seen something on the scans and will need to do surgery. They found a tumour mass on her spleen and asked us if they could continue and remove the mass but advised there could be serious complications. As risky as it was, we knew she would continue to not eat and be sick so said yes. To our relief, they confirmed that she made it through surgery and she will be coming home, also that they removed the spleen and will send it to the lab to see if it was cancerous or benign. I spent all of last night reading your lovely comments and it gave me hope that there was a chance she would be fine.
However, at 7:45AM this morning, Nala sadly passed away at home, seemingly peacefully and in no noticeable pain. Can’t be sure why, but I can only assume it was internal bleeding from the surgery. So now the result of the tumour does not matter so we have asked not to know.
We do not regret having the surgery at all, but we are so heartbroken and devastated that this potentially cancerous process has killed our baby way too soon. The vet told us that she thought it looked cancerous, so for our own peace of mind, we will run with that. Nala went from being a normal crazy two year old dog to being gone in a week. I cannot yet process that she will not have the long life she deserved with us. I suppose we are so lucky she could come home with us and lay to rest where she feels the most love and comfort.
We will miss our Nala so so so so much 💜💔
Nala – 30/04/20 – 14/04/23
Hello . I took my 12.5 year old lab to the vets for a routine check up and vaccination. At annual check bet said she could feel something unusual I’m his abdomen so suggested blood work scans and xray. We had all that done. And they have come back with his spleen is enlarged but they cannot see why and cannot see if there is any mass or anything inside of it. There are no signs of bleeds or rupture. Advice was to keep an eye on him and return in two weeks for another examination and weight check. Has anyone else had similar. Or heard of why enlarged but they don’t seem to know why. He seems fine in himself. Eating drinking and walking all normal. Thanks
Hi Emma,
We are in a similar situation with our almost 15 year old Shih tzu. His gums are a bit pale and his red blood cells flagged low. I have read that with anemia, the spleen can sometimes swell. Hope all goes well for you and your situation
There are a number of causes for an enlarged spleen; the most common is a growth on or in the spleen, but some medications and other conditions can also cause “splenomegaly”. If all the initial tests came back normal, that’s a good sign (the most common splenic tumours are very aggressive and usually have a characteristic “hollow” appearance on an ultrasound scan). I think a “wait and see” approach is quite reasonable: if the spleen has grown further in 2 weeks, then that is suggestive of an active pathology that needs investigation and/or removal. Good luck with him!
Very helpful site. Highly recommended.
3 1/2 weeks ago our chocolate lab had been a bit lethargic, on and off her food (which is unheard of), drinking more than usual, and had vomited a couple of times.
She seemed to be bloated also.
After vet assessment and ultrasound, masses have been discovered on her spleen.
We were referred for surgery but surgeon wanted us to see the oncologist instead.
Heart scan came back clear.
Following blood tests and test of the fluid they decided it’s not an emergency but should happen. She was scheduled for surgery the soonest we could book her in.
She has a hugely distended stomach and had 3.6L of fluid removed 3 days ago but that had already built up again. She also has a dry cracked nose that has bled a little from one nostril which concerns me (awaiting a call back from our vet).
I’m frustrated by the time it’s taken for her to get to surgery.
Although 14 she is usually extremely healthy and energetic. She was an epilepsy support dog for 10 years so we’ve only had her for 2 1/2 years.
Anyone else had these symptoms and such extreme fluid build up and a positive diagnosis post surgery?
Discovered that Greta, my 11 year old German Shepherd had a huge tumor, likely on her spleen, but they couldn’t tell which other organs were involved. Local vet wanted me to immediately drive her to a city 4+ hours away, by that time in the dark, because of the immediate danger of it bursting, when she would bleed to death. Due to breed and age, odds were also high it would be cancerous. Vet didn’t feel that locally, the proper imagining equipment was available, nor was a competent surgeon, under the circumstances. So…off we went to a fancy ER vet hospital in another state! They were expecting her, scanned her, etc., etc., and within a couple of hours she was in surgery. This Vet also felt it highly likely cancerous, but at best there was perhaps a 30% chance it wasn’t. That night, in addition to her spleen, they removed a 9 pound tumor! The good news was that it hadn’t bled, it came out in one piece, and he couldn’t see that any other organs were really affected. Hopeful! That was over a week ago. Today, got the joyous word that it was benign, so it was all worth it…Greta, although senior for a GS, is in excellent shape otherwise, and I am looking forward for maybe another few years of enjoying my loyal bodyguard! Had it been cancerous, we could have bought her a little more time with chemo, but that is not available where we live, either.
Hi,
Our 12 year old Dane had a large splenic mass rupture about 3 weeks ago. We decided to have the spleen removed at the emergency vet. Nothing concerning was seen on the liver or the heart during surgery. She has recovered well. We received the histopathology and it came back as a hematoma, benign. When we followed up with our regular vet yesterday she was concerned that only two slides were sent in for the pathology study. We were so happy but now we feel very uncertain. The doctor at the emergency vet feels confident that it is hematoma, our normal vet has her doubts because the entire spleen was not studied. The pathologist also said the entire spleen would be best practice in their notes but diagnosed a hematoma and saw no sings of hemangiosarcoma in the sections provided. My question is, should we be doing further diagnostics? The spleen was not saved so further direct study is not possible. Our vet says there is no blood test to help confirm the benign diagnosis. We don’t know what to think. I would love to hear your opinion. Thank you so much!
Hello. There is a new canine cancer screening blood test If you and your vet are concerned that the pathologist only did two slides, this may help. You may want to discuss your situation with them through customer service.
That is really tough. As your vet says, there aren’t really any blood tests that can be done to find out what’s going on with these splenic masses: the only real option is waiting until a secondary tumour (if there are any) grows big enough to be detected. One fairly non-invasive approach might be to consider a whole abdomen ultrasound, but you might need to wait until the abdomen has fully healed.
However, in most cases, malignant tumours in the spleen are REALLY malignant, and spread rapidly through the whole organ. If there weren’t any cancerous cells in the samples checked, there’s a very good chance there weren’t any there at all!
Good luck with him – getting a Dane to 12 is an achievement!
Hi. I just wanted to share that not tumors in the spleen for older German Shepherds are malignant. My 8 year GSD had a very large tumor in her spleen that was discovered on an ultrasound I had done for possible hip issues when she underwent extensive dental surgery. I read everything I could about Hemangiosarcoma. Luckily I stumbled upon an article that included a test developed by Tufts University vet school that could predict the possibility that a tumor was malignant called the T-Stat. A vet needs to put in all the information and I had to do a quite expensive blood test but it was well worth it since I would not have put my dog through a splenectomy if there was a high probability of it being cancerous. Since I got a value of 32% I went ahead and did the surgery. Results came back today. Benign!! Yes!
Spleen and tumor removal for my 13 year olmy fevidiond fog
I just found out my 8yr old Shepherd-Pronto has a huge tumor on his spleen. The X-ray looked as if it wasn’t on the liver. We’re doing an ultrasound tomorrow with most likely surgery on Friday. I just read about the t-stat test. I’m so happy to hear your story & that your pup is ok. 🐾 Beth
My 9 year old dog Bodhi has torn his ACL. When X-Rays were taken, the radiologists incidentally found a growth on his spleen. After an ultrasound, we are pretty sure the tumor is benign as it appears to be solid. I know that there is risk of the tumor rupturing regardless of it being benign, but is the risk high enough that we should consider removing the spleen? Reading mixed reviews about there being complications/no complications in splenectomy. But is there a chance that this wouldn’t cause any problems in the future? He is his perfectly normal self currently so it seems hard to justify giving him a major surgery. The vet said the tumor is relatively small at about 3.7 cm.
Spleen tumours can indeed be benign, and solid tumours are less likely to be one of the more common malignant ones (haemangiosarcoma). However – splenic tumours in general tend to be quite unpredictable beasts and can do things that aren’t expected. I think it’s worth talking to your vet about the risks, and potentially even discussing the options for a referral to a surgical specialist.
In my experience, “bad” splenectomies tend to happen when the operation is an emergency, rather than a fully controlled elective procedure. As you say, no surgery is without risk – but I don’t think that leaving the tumour is necessarily entirely risk free either.
It’s a tough call, good luck!
Our 12-year-old lab had his spleen removed almost two weeks ago. He was his usual self then all of a sudden didn’t want to move, which was very unusual as it was dinner time & he is normally under our feet. We knew something was wrong straight away and at 7 pm we rushed him to the after-hours vet. He was in a very bad way, the vet had to sedate him to check him. She gave us the bad news and our options. We have pet insurance so it wasn’t option number 1. His spleen had ruptured due to a tumour & he was bleeding internally. After several blood transfusions and a sleepless night for us, he pulled through the surgery where his spleen & a smaller tumour attached to the peritoneum were removed. Luckily, the ultrasound did not detect spread into his lungs. We had to transfer him to our normal vet for level 5 hospitalisation care for a day – lifting a 40kg lab in a car was a task!. A week later the histology results arrived & the tumour was benign
This page has been really helpful
Hi Dr. Harris – any thoughts on how effective it would be to proactively remove the spleen in older, high risk dogs? We have a 9 yr old golden retriever and with a 20-25% of him ending up with this cancer in an organ that is not particularly critical to have, I’m wondering why no one had considered a proactive splenectomy?
You got this Finnegan!
We will be going for long walkkos in no time. ❤️❤️❤️
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
There is lots of data from humans that removing the spleen negatively impacts immunity. In dogs, we don’t have that information, rather than knowing that it’s fine. A splenectomy is also a big op with a significant chance of complications, and given that most splenic tumours are also present in the liver (and we don’t know which comes first – probably both more or less simultaneously as haemangiosarcoma is a tumour of blood vessels), it’s not clear how much benefit this would be. It’s something we’d love to have more information on, but at the moment, the risks are high and the benefits are unclear!
Hi, our dog is just four day post surgery for spleen and mass removed. No rupture. She is doing well but her front paws are swollen, seems like water retention, will be contacting our vet but wondered if this is common after such surgery? She is eating and drinking well, going to toilet without issues…. Thanks
It’s not uncommon, and it’s usually because these dogs need massive amounts of intravenous fluids to keep them stable in surgery: that means 2 IV catheters, one in each leg. Once the IVs are out, the veins sometimes take a week or so to heal properly, giving fat paws in the meantime. I would mention it to your vets though, just in case there’s something else in her history or anaesthetic record that might suggest something more sinister such as kidney issues.
My heart brakes for every single puppy that’s going thru this. My 12 yr old maltipoo suddenly fell sick on Thursday night. He was shaking and whining and threw up once. My first thought was his belly is a little upset but during the night I noticed he was very distressed, he couldn’t fall asleep because of the pain. Next morning he had problems going up and down the stairs and he didn’t want to go for his usual walk. This really worried me because even if he is 12 yr old he is very energetic and sprints up and down the stairs. I took him to the vet on Friday had some bloodwork done, they gave him a shot to settle his stomach and went home. I was expecting he would feel better by the next morning but he was actually getting worse. Saturday morning 8am I was back at the vet and this time I asked for an X-ray. It turned out that he had a large tumor probably attached to the spleen that ruptured and he had internal bleeding. You couldn’t see exactly what was going on on the X-rays. I was shocked, my heart just dropped. Not only it’s a tumor but it might be cancer and I have to take a decision.
For me putting my dog down was not a choice, I have to give him a chance. I chose exploratory surgery, praying it’s not cancer and praying it’s operable if it is. Surgery was scheduled for Monday.
I cried my heart out thinking that I might only have one day with my baby. I started reading everything online and after reading all the bad news and life expectation I came up on a few studies where 2 holistic Chinese supplements may prolong your pets life even without chemo. The supplements are I’mYunity and Yunnan Bayao. I’m going to attach one study here https://www.hindawi.com/journals/crivem/2018/6160980/#introduction
After reading this story and many positive reviews on ImYunity website I am very hopeful this will work.
—
My dog is in the hospital and looking pretty good today after having a major surgery.
I hope this info helps somebody 🙏🏼
It would be very exciting if that study could be replicated. However, I’m afraid to say I must urge caution: reading the paper, this is one dog who had the most benign type of haemangiosarcoma there is, and who did have a round of chemo first.
Just be careful with imports and regulations, as in some cases what you get isn’t what you ordered… And ALWAYS ALWAYS tell your vet what supplements your dog is on, as they can react really badly with some very routine medicines we use.
Hi everyone, I am here today in despair as my my 3y/o Belgian Malinois, Neo was diagnosed with a spleen tumor. He is getting surgery today, please advice me for the post operation lifestyle. And finally please send prayers for my ‘world’ I really hope he gets back on all 4 soon!!
My Malinois had 2 infections in 2 months and the bet did an ultrasound and found a tumor on the spleen and blood pockets. He was put on antibiotics and for 3 days he was playing. All of a sudden he couldn’t stand or walk and didn’t pee for over 24 hrs. My heart breaks
Just found this and thanks to all for sharing their stories. My very active and healthy 11 year old loveofmylife Lab collapsed Tuesday and we rushed him to the vet. Blood work was mostly normal, no red flags. Radiographs showed fluid in the abdomen such that a good view of the organs was obscured. Ab tap showed blood. Had a specialist come in to our small town early the next morning to do an ultrasound, and found a ruptured spleen, a possible cyst on one kidney, mild serrations on the edge of his liver. I was hopeful surgery would be a good option, but my vet (whom I trust and who has known this dog most of his life) said he thought the spleen was probably cancerous and had metastasized. Also that surgery would only buy at most a month or two, and as others here posted, half that time would be in recovery mode from the operation etc.
So I brought him home without any confirmation of cancer, and the next day he was up, alert, eating and drinking, and acting very normal. His appetite is coming and going but he’s never been a big eater.
My questions now are how to help him through this transition, and of course the cruel question of whether he can survive a ruptured spleen without surgery?
Has anyone had a dog recover from this without surgery?
Does anyone know any palliative choices that can ease their struggles — like CBD oil or ???
I thought he had at least four more years, his mom made it to 14 with more significant issues. He is my heart so losing him turns me from whole to nothing but hole.
I lost my beautiful Chloe on October 20th. She had her spleen removed in May. She had cancer. I chose to give her chemotherapy pills at home. She seemed normal and I thought we Would beat this cancer. I changed her diet, and ended up cooking her food..she loved it and I changed the bowl I was feeding her in to stainless steel. She was so normal and I was breathing a sigh of relief. She saw the oncologist every 4 to 5 weeks. She was amazed at her health..everything seemed so normal. She never complained about anything..she loved to play with her tennis balls and ran like a deer. She was half yorkie and half border collie. She was beautiful. The day she died was a normal. She knew when she was to get her meds and took them without hesitation. I fed her at 5.15pm and she wanted to go out and play ..so we did. I bounced the ball a few times and she caught them. Then for some unknown reason, she went over in the grass and collapsed ..it was the worst day of my life. She was crying as she was dying I was hysterical in trying to save her. I picked her up and ran into the house. She was 35 pounds..dead weight. My husband called the vet and we rushed to the office. She tried to come back to life..that was awful. I am cradling her In my arms. They were waiting in the parking lot and took her from me. We were both hysterical. The vet was only 10 minutes from my house. The vet did everything she could but she died In my arms. I still don’t know what happened. My vet said she could do an autopsy but it wouldn’t bring her back. That was in October
And I am still broken hearted. I have had pedigree dogs my whole life. I found her at the shelter when she was one month old.. I loved her better than all the others. She was nine. She had so much compassion for people and other animals..she was a gift. I wish I knew what happened. I bought the book “The Dog Cancer Survival Book”..which helped me in many ways.. I would suggest it for anyone In that situation..it answers a lot of questions. As far as removing that spleen.. I wonder if I did the right thing…
Please read my review above. People had great results with these supplements without surgery as well (thats unless the tumor didn’t rupture)
Ruptured spleens due to tumours have almost exactly the same survival rate without surgery but with medical care (e.g. intravenous fluids) as they do with surgery.
In terms of palliative care, be led by your vet – there are medications that can improve quality of life, but I would be very cautious with CBD as its effects in dogs are as yet poorly understood; only use it in accordance with your vet’s directions.
My dog went thru this 2 hrs ago . He had a tumor on his spleen .surgery went ok. What do expect with him now do I have to change his diet ? Do I need to take away his toys hes a huge pitbull and tears every toys no matter what it is sometimes he swallows the small pieces is that gunna hurt him with out a spleen?
I wouldn’t be too worried about it; the risk of infection from a toy is pretty much the same whether he licks it or swallows it!
I’d be more careful about making sure his vaccines are always up to date, and that you take care around potentially unvaccinated dogs and wildlife.
My 12 yr St.Bernard has tumor on her spleen and couple more smaller ones on her liver and idk what to do. I’d there any point in getting spleen and bigger one removed? Vet said it probably wouldn’t buy much time and then she’d be in recovery from surgery. I don’t want her last days to be in pain or go through surgery for nothing but I feel like I should be doing something to try help.
I’m so sorry to hear that 🙁
There was some research a while ago that suggested that in haemangiosarcoma (probably the most common spleen tumour), there was no difference in survival time with removal of the spleen compared to palliative treatment. The biggest difference was in quality of life, as the dogs who had surgery had to recover from it. There’s no right answer here, but I think it’s probably time to think about how you can keep her as happy and comfortable as possible for as long as possible.
I am so glad I came across this email. I have a 12.5 year old Rottweiler with three legs-his name is also Boomer. His stool had blood in it yesterday and after xrays (they found old bb gun pellets all over his stomach – they couldn’t tell how old though as I’ve just had him over 1.5 years and he had 5 previous owners) and ultrasound they determined his spleen needs to come out but they do not have blood on hand if something goes wrong during the process. There is a speciality clinic an hour away that does but I haven’t heard the best things. His surgery is scheduled tomorrow but there isn’t much they can do if its spread. I am now wondering if I should take him there just in case something happens during surgery? I can’t help but think I should have caught this sooner but he was eating, drinking, acting normal. He just had three benign tumors removed 3 weeks ago but they were on two leg muscles and since he already has limited mobility they needed to be removed so I’m worried about him going under anesthia so soon since. I appreciate everyone sharing their opinions it defintely gives me hope!
There are risks to surgery – but there are also risks to not going ahead with it. If it hasn’t spread, surgery is the best option for him (the vast majority of spleen masses are malignant); however, one study did find that in advanced splenic tumours, there was no difference in long term survival rate between removing a ruptured tumour and just treating the blood loss.
I think this is one where you’ll have to make the call: if you’ve caught it early enough, you could buy quite a bit more time, if not, there could be complications.
My 10 year old lab named Boomer had his spleen removed last night . In the previous week he had stopped eating so I took him into our vet and they did an xray which showed a possible mass so an ultrasound was scheduled for Tuesday which confirmed many masses on his spleen at this time we decided surgery was the way we were going as I wasn’t going to put him down without trying everything , during his surgery they informed me he has the same masses on his liver but I decided to proceed anyways as even if he only has has short time I want him comfortable and able to eat . So , so far so good today being day 1 post surgery he’s eating and drinking and sleeping lots , and very happy to be home and we are happy to have him back here , for however long that might be .
Hey how’s boomer doing? My 12 yr st.Bernard has tumor on spleen and liver and idk what to do. The tumor or spleen is the bigger one.
My thanks to everyone here for sharing their stories! Reading these has really helped me to stay informed when my dog was diagnosed with a splenic mass. We have a 9+ year old German Shepherd and he is the light of our lives. About a month ago he hesitated one day when I gave him his lunch. I knew in my gut that something was really wrong because this dog loves food more than just about anything. We went to the vet and they found the mass, large but not yet bleeding. Surgery was scheduled in three days. By the next night he was vomiting fecal matter and refusing to eat anything at all; we went back to the doc and they gave him the strongest anti-nausea meds they had but couldn’t do anything more at that point because the surgery was coming up. Somehow we made it through the next two days… my heart broke a hundred times to see him suffering. I was also worried that since it was probably cancer – because the odds of it being benign were not great- surgery was a bad decision since I didn’t want his last weeks/months to be a painful slog through recovery. Well, we went ahead with it and he came through the surgery with flying colors and was home the next day, wagging his tail and eating normally. A little sleepier than normal but hey, he’d been through a lot! I don’t know how to describe it other than to say he was literally blissed out… maybe the doggie version of a near-death experience and it’s effect on his psyche? Even knowing that he probably would be sick again before too long, it was so gratifying to see him that way and it helped me find a sense of peace. Then two weeks later we got the joyful news that it wasn’t cancer after all and that he is on track for a full recovery!
I guess my takeaway from this experience, and what I want to tell everyone else, is that the surgery was 100% worth it and my fears that he would suffer further from the decision to have the splenectomy were very much overblown. Dogs are such resilient creatures!
Sending thoughts of love and comfort to everyone else reading this who is going through this painful process….
Nancy..you are 2 years down the road from your post & the spleenectomy .
My 10 yr old Lab goes in this week for the removal. How was your dog
after surgery and what is recovery like?
I am so nervous about the odds of survival..
so greatful to see this post…trying to make the same decision with the little knowledge I’ve got. MsJack, my McNab Border Collie is my emocional support animal for 12yrs. Her and her sister are my entire world…I am alone. I have to make the call for surgery asap: I’m praying that I make the right call…So I’m reading everything I can trying to sort it all out…I would do anything to save her, as long as she would have some quality of life…I can’t be selfish.
Hi. How is your German Shepard doing today?
Going through this with my 12 year olds golden retriever. These messages give me hope. Thank you all for sharing.
My dog pepsi was 13 years old when he had a seizure i rushed him to the vets the first one that opened earliest as they said seizures are not emergencies i was very distraught when he got examen he was his gappy little self and bounce and she felt the mass it was a large tumour on spleen they took exams and bloods and told me they had to euthanize him that day if it ruptured i payed 680 euro and came out with a dead dog 20 mins later he was so prefect to this day im upset why if he was so full of life and happy that no surgery was done they said that u can’t remove the spleen when I come home and its to late it said it can be removed id have paid thousands to save him just a year gone now im so annoyed as bouncy as a young pup and jumps like a deer tru grass a whippet crossed with the floppies of labrador Staffin mix so sad
My male Tri-Paw Shepherd had his spleen and a large tumor removed on March 18th, 2021. We are still waiting on the biopsy results. His recovery has been going rather well for the past few days. Today, however, he is acting clingy, lethargic and he still has not peed yet today. He did poop but no pee. he keeps licking his penis. Is this something that needs immediate attention or should I wait to see what happens through the day
If he’s trying to pee, but can’t – that’s an emergency, However, given his history, I’d be inclined to get him looked at anyway, as that does sound like there might be an issue. Hopefully nothing serious, but I would get it checked.
I have a 7 year old French Bulldog and I took him into the ER for labored breathing this past weekend. The labored breathing was caused from minor lacerations to his nose and mouth from playing outside with his big Lab brother. Even though the vet felt he had found the source of the issues and it was just pain related from the lacerations they asked if I would like x-rays just to rule out anything else. I’m a veterinary technician so I of course allowed the radiographs and just by sheer luck unrelated to his visit they found a large mass on his spleen. This ER visit allowed them to find it before it could spread to other organs & before it had a chance to rupture. I meet with the oncologist on Thursday to go over and schedule my boys splenectomy. Your stories have made me very hopefully for a positive outcome for my sweet boy! He has been my rock for 7 years and I’m currently 9 months pregnant awaiting my first human baby. I was devastated at the news of this splenic mass because for 9 months I have blissfully dreamt of Biggie with his little human brother. Thank you all for the renewed hope that his prognosis can be good!!!
Our dog had her spleen removed about 4 weeks ago. She initially collapsed but after about 5 minutes was back normal, blood work was normal. A couple days later we noticed bloody, dark urine. She had trouble walking but she is also arthritic. Her tumor was benign and her recovery was fast. Now she started having some accidents in the house, which she never did before. I am going to bring this up to the vet to see what they say.
Hello, my dog had his spleen removed on 2/23/2021 & had a mass removed as well, just got results today that it’s cancer & was told he may have 12 months to live is there anything anyone can suggest to help my baby live longer? We are going to talk to an oncologist hopefully soon but in the meantime if anyone has any suggestions we would graciously appreciate it. Thank you
We have been giving our dog Turkey Tail. It can be found in specialty stores are found online. 300 mg daily.So far our pet has survived two months after haemagiosarcoma was taken out with spleen.
Definitely talk to the oncologist – it really depends what type of tumour, and how aggressive it is. Good luck with him!
Murry, our 8 year old beagle was suddenly experiencing lethargy and rapid & distressed breathing. We took him to an emergency vet hospital where they discovered a large mass on his spleen. Surgery was successful with the removal of the tumor and spleen. There was no rupture and no signs of any other organs affected. There is an issue with difficulty urinating. His prostate was evaluated and appeared normal. He seems to “go” often but there is straining, with little coming out. He’s prescribed medication for pain & bladder spasms so we’ll see how that goes. Right now he’s home, eating well & resting comfortably. In 3-5 days we’ll get the biopsy results and we pray that the news is positive.
Any update on your beagle? The day you posted this was my birthday and I also have an 8 year old beagle, Otto. We found out today he has a spleen mass and we’re going in for surgery tomorrow.
Hello,
So last night was pretty terrifying. I have an 11 yr old lab mix and his stomach flipped. Thankfully we got the the emergency vet in time but during surgery the vet noticed his spleen had blackened and died needing to be removed. I now worry about the stress that will put on his other organs and how it will negatively impact his immune system. Is there any suggestions for supplements to keep him happy and healthy as his age is high but he is still a puppy at heart.
There’s no evidence base behind most “immune-boosting” supplements that I’m aware of. However, it becomes even more important to make sure he has a good balanced diet. The good news is that in an older dog, removal of the spleen doesn’t usually cause a significant degree of immune impairment. Good luck!
My dog had a cancerous tumour on his spleen burst in late December 2019. He was given a grim diagnosis of two – four months to live after surgery but as of now he is still here. I’m managing him with several supplements that seem to be doing well for him so far!
Please what supplements
What supplements and food are you giving him? My dog is going in today to possibly have his spleen removed. I want to be prepared.
Please what supplements
My 9yo lab mix had her spleen removed Wednesday (3 days ago). She is recovering well and everything is benign. Unfortunately, she is having difficulty controlling her bladder. Is this typical?
Not really no – it can occur due to some complications or post-op pain, so I’d advise getting it looked at. Hopefully, she just needs some more pain medication to keep her comfy!
I recently took my senior dog (14), Ian, to get an ultrasound for an unusual bump I noticed on his tummy.
Today I got the results and was told he had a 7cm tumor on his spleen and that surgery was recommended after they determined if the tumor was benign or not. But the surgery is risky because of his age. They also gave me the option to wait 2-3 months to see if the tumors grows. What should I do ? What can I do for him? Where can I take him?
He is not in pain at all he runs,jumps, and plays. Eat as usual. Just sometimes has trouble going #2.
Thank you in advance!
Tumours on the spleen are a real worry, because they’re often malignant. The risk of surgery is clear – an older dog does have a higher risk under anaesthetic (although if he’s otherwise healthy, it’s not as much higher than a young dog as most people think). However, there are serious risks with “wait and see” as well, because if this is a malignant tumour, it could easily spread to other organs (especially the liver) in that time, and become untreatable; in addition, some types of splenic tumours (e.g. haemangiosarcoma) can suddenly rupture and bleed into the abdomen. On the other hand, there are benign tumours that sit there and don’t do anything.
There’s no certain answer here – it’s a question of which risk you’d rather take, and whether you’d regret your decision later.
I wish you all the best – it’s really hard especially where we just don’t know all the facts without the surgery.
Hi I have an 11 yr old springer, who in the last 2 months has completely struggled to meet his usual daily base line. Doing activities and wit feeding . So a trip to the vet revealed a very small area of concern on the spleen that they’d follow up on with another scan next month! However in the last 2 wks his base line Is easily 50% below and the problem now is obvious pain in his back legs which are constantly shaking and he seems to be trying to poop excessively with nothing coming out 70% of the time , however what does come are regular type 4 stools and again he seems in more pain after this action . He won’t eat his own food but will eat rice veg and chicken and for a dog who was always a savage somethings off ! Obviously I have him booked back in on Wednesday coming but if you could give any insight that would be great !! I just can’t believe that, two wks ago he could comfortably run around off lead for an hour or two and now 20mins on lead is too much ! Should I be preparing myself for the end ??
This sort of rapid deterioration is always a worry, especially with a question over his spleen. I’d try and get him seen earlier if possible, as if there is a tumour or other lesion on his spleen, the sooner it’s addressed the better – if left, a small bleed could become a life-threatening haemorrhage, for example.
My 14 yo shepard mix had her spleen removed on the 17th of December. The tumor was the size of a baseball (hardball). The entire spleen was removed and upon removal the tumor collapsed, so we were happy to have made the decision to operate before this happened. We are still waiting for the pathology on the tumor but her doctor thinks it’s benign. We’ll have to see. My concerns are that it’s been nearly two weeks after surgery, she is recovering well. Her appetite was never really good, but her intake of water has increased substantially and she has become incontinent of urine at night only. I pad her bed with extra blue pp pads, she still gets herself downstairs and out her doggy door to poo at night. She does suffer from a bit of dementia at night too. All in all, if her tumor comes back benign we will be satisfied because the stories of complete collapse won’t be her fate.
Just wondering if there are certain physical conditions to look for after a dog has her spleen removed. Mainly I want to pull her water dish after dinner each night to see if this diminishes the level of saturation in the morning. She still loves her walks, and she’s in charge of how far she wants to go, she still loves her chews and snacks in morning, quality of life is most important now.
Urinary tract infections and kidney problems aren’t uncommon after long and complex surgeries like this – I would strongly advise a vet check and follow up sooner rather than later.
My big baby (standard poodle 8.5 years old) has had seizures since she was 3.5 years old. We’ve managed with medications and, of course, have had routine MRIs, blood and liver checks. The speciality veterinary hospital believes she had a stoke at some point although the clinical signs didn’t seem aligned. She’s has had lameness in her back legs/hips and we’ve found chiropractic care, acupuncture, and even PRP Therapy in the fall of 2019. She was her normal, loving, amazing self until last Monday. She was lethargic and had difficulty walking. No vomiting or diarrhea. Had been eating & drinking normal. Mid day I couldn’t take it – quickly made our way to the emergency vet where she was hospitalized with a fever of 105. Two nights in hospital we got her temp back to normal. Blood work looked good, liver values also fine. White blood count on the high end of normal. Following an ultrasound they thought that we could be looking at leukemia and or histiocytic sarcoma due to liver size color and a lesion on spleen. We decided to do a needle aspiration biopsy which came back with comments: liver looks unremarkable and spleen, unclear but “best guess” is hypersplasia. I’m told next steps would be surgical biopsy or steroids (palliative care). My primary vet has suggested removal of her entire spleen. I’m concerned that she will have a seizure soon (pre or post op) which will make it all the more difficult on her. I’m trying to get a feel for quality of life. I love her with all my heart but also want her to enjoy life. I’m leaning towards removal of entire spleen and, if necessary, chemo following. Any thoughts or suggestions? Especially considering her seizures?
I just read your description and It’s nearly what I’m going through today. My big 8.5yo sassy Spinone (with epilepsy) was just admitted to hospital after his condition fell off a cliff over last two days (weak back legs, lethargy, incontinence, while eating/peeing/pooping normally). Turns out he had 105 fever, and enlarged spleen. He is in good care now but they said they want to keep him 2-4 days (!!). We are worried sick. It’s early days but the info I’ve read so far as helped me understand what we might looking at. Bless all of you for sharing your experiences.
Really feeling for you – these decisions are really hard! I’m not in a position to give specific advice here and I don’t know her clinical details at all. However, a seizure during or immediately after anaesthesia is relatively unlikely, as the anaesthetic drugs are anti-convulsant anyway. However, it doesn’t mean it can’t happen. I think you need to talk to your vets about your concerns and see what the best way forward is – good luck!
I am so sad to read all of these. My baby Jasper who is a 10 year old beagle, turns 11 next month, started having issues urinating. I took him to the vet right away and turns out he has bladder stones preventing him from peeing. Upon their examination, they found a rather large mass on his spleen and suggested it be removed. That was Saturday the 19th and I am rather upset with his normal vet. They originally said they were going to do both of his surgeries, he needs two, the spleen removal and the stone removal, the following Thursday but messed up their schedule and tried to move it to Oct 8th! I raised hell and tried to get him in sooner, the soonest is Monday the 28th. I am so scared for him, I got him on my 19th birthday when he was 2 months old and I am turning 30 this December. He has been my rock, my world and has been with me through so much. I can’t bear the thought of losing him. I hope everyone’s puppers are doing well.
So sorry to hear that – I hope everything’s sorted now? A lot of vets have really struggled with Covid and Covid-secure precautions but I hope it’s been arranged and seen to now?
Omg I can’t read it anymore of these very sad storys I’m crying my little dog is on 6lb chihuahua, I will .not cope if he don’t make it , it’s breaking my heart and I’m 70
Bobble got to have opp on a lump on he’s neck, if he goes I will to I can’t live without him , I’m choking just thinking about it
Hang in there I hope you’re doing ok!!! You’re not alone! God bless you
Our 11 year old Norwegian Elkound had been fighting a stubborn infection for nearly 8 weeks and had been on several antibiotics. On Friday June 26 2020 she was very lethargic and off her food. Water intake was good. Then by late that night she didn’t want to go outside at all and did not/could not stand on her hind legs. Just after midnight she was rushed to the local emergency clinic. Her temperature was 108 and they put her on cooled IV fluids and ice bags. After explaining all her symptoms they immediately did a scan of her abdomen where they found a large mass surrounding the spleen. They explained that was why the infection would not go away and why her temperature had reached so high. Surgery was not an option as her temp would not drop and she would not make it through the operation. We knew she was suffering and had no choice but to let her go.
My 11yo has his spleen removed two days ago. He’s recovering real quick, his appetite is back and also wants to play fetch again. I’m very happy. He has a tumor in the bladder, possibly malignant, supposedly his life span will be short. Still I’m happy to see him recovering so fast from the surgery.
My shar pai boss collapsed on Sunday after a long walk , we took him to the vets were they diagnosed that he had a tumour on his spleen which was removed the same day , as he’s 10 now and doesn’t really like going to the vets without getting stressed we have decided not to carry on with any other treatment . Hopefully he will recover fully but if not we’re going to spoil him rotten and enjoy every minute we have with him . Was wondering if anyone else as experienced that before there dog was diagnosed that they smelt bad and after op it went .
Our big guy Brian American Bull dog had his spleen and large tumour removed 3 weeks ago, and its funny you should say about doggie smell because Brian did smell quite a lot and since operation he doesn’t, thats weird I wonder why that is. I’m glad you brought that up as I would not have connected the two.
On Sunday 28/4/20 I woke up to find my 11.5 year old collie X not quite right. He had been unsettled during the night too. He normally loves his food, but wasn’t interested in his morning meal and just wanted to drink loads. He was very lethargic too. I took him to the emergency vets, where they did blood work, put him on IV fluids and also did an ultrasound. This is when they found he had a mass on his spleen that had ruptured. We were then transferred to one of the best oncology specialist in the UK for a CT scan. They wanted to check there was no spread before making any decision to operate . Fortunately there was No spread and his blood work was good. I decided , despite the huge cost, to give him a chance. I’d never be able to live with myself not doing it and trying.
He has been a fit and healthy dog all his life. However, on Tuesday last week he was also quiet, but I thought he had just hurt himself. He was still eating and showing interest in things. By the next day he was right back to himself and although I rested him for 24 hrs, he was running around as normal the next day. The specialist now thinks that on that Tuesday he had a minor bleed , which clotted. Then yesterday it happened with more magnitude.
So he had his surgery and apparently today he is doing well and eating well too . Hopefully he may be able to come home later today ? I am just not keeping everything crossed that this mass was benign . If not I realise I may only have another few months with him 🙁
Hi
Sad to hear about your dog..my dog only 5 years old labrador is going trough the same thing.
I have read to many sad storys about tumor in spleen and its realy hard to think that there is only few months left. So trying to find some comfort and hope i wanted to ask how is your dog doing to day ?
My 5 yr old Lab has just had the same thing, we didn’t realise anything was wrong until he couldn’t get up, took him to vets who said a tumour on his spleen was bleeding into his abdomen. They operated immediately and removed spleen and tumour. This was a week ago today. He’s back home with full appetite and seems happy although he’s slowed down a bit after the surgery. Waiting to hear the results of weather the tumour was benign or malignant. It’s heartbreaking thinking about it. He’s my world and changed my life completely. Man I love my dog. Fingers crossed
About a month and a half after a dental cleaning and surgery to remove an eyelid mass (done at the same time under anesthesia), my 9 year old pitbull dramatically increased his water consumption and stopped eating. His bloodwork and ultrasound found a splenic mass. He underwent surgery approximately 5 weeks ago and had his spleen removed. The biopsy came back negative for cancer and he seemed to be recovering well. About a week ago, his appetite starting decreasing and yesterday I noticed his gums were very pale. I took him back to the emergency vet animal hospital where he had his spleen removed. His red blood cell count is extremely low (the vet told me 17%). I feel so heartbroken. He had been back to his energetic and lovable self for a few weeks and now the vet said his red blood cell count is lower than when he went in for the spleen removal! Has anyone encountered this before? I’m going to get a second opinion from my local vet, but she is out of office today and tomorrow.
So I was searching the internet to see if anyone else experienced a similar situation…
So sorry to hear that… Good luck with him, whatever it turns out to be.
my 13 yr old jack russell has been diagnosed with spleen tumour and vet said to old for op amd he wont eat chicken amd can hardly walk, what can i do i wont put him down
Just keep loving him give him all the foods he loves keep him as painfree as possible and seek a second vet opinion
Good luck
I’m so sorry to hear that. Splenic tumours are usually very malignant, and unfortunately, by the time they’ve been diagnosed in many cases the cancer has spread to other organs, making it essentially incurable.
Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of quality of life. If he has a good quality of life, then palliative care such as pain relief may allow him to go on for some time, maybe several months, or possibly even longer.
However, if he is suffering then sadly, the best thing you can do for him may well be humane euthanasia to end his suffering. The probability is that in the end you will have to make that decision – dogs very rarely die peacefully in their sleep, and as the end can be very unpleasant we have a duty to spare them that.
It would be cruel to prolong his suffering if it could not be relieved, so I think the first thing is to talk to your vet about palliative care options and see what you can do to improve his quality of life as far as possible.
All the best – it’s a horrible situation to be in, I know, but you clearly want to do the best for him, which is wonderful.
My 7-year-old Female Boxer Fish Face started peeing blood took her to the vet they found that after an MRI a Baseball size Tumor connected to her Spleen that was causing it and removed both ~ They gave her a Blood test before her surgery and all of it was in normal parameters ~ The biopsy came back after a few days Normal on both the Tumour and her Spleen which was a real relief ~This was a week ago ~ She’s has had no problem eating ~ We wet down her dry food to make it easy for her stomach to digest and added a little bits of boiled cooked Liver to her food at the Vets request to help make up for the Blood she had lost ~ Her pee and poop have returned back to normal only problem so far is she’s a little slow and has been sleeping a lot ~ I guess she is healing ~ This weekend she will have her stitches removed and I will let the Doctor do a check-up to make sure she is ok internally ~
My 12 year old Labrador ‘Haan’ had an incident last week where he did not want to walk to far. The vet initially suggested his arthritis was causing him grief, and administered a morphine shot. Not comfortable with this diagnosis I requested an ultrasound the following day. It was at this point a tumour measuring approximately 4cm was found in his spleen. On Monday morning he underwent surgery, spleen removed. Haan is a big Labrador, height wise, and weight 37kgs. He got through the surgery ok, spent the night at the veterinary clinic, and I picked him up yesterday. He has an extensive incision, is very sore and obviously very quiet and exceptionally thirsty, appetite good. I was advised that due to the location of spleen it is common for the dog’s stomach to twist following removal of spleen and for this reason his stomach has been stitched to the inner wall? It will be another week before we have the results of the tumour. It was quite by chance that we found this tumour, I now wonder if I should have his sister ultrascanned as well? The more people I talk to the more I realise this appears to be quite a common problem. This forum has been so helpful. I will inform of his progress in another week. We decided as a family to progress with the surgery and are pleased that we have – if we can keep him comfortable, quiet, I am positive for the future. He is also in early stage kidney failure so we are conscious of not wanting to see him suffer. I wish all of those facing similar situations the very best. It is an emotional roller coaster for all.
My 7 year old pug took Ill yesterday and was rush to the emergency et and had been their since yesterday a scan early this morning found a growth on his spleen and his red blood cells are @16 and had to have a blood transfusion and is due to have surgery as I type this. Having read previous reviews on here I hold some hope that he pulls through as as others have mentioned I have no kids and he is a fur baby. Any advice will be highly appreciated.
My Molly is a cocker spaniel and has had her spleen removed, she is doing really well to the point it’s hard keeping her calm. Molly is 10 and went in for removal of a lump and to be spade, she ended up having all of that plus spleen removed and hernia, she was up the next day and eating light food, it’s been just over 3 weeks and I am gradually increasing her walks, her energy levels are getting better depending on the weather. My vet is very pleased with her recovery, he was very surprised that after all the op she went home which was better for her recovery. Would just like all dog owners to hear that having a spleen removed is not all bad, lots of tender care and good diet will help them pull through.
My lab retriever 10 Years had spleen removed and tumour sent for testing after requesting. My laddie came back started to eat happy after few days then the cut got infected reopened seemed worse then first time how can you watch 24/7 and make rest. Im nervous wreck…..
Hi everyone id like to share my story. I have an American bulldog/ Staffordshire mix. Hes also albino. Well one day I noticed his belly was bloated. The next day it was the same and o took him to the vet. They did xrays and found a mass and told me he needed surgery. Well i did not have the $3,500 they wanted to take it out so i had to wait almost 5 weeks to save the money. I finally got it all together and they told me the day of the surgery that he might not make it. I was devastated and was a mess while he was in surgery.Finally i got the call and they said hes awake and that i could pick him up. I had to leave him at a 24 hr. Emergency clinic. He did fine through the night and they tild me it would be 2 months to heal. Well im proud to say that its been 3 weeks and hes gained all his weighr back and is as actiive or even more active than before he got the tumor. He has amazed the vet where he got the surgery. They gave me my “son” back better than new. Thank you for letting me share and good luck to everyone. There is no love more complete than a dogs love for his family
thanks for sharing, u give me hope, as my dogis love of my life and is goin in tomorrow to have spleen removed,I’m so scared for her
My 11 1/2 yr old pug is going in for surgery this morning. Neurologist found a mass in his spleen. We went in yesterday for for an MRI because our pug has diabetes, and he experienced two seizures a few days prior and we needed to find out what was causing the seizures. When the blood tests came back (before starting the MRI), they discovered he needed an ultrasound and that changed everything. They found the mass in his spleen, it’s about 3 cm. I am trying to stay positive since he is all we have, he is our child. After the surgery, they will send a sample of the spleen for lab work to see if it is benign (no cancer) or malignant (cancerous). In addition, the surgeon is going to examine the gall bladder, and they might remove it as well. They will take a sample of the liver too. I’m praying for a successful surgery. In reading all of your stories, I felt comforted to know that I’m not alone with this situation. Thank you for starting this website, Jenny and everyone who has shared their story, I appreciate it!
Our family Springer Spaniel, Tilly, was diagnosed with a spleen tumour yesterday. Of the options I was offered by my vet, we decided to have her spleen removed to give her the best chance of life. Sadly, Tilly did not survive her operation , she died of a low heart rate at the very end of her procedure. The sudden loss of our wonderful, friendly, loving companion has been a huge shock for our family & she will be missed by everyone who knew her. She gave us almost 9 years of complete joy & affection & many happy memories to recall for the future.
Tilly was, for me in particular, the most perfect canine companion.
I’m so sorry to hear this Tim, sending your family our best wishes at what will be a very difficult time for you.
Our 11 1/2 year old chocolate lab was lethargic and then one Sunday morning I got up and she had thrown up bile on the bedroom carpet and threw up several more times that day. I took her to the vet first thing Monday morning, the vet called and said she was sever anemic and they needed to do exploratory surgery. I picked her up for the night and they did the surgery Tuesday removing her spleen. I picked her Wednesday and she was so lethargic, would barely eat but would go out to potty. Saturday morning she had a seizure, another Saturday afternoon, we took her to the emergency vet and they gave her a blood transfusion. She was so depressed so we went to visit her Sunday. I picked her up Monday morning and took her back to our vet. Her blood count was still really low. She seemed to be getting a little better. I took her back Thursday for CBC, when they took her back she was fine, when they brought her back out she was knuckling on her rear left foot, the vet said it was neurological and gave her steroids. I took her back Tuesday for another CBC and her red blood cells had decreased again. He gave her two different meds, one that I had to get at the pharmacy. Took her back three days later, her red blood count was down to 15.6,but yet her white blood count had dropped. Took her in the next Tuesday and her red blood count had increased to 18.4 and white had dropped more. The vet told me due to her age her red blood count would probably only get to 25. She has been getting stronger all the time. Took her in Tuesday, day after Christmas, her red blood count is up to 26.8 and her white count is holding steady! She has stopped knuckling, going for short walks and trotting some. We are four weeks post op and she is doing amazing! We thought we were going to lose her. Don’t give up! We have spent a little over $3,000 but we don’t have kids….our fur babies are our kids! We still have to go in once a week for CBC but that’s ok our sweet Summer is getting stronger and acting like nothing ever happened
My 12 yr old Terrier was diagnosed with an abdominal mass, and the Vet recommended no treatment. That was in January. I took her back to the vet this past week, and he is amazed she is still alive. He took her to do ultrasound, and he and his team now believe the mass can be removed. Of course, there is no guarantee. It is huge, and I am trying to do what is best for her, but it is very hard. She is 12 years old, and I am afraid the surgery will be so hard on her. Is the surgery hard to overcome for an animal her age?
Hi Tricia. Surgery for any animal will always be hard, and as they get older it can take a little longer to recover. However, your vet knows your dog and her history best and obviously believes this is in her best interests and she’s well enough to cope with the surgery. And of course, she’s guaranteed lots of TLC from you as she recovers! Really wishing you and your little girl all the best for her surgery
I have come to conclusion that you are right. My sweet girl was my comfort after my husband died. I scheduled the surgery for Tuesday, and there are no guarantees she will survive; however, without the surgery we know the outcome. I am going in to this with my heart full of love for her, and want to give her the best opportunity to live a few more years. I am tempted to cancel, but I know I cannot do that. Thanks for your reply and please pray for my Sleepy girl tomorrow.
I failed to say that they believe IF the mass is attached, it is attached to her spleen.
Thank you all for sharing your experience. I am so worried about my 8 year old German Shepherd. He was spot bleeding from his penis so we brought him in to have him checked. The vet immediately noticed his bloated stomach and they are currently doing x-rays and ultra sound on him. She believes there is a mass on his spleen. They have him now and are testing his urine and blood as well. I am praying they have caught this in time to save him.
My GSD is now home and doing very well. He had a mass attached to his spleen which needed to be removed so they removed his spleen with the mass attached to it. His prostrate was also enlarged so they neutered him. They feel the prostrate will shrink to normal size in 2-3 weeks. They could not find any evidence whatsoever of masses on any of his other organs and his Blood work came back perfectly. They sent out the Spleen with the mass attached to it and his testicles and they both, by the Grace of God, came back Benign.He is resting comfortably and must remain resting for the next 2 weeks until he returns to the surgeon to have his staples removed from his stomach. All in all, considering that is could have spread everywhere, we are very grateful!
My gsd Dj is 8 akways,healthy got ill. He has,hemascarcoma his,splee and partial liver removed . Not good news his biopsy showed it metastasized in liver. Please give me hope. He is home doing well chemo starts,next week
My almost 10 year old St Bernard was diagnosed with a growth on her spleen. My wife and I believe she is too old for surgery. How long can we expect to have her around?
We’re so sorry to hear that John, we can appreciate what a difficult time it must be for you both right now. It’s difficult to give a time without knowing her history etc., so it’s best to give your vet a call to discuss it in a little more detail as they’ll be aware of her full clinical history and the size and location of the growth. They’re also best placed to advise you on next steps, and any specific care she may need.
I should clarify that Barney’s surgeon sent the entire tumor & spleen for biopsy and then said he would request 2 or three biopsies. He said he likes to have sections from different areas and by sporadically requesting he may even get a different doctor. While he expects those to come back benign also; there is still a possibility the first biopsy was the result of there being no cancer cells in that one section. Not hearing from him (it’s been an additional 2 weeks) leads me to believe those results were negative also. However, in my research (blogs) there were instances of false benign diagnosis’ so I would seek multiple (or at least two) just in case. Barney is his old self now; but he has less stamina and tires sooner (age, probably). He also seems “hotter” to me as a couple of other have posted. By that I mean he pants a lot sooner on exertion and feels warmer to the touch. Seems the 50/50 percentage on benign is creeping up a bit – my emergency vet sets it at about 52/48 in favor of benign. Statistics seem to be catching up now and I think in his practice it’s been his experience (his own dog included).
It’s been four days since Joey’s surgery and he is doing great. The specialist (we affectionately call him the “super-surgeon”) didn’t see anything suspicious on any other organs during surgery and sent his spleen and also a liver sample for biopsy. I must say I wish these results would just come already! So happy to hear that Barney is doing well!
BIOPSY WAS NEGATIVE!! 🙂
That is great news!!! I’m so happy for you and Joey!! Unless you financially can’t afford it, there’s a 50/50 chance your dog will be fine; and there’s zero chance, even if benign, if you do nothing (rupture). My friend just had a healthy dog collapse and die suddenly and he’s now wondering if she had an undiagnosed splenic tumor. Look at it this way, the more benign diagnosis’, the more those statistics may shift favorably making future owners more likely to go ahead with surgery. It’s still a tough decision and one I don’t wish on anyone.
I’m finding so much encouragement from all of your posts! My Shih Tzu, Joey, will have his spleen removed tomorrow morning. Caught his tumor by accident on an ultrasound for something unrelated so no rupture or bleeding yet. Doc didn’t see any indication of tumors on any other organs. I feel so prepared from all of your experiences! Praying that surgery goes well, that there are no complications during recovery and that his biopsy results are negative. Fingers crossed for my sweet little guy! He turns 9 on Sunday so hopefully there will be more happy birthdays!
Barney had no indications of any other tumors or masses like your Joey. I’m praying your Joey has the same result. Let us know.
My 11 year old beagle was diagnosed with a large mass in his abdomen 4 weeks ago. We were looking for reason why he was so lethargic and my vet suggested a chest xray. My vet initially indicated that these types of tumors are almost always malignant. She was actually quite negative, but gave me a referral to a specialty vet practice here in Pittsburgh (University Veterinary Specialists). Based on the stories in this blog I made the decision to take the chance. I had the sonogram performed and he had a large tumor on his spleen, but no indications of any other tumors in his abdomen. After speaking with the surgeon, he confirmed the stats of these tumors being 50/50 for malignancy. I took my chances. “Barney” had the surgery 9 days ago and came through it perfectly. He came home and went right up the steps (a no no) and resumed all of his daily activities. He would eat nothing for them, but ate the minute he was home. He’s a different dog – his old self. The biopsy took 9 days, but came back negative!!! I feel vindicated regarding my decision to put him through a surgery which may not have extended his life. Roll with the odds if your baby is relatively healthy for surgery. I recommend a specialty vet; I can’t say enough nice things about UVS. They were awesome. Turns out he had a Hematoma. You think he was spoiled before?? His remaining time will be doggie heaven on earth.
HELLO ALL-RECENTLY LOST MY BEST BUDDY- 13 1/2YO YELLOW LAB -OAKLEY- IT CAME ON QUICK- THE SPLEEN BLEED-AFTER THE INITIAL EPISODE- HE CAME BACK FOR 2 WEEKS- ULTRASOUND SHOWED SPLEEN TO LIVER MASS/ EKG SHOWED VENT TACHYCARDIA- THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN- IT WILL ALWAYS AFFECT THE WEAKEST PART OF THE BODY- HIS HIND LEGS. HE PASSED AWAY 1 WEEK LATER IN HIS HOME ON HIS TERMS- HE BARKED ( SAID GOOD BYE OR HELLO) THEN HE STOPPED BREATHING. I’M THINKING NEXT TIME THE SPLEEN WILL COME OUT WHEN FIXED…. IF I CAN GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN!!!!!!
Looking for advice –
4 weeks ago I lost my beautiful 9 years old German Shepherd Monty. He was fine one day and collapsed the next being diagnosed with a big mass on his spleen that had ruptured and was bleeding in his abdomen. The vet who treated him told me that it was most likely hemangiosarcoma (96%) and the prognosis was not good. I didn’t want him to suffer so I decided to put him to sleep. The shock that everything happened so fast was immense and I’m still feeling guilty if I took the right decision not to do the surgery. Now even worse my other German shepherd (nearly 11 years old) was just diagnosed today with a mass on his spleen. It is small and didn’t rupture and the ultrasound shows no other masses in his body. Now I have to make a decision again – do I put my old dog through that surgery with a 75% chance that it is cancer and he will only live another 1-2 months? I’m devastated and have no idea what to do.
Hi Gina, we can appreciate why you’re so worried, and you’ve been through such an incredibly difficult time recently. We’d recommend speaking to your vet further about your concerns, as they’ll know your dog’s history and will be best placed to advise you on whether they believe surgery could be successful and what they believe his prognosis would be after surgery. It may also help to talk to them further about what happened with Monty, as there’s no reason to feel guilty for doing what essentially was the kindest thing for him, and you have to remember that. It can be harder to process when it’s all so sudden, but your vet will be able to make the whole situation clearer for you.
Thanks – I have set up a second appointment to get another vet’s opinion on Monday.
We had our lab who was nearly 10 , collapsed at the end of August took him to the vets , he had a cancer on his spleen , the vet removed it and said the cancer hadn’t spread , we only had him for another 5 weeks where he collapsed again and was bleeding internally , the vet said there wasn’t anything they could do and we had to put. Him to sleep
My 11 year old Chow-Akita mix just had spleen tumor removal last May 2. She is doing well after the operation and result of biopsy is not cancerous however she has anemia and with abnormal breathing pattern. She’s still on medication but I’m worried of heart complication. Hope she will have full recovery. She already had pyometra when she was 8 yrs old.
Carol’ same thing with our pup we are praying its not cancer either we are so worried cause the vet told us it usually is 🙁 in these cases he had his surgery wed, we should know this week keep us updated and vice versa
Carol’ same thing with our pup we are praying its not cancer either we are so worried cause the vet told us it usually is 🙁 in these cases he had his surgery wed, we should know this week keep us updated and vice versa
Our 15 year old fur baby Gracie was taken to our Vet. This morning, she was almost lifeless, yesterday she layed around, she was drinking, turned her noise up to dog food, I gave her chicken broth with a little bread in it. We would carry her out side, she would p n poo,
After blood test and X-rays she was taken into emergency surgery, her spline was so large it wrapped around her liver. She also was anemic. She came through surgery like a champ! She is awake, alert and wanting to come home, I hope to bring her home tomorrow. They sent a biopsy of her spline and liver, praying its benign!
Our 15 year old fur baby Gracie was taken to our Vet. This morning, she was almost lifeless, yesterday she layed around, she was drinking, turned her noise up to dog food, I gave her chicken broth with a little bread in it. We would carry her out side, she would p n poo,
After blood test and X-rays she was taken into emergency surgery, her spline was so large it wrapped around her liver. She also was anemic. She came through surgery like a champ! She is awake, alert and wanting to come home, I hope to bring her home tomorrow. They sent a biopsy of her spline and liver, praying its benign!
Its heart wrenching to watch our beautiful babies go through this… My almost 17 year old cocker spaniel became crucially ill 5 days ago …his breathing was 180 breaths per minute… He was rushed to vet emergency.. In a collapsed state… They found a grapefruit size tumour in his spleen and another in his liver… His red blood cell count was down to 12… We gave him a blood transfusion.. But sadly he had a severe reaction to the blood .. Which they said was very rare… So we had to stop that… He was in ICU for 4 nights .. Came home yesterday … But I have to closely watch his breathing and gum colour…hustled cell count was at 20 when I bought him home… But I’m paranoid I’m going to miss the signs if he becomes crucially anaemic again… This has been a major surgery for my old boy.. Just praying he gets through it and the tumour are not malignant
Its heart wrenching to watch our beautiful babies go through this… My almost 17 year old cocker spaniel became crucially ill 5 days ago …his breathing was 180 breaths per minute… He was rushed to vet emergency.. In a collapsed state… They found a grapefruit size tumour in his spleen and another in his liver… His red blood cell count was down to 12… We gave him a blood transfusion.. But sadly he had a severe reaction to the blood .. Which they said was very rare… So we had to stop that… He was in ICU for 4 nights .. Came home yesterday … But I have to closely watch his breathing and gum colour…hustled cell count was at 20 when I bought him home… But I’m paranoid I’m going to miss the signs if he becomes crucially anaemic again… This has been a major surgery for my old boy.. Just praying he gets through it and the tumour are not malignant
Our 6 yr old golden retriever became very ill very suddenly in first week of March. His eyes bloodshot, couldn’t lie down, was extremely lethargic,, threw up everything eaten that day and wouldn’t accept a treat. That happened 8 pm and by 7 am the next morning my husband was in Vet’s parking lot waiting for them to open. Exam and X-rays inconclusive of what was going on. Pancreatitis was a possibility. Admittedly the easiest possibility to treat so had them treat him for pancreatitis. In a few days he was back to his old self. Then my husband got desperately ill for the next 31/2 weeks.
Then found a newer and, we believe, better veterinarian and proceeded to dig deeper into our dog’s medical issues.
Digital X-rays done this time along with physical exam indicated a splenic mass. Two days later an ultrasound confirmed splenic mass but no other indications of cancer spread, masses elsewhere or internal bleeding.
Now surgery set for tomorrow with a board certified surgeon who travels to animals hospitals. I’m anxious because surgery is scheduled for 12-2 pm and post op critical 4hr-6hrs for monitoring. Vet’s office closes at 6 pm but have arranged to have a tech come in and check up until at least 10 pm (a service they offer at $50 each check in).
Refuse the 24 hour Emergency Vet in this area due to my personal experience with my other dogs and other people’s experiences…it’s all about the money.
This surgery will be about 4K but I’m sensing a greater love and dedication to animals at the new facility. That caring is what is important to me.
Keep us in your hearts & minds. Thank you
Our 6 yr old golden retriever became very ill very suddenly in first week of March. His eyes bloodshot, couldn’t lie down, was extremely lethargic,, threw up everything eaten that day and wouldn’t accept a treat. That happened 8 pm and by 7 am the next morning my husband was in Vet’s parking lot waiting for them to open. Exam and X-rays inconclusive of what was going on. Pancreatitis was a possibility. Admittedly the easiest possibility to treat so had them treat him for pancreatitis. In a few days he was back to his old self. Then my husband got desperately ill for the next 31/2 weeks.
Then found a newer and, we believe, better veterinarian and proceeded to dig deeper into our dog’s medical issues.
Digital X-rays done this time along with physical exam indicated a splenic mass. Two days later an ultrasound confirmed splenic mass but no other indications of cancer spread, masses elsewhere or internal bleeding.
Now surgery set for tomorrow with a board certified surgeon who travels to animals hospitals. I’m anxious because surgery is scheduled for 12-2 pm and post op critical 4hr-6hrs for monitoring. Vet’s office closes at 6 pm but have arranged to have a tech come in and check up until at least 10 pm (a service they offer at $50 each check in).
Refuse the 24 hour Emergency Vet in this area due to my personal experience with my other dogs and other people’s experiences…it’s all about the money.
This surgery will be about 4K but I’m sensing a greater love and dedication to animals at the new facility. That caring is what is important to me.
Keep us in your hearts & minds. Thank you
On Thursday my beautiful 5 year old Staffie boy Wally woke shaking, cold and pale with no appetite. I know my boy and I knew something was wrong so took him straight to vet. It was thought a possible tummy upset as he wasn’t too happy about having his tummy palpated, so Vet gave him some anti-sickness meds but he was worried about how ‘flat’ he was so also took bloods. Temperature was slightly low but chest, heart rate etc all appeared normal. Called with blood results lunchtime and they all came back normal but Vet said to keep an eye on him because if there was a recent bleed it wouldn’t show up in blood results for about 24 hrs. Watched him for next few hours but no improvement so took him back at 5:15pm. Ultrasound done and blood found in his abdomen. His spleen had ruptured and he was bleeding internally. They took him straight into surgery and called some hours later to say surgery had gone to plan, no blood transfusion required but they had found a tumour on his spleen. This has now gone for biopsy which takes around a week and we are praying with everything we have that it is benign. My baby boy is only 5 and hasn’t had the best life as we rescued him from kennels where he had been for 18 months. We’ve only had him 2 years & 8 months and I just can’t lose him, I’m heartbroken.
On Thursday my beautiful 5 year old Staffie boy Wally woke shaking, cold and pale with no appetite. I know my boy and I knew something was wrong so took him straight to vet. It was thought a possible tummy upset as he wasn’t too happy about having his tummy palpated, so Vet gave him some anti-sickness meds but he was worried about how ‘flat’ he was so also took bloods. Temperature was slightly low but chest, heart rate etc all appeared normal. Called with blood results lunchtime and they all came back normal but Vet said to keep an eye on him because if there was a recent bleed it wouldn’t show up in blood results for about 24 hrs. Watched him for next few hours but no improvement so took him back at 5:15pm. Ultrasound done and blood found in his abdomen. His spleen had ruptured and he was bleeding internally. They took him straight into surgery and called some hours later to say surgery had gone to plan, no blood transfusion required but they had found a tumour on his spleen. This has now gone for biopsy which takes around a week and we are praying with everything we have that it is benign. My baby boy is only 5 and hasn’t had the best life as we rescued him from kennels where he had been for 18 months. We’ve only had him 2 years & 8 months and I just can’t lose him, I’m heartbroken.
On April 4th, my husband and I left our home for a 5 day vacation. Our beloved dog, a 7 year old Rottweiler Rosie was left with grandma at our house. Two days into vacation, we hear Rosie isn’t eating and has vomited twice. We immediately thought she was just homesick from us being away. We retuned April 9th, she didn’t return to her normal eating habits and was just not herself. We tried special meals on 4/10 with no success. We took her to the vet on 4/11 and after bloodworm, ultrasound and 3 chest X-rays, we are told she has a large mass the size of a softball in her spleen. There is good news, it’s not bleeding or ruptured and there are no signs of any other masses on the imaging studies. Rosie had to go into surgery the next day. On 4/12 she under went a splenectomy. The vet said splenic masses are common in large breed dogs but sometimes they are malignant. It’s a 50/50 chance. Rosie went through surgery great and today, 4/13 she is home resting comfortably. We are now as her beloved owners waiting to find out what the tissue biopsy results are which we won’t have for another 4 or 5 days. We are praying it was just a splenic mass and that there is no cancer.
We are keeping our fingers crossed for your Rosie and we’re pleased that she’s recovering form her surgery well! Best wishes.
On April 4th, my husband and I left our home for a 5 day vacation. Our beloved dog, a 7 year old Rottweiler Rosie was left with grandma at our house. Two days into vacation, we hear Rosie isn’t eating and has vomited twice. We immediately thought she was just homesick from us being away. We retuned April 9th, she didn’t return to her normal eating habits and was just not herself. We tried special meals on 4/10 with no success. We took her to the vet on 4/11 and after bloodworm, ultrasound and 3 chest X-rays, we are told she has a large mass the size of a softball in her spleen. There is good news, it’s not bleeding or ruptured and there are no signs of any other masses on the imaging studies. Rosie had to go into surgery the next day. On 4/12 she under went a splenectomy. The vet said splenic masses are common in large breed dogs but sometimes they are malignant. It’s a 50/50 chance. Rosie went through surgery great and today, 4/13 she is home resting comfortably. We are now as her beloved owners waiting to find out what the tissue biopsy results are which we won’t have for another 4 or 5 days. We are praying it was just a splenic mass and that there is no cancer.
We are keeping our fingers crossed for your Rosie and we’re pleased that she’s recovering form her surgery well! Best wishes.
My Eddie died. I noticed his tummy seemed hard so took him to the vet. The vet said he would need xrays and ultrasound which I had to go to a different facility for. Eddie seemed fine and had enough for one day and I had to go to work so I said I’d bring him first thing in the morning. At work I was so worried so vowed I’d take him when I got home 8:00pm as the xray place is open 24/7, when I got home he was in good spirits, wanted to go on a walk, begged for some people food so all seemed well and I was so happy. Next morning 6:00 he is near death. I rushed him up there and they did surgery but he died about 2 hours after surgery. I am beating myself up because if I had gone the day before when he was strong he would have most likely survived. He was the best dog ever. A big German Shepherd mix who thought he was a lap dog. An angel really and I cannot express how much I miss him and how horribly guilty I feel. I’m so glad so many of you have had so much great success with this operation.
My Eddie died. I noticed his tummy seemed hard so took him to the vet. The vet said he would need xrays and ultrasound which I had to go to a different facility for. Eddie seemed fine and had enough for one day and I had to go to work so I said I’d bring him first thing in the morning. At work I was so worried so vowed I’d take him when I got home 8:00pm as the xray place is open 24/7, when I got home he was in good spirits, wanted to go on a walk, begged for some people food so all seemed well and I was so happy. Next morning 6:00 he is near death. I rushed him up there and they did surgery but he died about 2 hours after surgery. I am beating myself up because if I had gone the day before when he was strong he would have most likely survived. He was the best dog ever. A big German Shepherd mix who thought he was a lap dog. An angel really and I cannot express how much I miss him and how horribly guilty I feel. I’m so glad so many of you have had so much great success with this operation.
Our 12 year old basset had a 5 lb mass in her spleen; ultrasound didn’t show any other tumors in her body, so the thought is it’s benign, since studies have shown that a tumor that has grown that big and hasn’t spread is likely not malignant. We had her spleen removed 2 days ago and she is doing well. Eating & drinking. She came home the day after the surgery. She had over a liter of fluid in her body, plus the 5 lb mass. It was a tough decision whether or not to do the surgery given her age, and also she has somewhat compromised lungs. She made it through just fine… and she’s recovering at home. The vet said it was so close to rupturing, that had we not, she would have died in the next week or two. I am grateful we made the decision to operate.
Our 12 year old basset had a 5 lb mass in her spleen; ultrasound didn’t show any other tumors in her body, so the thought is it’s benign, since studies have shown that a tumor that has grown that big and hasn’t spread is likely not malignant. We had her spleen removed 2 days ago and she is doing well. Eating & drinking. She came home the day after the surgery. She had over a liter of fluid in her body, plus the 5 lb mass. It was a tough decision whether or not to do the surgery given her age, and also she has somewhat compromised lungs. She made it through just fine… and she’s recovering at home. The vet said it was so close to rupturing, that had we not, she would have died in the next week or two. I am grateful we made the decision to operate.
CAUGHT OFFGUARD
It pains me to share that I had my precious Princess euthanized one week ago. I awoke at midnight on Feb 2 to the sounds of my 12 year-old labrador/pit bull terrier mix gasping for air. My daughter and I rushed our beloved Princess to the 24/7 PetER only to learn that a splenic tumor had ruptured and was profusely bleeding out into Princess’ abdominal cavity. The young woman veterinarian shared a very bleak prognosis – that the tumor was 50/50 benign or a sarcoma, and that if surgery were pursued along with follow up care, I would be looking either a cure or cancer therapy and a total bill of 6-8K and it was likely that Princess wouldn’t survive surgery. Life turned inside out and upside down and I was in a state of shock, but I pushed my feelings aside as best possible in order to think quickly and clearly. Princess’ time was running out fast.
To backtrack, two weeks prior I had had Princess seen for a general exam by another vet who after noticing pale gums, suggested a number of blood and other tests to find the cause of this condition. All tests came back normal accept for a low red blood cell count, indicative of anemia. Note, there were no cancerous or abnormal rbc’s detected in the blood. Also, an abdominal and chest ultrasound was not suggested. If it had been, the enlarged spleen with tumor would surely have been detected and action planned.
But, that late night I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
1. The PetER only had one surgeon and one desk assistant on site. Two surgeons, and an anethesiologist would have been needed to pull off such a surgery and asap. (Princess would not survive if too much anesthesia were to be administered and for too long, so the more hands working, the better.)
2. Bottom line, I was unable to commit to 6-8K on the spot and so my only choice was to to end Princess’ suffering. I hate to think that it boiled down to a lack of sufficient finances on my part. Veterinary has become so costly!
3. If I could, I would have selected surgery, under the condition that if cancer was detected in the liver and heart regions, euthanazia would be performed then and there. Princess deserved this chance.
4. I strongly suspect the possibility that the splenic tumor was benign (hematoma) and perhaps due to torsion.
5. But, surgery would not have made sense if Princess had already suffered brain damage due to lack of sufficient oxygen. How would I know?
This was a traumatic experience for me and a fatal one for Princess. I wish this situation on no one, human and dog. I’ve learned that it is essential for any pet owner to be as self educated as possible re potential conditions to which breeds are prone so that one can keep self and veterinarians vigilant. I was unaware that large dogs in their later years are prone to splenic tumors. I was unaware of the signs and symptoms that I see now were there in Princess, especially during these past few weeks, but at the time I attributed to other causes.
Bless you all for loving and caring for your doggies so formidably. God bless Princess.
CAUGHT OFFGUARD
It pains me to share that I had my precious Princess euthanized one week ago. I awoke at midnight on Feb 2 to the sounds of my 12 year-old labrador/pit bull terrier mix gasping for air. My daughter and I rushed our beloved Princess to the 24/7 PetER only to learn that a splenic tumor had ruptured and was profusely bleeding out into Princess’ abdominal cavity. The young woman veterinarian shared a very bleak prognosis – that the tumor was 50/50 benign or a sarcoma, and that if surgery were pursued along with follow up care, I would be looking either a cure or cancer therapy and a total bill of 6-8K and it was likely that Princess wouldn’t survive surgery. Life turned inside out and upside down and I was in a state of shock, but I pushed my feelings aside as best possible in order to think quickly and clearly. Princess’ time was running out fast.
To backtrack, two weeks prior I had had Princess seen for a general exam by another vet who after noticing pale gums, suggested a number of blood and other tests to find the cause of this condition. All tests came back normal accept for a low red blood cell count, indicative of anemia. Note, there were no cancerous or abnormal rbc’s detected in the blood. Also, an abdominal and chest ultrasound was not suggested. If it had been, the enlarged spleen with tumor would surely have been detected and action planned.
But, that late night I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
1. The PetER only had one surgeon and one desk assistant on site. Two surgeons, and an anethesiologist would have been needed to pull off such a surgery and asap. (Princess would not survive if too much anesthesia were to be administered and for too long, so the more hands working, the better.)
2. Bottom line, I was unable to commit to 6-8K on the spot and so my only choice was to to end Princess’ suffering. I hate to think that it boiled down to a lack of sufficient finances on my part. Veterinary has become so costly!
3. If I could, I would have selected surgery, under the condition that if cancer was detected in the liver and heart regions, euthanazia would be performed then and there. Princess deserved this chance.
4. I strongly suspect the possibility that the splenic tumor was benign (hematoma) and perhaps due to torsion.
5. But, surgery would not have made sense if Princess had already suffered brain damage due to lack of sufficient oxygen. How would I know?
This was a traumatic experience for me and a fatal one for Princess. I wish this situation on no one, human and dog. I’ve learned that it is essential for any pet owner to be as self educated as possible re potential conditions to which breeds are prone so that one can keep self and veterinarians vigilant. I was unaware that large dogs in their later years are prone to splenic tumors. I was unaware of the signs and symptoms that I see now were there in Princess, especially during these past few weeks, but at the time I attributed to other causes.
Bless you all for loving and caring for your doggies so formidably. God bless Princess.
Hi Nancy,
just read your blog now. I was in the exact same situation 4 weeks ago with my 9 years old German Shepherd Monty. He was fine one day and collapsed the next being diagnosed with a big mass on his spleen that had ruptured and was bleeding in his abdomen. The vet who treated him told me that it was most likely hemangiosarcoma (96%) and the prognosis was not good. I didn’t want him to suffer so I decided to put him to sleep. The shock that everything happened so fast was immense and I’m still feeling guilty if I took the right decision not to do the surgery. Now even worse my other German shepherd (nearly 11 years old) was just diagnosed today with a mass on his spleen. It is small and didn’t rupture and the ultrasound shows no other masses in his body. Now I have to make a decision again – do I put my old dog through that surgery with a 75% chance that it is cancer and he will only live another 1-2 months? I’m devastated and have no idea what to do.
My beautiful old gal, Ginger (Golden Retriever), is going to have her spleen removed this morning. She’s 12 years old and so far 2 vets both think it’s just a benign enlargement of the spleen and that she’s a good candidate for the removal. The ultrasound and x-rays didn’t show anything on her other organs thank goodness. I’m nervous as heck but not giving her the chance to live another few years without worrying if her spleen is going to rupture is not fair to her so I’ll be dropping her off for surgery at 9:30 this morning. Hoping for a good outcome and reading the stories above give me hope. Thank you!
My beautiful old gal, Ginger (Golden Retriever), is going to have her spleen removed this morning. She’s 12 years old and so far 2 vets both think it’s just a benign enlargement of the spleen and that she’s a good candidate for the removal. The ultrasound and x-rays didn’t show anything on her other organs thank goodness. I’m nervous as heck but not giving her the chance to live another few years without worrying if her spleen is going to rupture is not fair to her so I’ll be dropping her off for surgery at 9:30 this morning. Hoping for a good outcome and reading the stories above give me hope. Thank you!
follow up: Received a call back 1/15/2016 with the biopsy results for Bella. The vet reports that Bella’s biopsy came back positive for cancer. I asked are you sure? she said yes, I’m sorry, she gave gives her 3-6 months with out chemo. I’m shocked, Bella looks better than ever and has so much energy. She’s eating, drinking and running around like a new puppy. My heart is breaking knowing that she my be gone soon. I have decided no chemo and will enjoy her for as long as I have her. I have no regrets in doing the surgery worth every penny and glad to have the extra time with her.
follow up: Received a call back 1/15/2016 with the biopsy results for Bella. The vet reports that Bella’s biopsy came back positive for cancer. I asked are you sure? she said yes, I’m sorry, she gave gives her 3-6 months with out chemo. I’m shocked, Bella looks better than ever and has so much energy. She’s eating, drinking and running around like a new puppy. My heart is breaking knowing that she my be gone soon. I have decided no chemo and will enjoy her for as long as I have her. I have no regrets in doing the surgery worth every penny and glad to have the extra time with her.
I had the same thing happen to my baby. He was only 8 years old and 3 months. It was New Years, my boy experienced a similar situation. In the morning, he was doing fine, he was jumping up and down and couldn’t wait to go out. He wanted to spend new years with the family, my grandparents and my cousins. After lunch, we went back to my grandparents and notice he wasn’t feeling well. His stomach was expanding and constricting and his gums were paled. He couldn’t get up and move and just felt comfortable lying on his stomach. It was difficult to see him in pain and find a vet open on new years. We finally found one, but it wasnt his usual doctor. The doc told us he was bleeding internally and he might need to surgically remove a spleen, or liver. They didn’t know if their were cancer cells. He told us we could do the surgery, but he would only live for a few more months and the problem would arise again. It was a really emotional decision and a shock. It was really difficult because 2 weeks prior he went to his vet and his vet mention nothing was wrong. The vet mentioned to us that he was a little overweight, and needed to lose some weight and gave us painkillers to help him walk around easier. I wish I did more x-rays or checkups before, so he might still be here with us.
We didn’t want him to suffer, so we decided to let him sleep. I wish I research this and maybe let him done the surgery, so he would survive after reading so many success stories. We all miss him so terribly.
I had the same thing happen to my baby. He was only 8 years old and 3 months. It was New Years, my boy experienced a similar situation. In the morning, he was doing fine, he was jumping up and down and couldn’t wait to go out. He wanted to spend new years with the family, my grandparents and my cousins. After lunch, we went back to my grandparents and notice he wasn’t feeling well. His stomach was expanding and constricting and his gums were paled. He couldn’t get up and move and just felt comfortable lying on his stomach. It was difficult to see him in pain and find a vet open on new years. We finally found one, but it wasnt his usual doctor. The doc told us he was bleeding internally and he might need to surgically remove a spleen, or liver. They didn’t know if their were cancer cells. He told us we could do the surgery, but he would only live for a few more months and the problem would arise again. It was a really emotional decision and a shock. It was really difficult because 2 weeks prior he went to his vet and his vet mention nothing was wrong. The vet mentioned to us that he was a little overweight, and needed to lose some weight and gave us painkillers to help him walk around easier. I wish I did more x-rays or checkups before, so he might still be here with us.
We didn’t want him to suffer, so we decided to let him sleep. I wish I research this and maybe let him done the surgery, so he would survive after reading so many success stories. We all miss him so terribly.
I experienced the same as the rest of you. I have a 7 yr. Jack Russell Mix named Bella, She is my everything! And on Friday night I noticed Bella not to be herself and just lying on her bed which is so out of character for her. I picked her up and she was limp and gums were pale. I rushed her to Blue Paw Emergency and there we were told that she had a tumor on her spleen. It was all happening so fast that I couldn’t comprehend it. They advised that the humane thing to do was put the dog to sleep, I was beside myself since she was prefect the day before. It came down to minutes and we almost put her down but we just couldn’t do it. We didn’t have enough proof, so, we opted to have the surgery. Bella made it thru surgery and it showed no signs of spreading. They kept her for 2 days and she came home Monday and seems to be in good spirits. Doctors are amazed at her recovery and we are now awaiting the lab results from the liver biopsy to see if it is cancerous. Praying ill have her around for 7 more years!
I experienced the same as the rest of you. I have a 7 yr. Jack Russell Mix named Bella, She is my everything! And on Friday night I noticed Bella not to be herself and just lying on her bed which is so out of character for her. I picked her up and she was limp and gums were pale. I rushed her to Blue Paw Emergency and there we were told that she had a tumor on her spleen. It was all happening so fast that I couldn’t comprehend it. They advised that the humane thing to do was put the dog to sleep, I was beside myself since she was prefect the day before. It came down to minutes and we almost put her down but we just couldn’t do it. We didn’t have enough proof, so, we opted to have the surgery. Bella made it thru surgery and it showed no signs of spreading. They kept her for 2 days and she came home Monday and seems to be in good spirits. Doctors are amazed at her recovery and we are now awaiting the lab results from the liver biopsy to see if it is cancerous. Praying ill have her around for 7 more years!
I have today found out that my little dog has a mass in his spleen. We are now in turmoil as to what decision to make. Do we risk surgery and the possibility of only having him around for a couple of months – if he makes it through. Or bring him home and make him comfortable for as long as possible?
I’m going to pick him up in a little while to bring him home and have not stopped crying for hours. I really don’t know what to do. I know we have to make a decision quickly but wow vets bills are expensive. I’ll pay whatever it takes but my main concern is him not suffering.
1 question – are any of your dogs on medication following their splenectomy?
Hi Natasha, what a tough situation to be in. In terms of what is the right decision, it is a very personal one and depends greatly on the details of he individual case. Talking it through with your vet is the best option. As for post-operative medications, generally a vet will send you home with some antibiotics as well as some all important analgesia (pain relief). Of course, this depends on the individual pet and your vet might also feel that other medications are required. Again, talking through these details with your vet might help you to make the decision. There isn’t always a right and wrong answer in these circumstances and since you clearly love your dog, whatever decision you reach, I’m sure it’ll be for the right reasons. We really do wish you all the best.
I have today found out that my little dog has a mass in his spleen. We are now in turmoil as to what decision to make. Do we risk surgery and the possibility of only having him around for a couple of months – if he makes it through. Or bring him home and make him comfortable for as long as possible?
I’m going to pick him up in a little while to bring him home and have not stopped crying for hours. I really don’t know what to do. I know we have to make a decision quickly but wow vets bills are expensive. I’ll pay whatever it takes but my main concern is him not suffering.
1 question – are any of your dogs on medication following their splenectomy?
Hi Natasha, what a tough situation to be in. In terms of what is the right decision, it is a very personal one and depends greatly on the details of he individual case. Talking it through with your vet is the best option. As for post-operative medications, generally a vet will send you home with some antibiotics as well as some all important analgesia (pain relief). Of course, this depends on the individual pet and your vet might also feel that other medications are required. Again, talking through these details with your vet might help you to make the decision. There isn’t always a right and wrong answer in these circumstances and since you clearly love your dog, whatever decision you reach, I’m sure it’ll be for the right reasons. We really do wish you all the best.
on new year’s eve my vet randomly felt a mass in my dog’s abdomen. he is an otherwise healthy 14.5 year old mastiff/lab/boxer mix. he was not showing any symptoms of it and an ultrasound two days later revealed two masses but no bleeding. having a splenectomy was a no-brainer for me. he had perfect labs and walks two miles a day. the surgery was five days ago. he spent two days in the ICU just for heart monitoring but he was absolutely fine. he is home and recovering well. the pathology report will be back in a few days and i’m really hoping it’s benign. the larger tumor was tennis ball size but no evidence of mets. I think that if your dog is healthy and you can find a way to afford it, age should not be a limiting factor when making decisions about this procedure. oh, btw…the surgeon tacked his stomach as well so that he has zero risk of bloat in the future. I will forever be thankful to my vet for finding the mass (he was there on a recheck for UTI actually).
on new year’s eve my vet randomly felt a mass in my dog’s abdomen. he is an otherwise healthy 14.5 year old mastiff/lab/boxer mix. he was not showing any symptoms of it and an ultrasound two days later revealed two masses but no bleeding. having a splenectomy was a no-brainer for me. he had perfect labs and walks two miles a day. the surgery was five days ago. he spent two days in the ICU just for heart monitoring but he was absolutely fine. he is home and recovering well. the pathology report will be back in a few days and i’m really hoping it’s benign. the larger tumor was tennis ball size but no evidence of mets. I think that if your dog is healthy and you can find a way to afford it, age should not be a limiting factor when making decisions about this procedure. oh, btw…the surgeon tacked his stomach as well so that he has zero risk of bloat in the future. I will forever be thankful to my vet for finding the mass (he was there on a recheck for UTI actually).
Tyson my 9 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback wasn’t acting himself sometimes so back in November had a ultrasound done and found a mass on his spleen. The doctors thought it was benign so we waited and had another ultrasound done on Jan 4th after Tyson was having bouts of weakness and lack of interest in food. The spleen was removed Jan 8th and one mass was the size of a tennis ball and was leaking blood into his cavity. There also was other tumors in his spleen. There aren’t any signs of cancer on other organs and he is already recovering quickly. He feels that much better and is eating again. I have a great set of doctors. Next time I won’t wait to see if the tumor grows like this one did. I will have it immediately removed. Lesson learned. I have one of the pictures of the spleen after it was removed and it’s no wonder he was bleeding internally and feeling bad. Best to anyone having this decision. Getting it out was the right one for Tyson. Could have gone the other way, you don’t know, you just do the best you can and live with it.
Tyson my 9 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback wasn’t acting himself sometimes so back in November had a ultrasound done and found a mass on his spleen. The doctors thought it was benign so we waited and had another ultrasound done on Jan 4th after Tyson was having bouts of weakness and lack of interest in food. The spleen was removed Jan 8th and one mass was the size of a tennis ball and was leaking blood into his cavity. There also was other tumors in his spleen. There aren’t any signs of cancer on other organs and he is already recovering quickly. He feels that much better and is eating again. I have a great set of doctors. Next time I won’t wait to see if the tumor grows like this one did. I will have it immediately removed. Lesson learned. I have one of the pictures of the spleen after it was removed and it’s no wonder he was bleeding internally and feeling bad. Best to anyone having this decision. Getting it out was the right one for Tyson. Could have gone the other way, you don’t know, you just do the best you can and live with it.
My 8yr. old Rottie “Dukie” is recovering at SRAH as I write this! Basically same story as all the others, but when I took him to “his” vet they said he had “worms & an infection” & was sent home with wormer & antibiotics – told that I shld see a “remarkable difference” in him after 2nd dose of primor! NOT – so took him for 2nd opinion at State Road Animal Hospital – they worked him in – immediate X-ray & ultrasound found Lg mass encompassing his spleen – had it out on Tuesday & hope to bring him home tomorrow! I am fortunate that this vet encourages the family to stay & comfort their family member, so I am there with Duke, sitting in the kennel with him all day long!! He is my Life!! I’m praying for a benign test result as well!!
My 8yr. old Rottie “Dukie” is recovering at SRAH as I write this! Basically same story as all the others, but when I took him to “his” vet they said he had “worms & an infection” & was sent home with wormer & antibiotics – told that I shld see a “remarkable difference” in him after 2nd dose of primor! NOT – so took him for 2nd opinion at State Road Animal Hospital – they worked him in – immediate X-ray & ultrasound found Lg mass encompassing his spleen – had it out on Tuesday & hope to bring him home tomorrow! I am fortunate that this vet encourages the family to stay & comfort their family member, so I am there with Duke, sitting in the kennel with him all day long!! He is my Life!! I’m praying for a benign test result as well!!
If there’s one take home from all these comments, it’s that if your dog is not acting like himself, get him to the vet ASAP. Don’t wait until the next day, don’t “give it a while”. You know your dog and if he’s acting uncharacteristically, there is something wrong. In my case I felt like an idiot calling the vet to say my lab wasn’t accepting a treat, but it turned out like so many other comments here he had a spleen rupture bleeding into his abdomen and would have died if I had waited until morning.
If there’s one take home from all these comments, it’s that if your dog is not acting like himself, get him to the vet ASAP. Don’t wait until the next day, don’t “give it a while”. You know your dog and if he’s acting uncharacteristically, there is something wrong. In my case I felt like an idiot calling the vet to say my lab wasn’t accepting a treat, but it turned out like so many other comments here he had a spleen rupture bleeding into his abdomen and would have died if I had waited until morning.
My gorgeous 8 and a half year old Boxer also displayed worrying symptoms. After going to the vets on numerous occasions they finally done an ultrasound yesterday morning. He had been bleeding internally, had a mass on his spleen and numerous growths on his liver. We had no option but to put him to sleep yesterday. I am heartbroken. I love and miss him so much. RIP Ziggy ‘our boy’ xxx
My gorgeous 8 and a half year old Boxer also displayed worrying symptoms. After going to the vets on numerous occasions they finally done an ultrasound yesterday morning. He had been bleeding internally, had a mass on his spleen and numerous growths on his liver. We had no option but to put him to sleep yesterday. I am heartbroken. I love and miss him so much. RIP Ziggy ‘our boy’ xxx
Last Sunday my beautiful Chocolate Lab, Bosco was not eating his dinner and in the morning again he was not interested. My husband Dan took him to the vet that morning. They xrayed him and found blood all through his abdominal cavity. The spleen had to come out immediately. It had a tumor on it and they weren’t sure about the liver. After a few tests it was confirmed that the liver was o.k. The biopsy showed the tumor was benign. After 2 days all levels were back to normal. After surgery it was noticed Bosco had. An arythmia. He also had no strength in his left rear leg. Couldn’t walk!!!! Today is his first day home and I was given directions about physical therapy to help get his left hind leg working. I bought a harness to assist his walking. This morning my baby ran around the backyard dragging his leg but managed to pee and poop. Hoping his leg will regain strength with time!! We, as a family, have been sick over Boscos situation. We love him so. And by the way, he is 11. I have learned a lot about this spleen issue in Labs and will be aware next time.
Last Sunday my beautiful Chocolate Lab, Bosco was not eating his dinner and in the morning again he was not interested. My husband Dan took him to the vet that morning. They xrayed him and found blood all through his abdominal cavity. The spleen had to come out immediately. It had a tumor on it and they weren’t sure about the liver. After a few tests it was confirmed that the liver was o.k. The biopsy showed the tumor was benign. After 2 days all levels were back to normal. After surgery it was noticed Bosco had. An arythmia. He also had no strength in his left rear leg. Couldn’t walk!!!! Today is his first day home and I was given directions about physical therapy to help get his left hind leg working. I bought a harness to assist his walking. This morning my baby ran around the backyard dragging his leg but managed to pee and poop. Hoping his leg will regain strength with time!! We, as a family, have been sick over Boscos situation. We love him so. And by the way, he is 11. I have learned a lot about this spleen issue in Labs and will be aware next time.
On Saturday night when I came home from a corn maze I found my dog Moll that is 9 years old/ beagle Rottweiler mix laying upstairs drooling all over herself I tried to get her downstairs to go outside and she couldnt walk and i wasnt sure why. The next morning (sunday) I called the Animal Hospital and we brought her in. As soon as we got there they took her temperature and she was freezing and her heart rate was very high and thats when the nurse got very worried. The nurse pulled the doctors out of surgery and they all came in to look at Molly and were freaking out. They took her in the back and had taken x-rays and everything els. When they came back in they said she has a tumor growing on her spleen and she had inturnal bleeding. They took her in for immediate surgery and they had told us that it would be a 50/50 chance she would make it and that if they opened her up and there was cancer everywhere they where going to out her down right away. We had to leave the Hospital but they said they would called back when they where done and geez that was the longest 2 hours of my life, but they had called and said she made in through surgery and they where sending her spleen in to see if it is cancerous and if it is she wont have long to live. Either way i love her more then life itself and all I can do now is pray for my baby to be okay.
On Saturday night when I came home from a corn maze I found my dog Moll that is 9 years old/ beagle Rottweiler mix laying upstairs drooling all over herself I tried to get her downstairs to go outside and she couldnt walk and i wasnt sure why. The next morning (sunday) I called the Animal Hospital and we brought her in. As soon as we got there they took her temperature and she was freezing and her heart rate was very high and thats when the nurse got very worried. The nurse pulled the doctors out of surgery and they all came in to look at Molly and were freaking out. They took her in the back and had taken x-rays and everything els. When they came back in they said she has a tumor growing on her spleen and she had inturnal bleeding. They took her in for immediate surgery and they had told us that it would be a 50/50 chance she would make it and that if they opened her up and there was cancer everywhere they where going to out her down right away. We had to leave the Hospital but they said they would called back when they where done and geez that was the longest 2 hours of my life, but they had called and said she made in through surgery and they where sending her spleen in to see if it is cancerous and if it is she wont have long to live. Either way i love her more then life itself and all I can do now is pray for my baby to be okay.
I had never heard of such a problem until it has just happened to our lovely old GSD (TED) he just wasn’t a happy boy on Saturday and by Sunday afternoon he was so weak and sick, First he was tested and looked over thinking it might have been a snake bite but after a ultra scan at our local Vets on Monday morning it was a ruptured tumor on his spleen. He has now had the spleen removed and we hope to have him back home by end of the week and living the happy life all dogs should have. Dogs are family not just pets. Love my GSD
I had never heard of such a problem until it has just happened to our lovely old GSD (TED) he just wasn’t a happy boy on Saturday and by Sunday afternoon he was so weak and sick, First he was tested and looked over thinking it might have been a snake bite but after a ultra scan at our local Vets on Monday morning it was a ruptured tumor on his spleen. He has now had the spleen removed and we hope to have him back home by end of the week and living the happy life all dogs should have. Dogs are family not just pets. Love my GSD
Kirk, my heart goes out to you and your wife.
On Friday our GSD mix, Asta, started to not feel well-she wouldn’t eat her treat and her tail was down. She perked up and seemed fine on Saturday; she ate, we played, went on a long walk. Sunday morning it was like she was a different dog. She was lethargic, didn’t want to eat and was drinking way too much water, her very huge upright ears are normally pink but the inside was a pale, almost yellow color.
My husband and I brought her to the emergency vet-which was pointless. The triage consisted of a tech checking Asta‘s heart rate and taking her pulse. The tech, Alice, said, “You don’t have to worry, she’s not going to go into cardiac arrest in the waiting room.” What!? That was all the info she could give us. We were there three hours, Asta was getting weaker and weaker. We gave up and decided to just go to our regular vet Monday (today). By the time we left the emergency vet Asta was so weak she couldn’t even stand up.
We went to our vet this morning, she immediately saw her (no appointment), took xrays and blood work. Asta‘s level was down to 18%. Our vet transferred Asta‘s records to the hospital so she could get a transfusion and ultrasound. Ultrasound showed two ruptured tumors on her spleen and her abdominal cavity filled with blood. She just got out of Surgery, they removed her spleen and biopsied a spot on her liver. By the time they started surgery her blood level was down to 14. They are still finishing the transfusion. We won’t know about the biopsies for 2-3 days. But, keeping fingers crossed that we can take our fuzzy-daughter home tomorrow.
Kirk, my heart goes out to you and your wife.
On Friday our GSD mix, Asta, started to not feel well-she wouldn’t eat her treat and her tail was down. She perked up and seemed fine on Saturday; she ate, we played, went on a long walk. Sunday morning it was like she was a different dog. She was lethargic, didn’t want to eat and was drinking way too much water, her very huge upright ears are normally pink but the inside was a pale, almost yellow color.
My husband and I brought her to the emergency vet-which was pointless. The triage consisted of a tech checking Asta‘s heart rate and taking her pulse. The tech, Alice, said, “You don’t have to worry, she’s not going to go into cardiac arrest in the waiting room.” What!? That was all the info she could give us. We were there three hours, Asta was getting weaker and weaker. We gave up and decided to just go to our regular vet Monday (today). By the time we left the emergency vet Asta was so weak she couldn’t even stand up.
We went to our vet this morning, she immediately saw her (no appointment), took xrays and blood work. Asta‘s level was down to 18%. Our vet transferred Asta‘s records to the hospital so she could get a transfusion and ultrasound. Ultrasound showed two ruptured tumors on her spleen and her abdominal cavity filled with blood. She just got out of Surgery, they removed her spleen and biopsied a spot on her liver. By the time they started surgery her blood level was down to 14. They are still finishing the transfusion. We won’t know about the biopsies for 2-3 days. But, keeping fingers crossed that we can take our fuzzy-daughter home tomorrow.
Mary Alice,
Our 11 year old yellow lab, Garth had a splenectomy almost 3 weeks ago…5 lb tumor on his spleen. He showed no signs of being ill, only a swelling around his belly that would come and go. The vet found a mass and we too were faced with the decision of surgery, “wait and see” or putting him down. We opted for surgery, despite the cost, and hoped for the best. So glad to report that Garth is doing extremely well and the tumor was benign! It’s a personal decision….we wish you peace of mind either way you go…keep us posted.
Mary Alice,
Our 11 year old yellow lab, Garth had a splenectomy almost 3 weeks ago…5 lb tumor on his spleen. He showed no signs of being ill, only a swelling around his belly that would come and go. The vet found a mass and we too were faced with the decision of surgery, “wait and see” or putting him down. We opted for surgery, despite the cost, and hoped for the best. So glad to report that Garth is doing extremely well and the tumor was benign! It’s a personal decision….we wish you peace of mind either way you go…keep us posted.
My 7 year old lab and my best friend Duece died from a ruptured spleen 9/30/15 at 2:50 am. I had never heard of this before until I described to my vet that when I got home from work at 11:00 pm I saw he did not eat his food that we put out before we went to work. He seemed slow and no energy. I told my wife that I would take him to the vet in the morning. She layed down with him until 2:30 in the morning. At 2:50 she smelled poop and went to see why. Our baby boy had died. Our lives are empty without him. He loved our grandchildren and they loved him. If I had only known about the spleen in dogs I would have taken him right away. The vet assured me that he most likely would not have survived because his stomach most likely was full of blood. My only solace is he had 7 wonderful years of life and we had 7 years of unconditional love.
My 7 year old lab and my best friend Duece died from a ruptured spleen 9/30/15 at 2:50 am. I had never heard of this before until I described to my vet that when I got home from work at 11:00 pm I saw he did not eat his food that we put out before we went to work. He seemed slow and no energy. I told my wife that I would take him to the vet in the morning. She layed down with him until 2:30 in the morning. At 2:50 she smelled poop and went to see why. Our baby boy had died. Our lives are empty without him. He loved our grandchildren and they loved him. If I had only known about the spleen in dogs I would have taken him right away. The vet assured me that he most likely would not have survived because his stomach most likely was full of blood. My only solace is he had 7 wonderful years of life and we had 7 years of unconditional love.
We got the news we were waiting for. I am happy to say Jack’s tumour was benign. No words can express how ecstatic we are. Jack continues to get better each day and we get to enjoy having him in our life for longer. I hope this brings hope to others.
Michelle – I am so happy to hear your pups tumour was benign. My 12 year old lab has surgery on Sunday. There appears to be no spread. However, I have been told that the odds aren’t great. Your story gives me hope.
We got the news we were waiting for. I am happy to say Jack’s tumour was benign. No words can express how ecstatic we are. Jack continues to get better each day and we get to enjoy having him in our life for longer. I hope this brings hope to others.
Our Labrador cross (Jack) (approx. 11 years) collapsed last Wednesday morning. A large tumour was found on his spleen. Both spleen and tumour have been removed and there was no evidence of spread to his liver or other main organs. A biopsy has been taken and we await his results. I am hoping and praying that Jack gets to enjoy his life again like so many of the dogs mentioned above xxx
Our Labrador cross (Jack) (approx. 11 years) collapsed last Wednesday morning. A large tumour was found on his spleen. Both spleen and tumour have been removed and there was no evidence of spread to his liver or other main organs. A biopsy has been taken and we await his results. I am hoping and praying that Jack gets to enjoy his life again like so many of the dogs mentioned above xxx
Does any one have any opinions or thoughts on doing a splenectomy for a 12 year old GSD/Malamute mix? He shows no signs of being ill, but during a teeth cleaning while he was under the vet noticed a lump. An xray was done and they found a cantaloupe sized mass on his spleen. The other half doesn’t feel it’s worth the surgery, for the sake of the dog or financially we can’t really afford $2000. But though we don’t know for sure if it’s malignant or benign…with the size of it and no other signs of tumors or enlarged lymphs…it seems benign. I don’t want him to hemmorage, but I don’t want to put him down, if he could have the surgery and live another year or 2!
Does any one have any opinions or thoughts on doing a splenectomy for a 12 year old GSD/Malamute mix? He shows no signs of being ill, but during a teeth cleaning while he was under the vet noticed a lump. An xray was done and they found a cantaloupe sized mass on his spleen. The other half doesn’t feel it’s worth the surgery, for the sake of the dog or financially we can’t really afford $2000. But though we don’t know for sure if it’s malignant or benign…with the size of it and no other signs of tumors or enlarged lymphs…it seems benign. I don’t want him to hemmorage, but I don’t want to put him down, if he could have the surgery and live another year or 2!
My Lhasa Apso, the love of my life, went in for his annual shots and the vet felt something enlarged during his exam. I immediately went to a specialist who said he needed his spleen was enlarged and had to be removed. I was in shock. He was the youngest dog and I was worried about the older one. I never prayed so hard in my life. 15 minutes into the surgery, the vet called me and said it was cancer and it had spread and asked if he should continue. Of course, I said yes, and prayed some more. They sent several samples for testing and they all came back negative. No cancer. The vet said there was no way; he saw it, and had them repeat the test. Second time – no cancer. That was 2 years ago and I thank God every day for saving him. No problems since although I do notice he seems hotter lately too.
My Lhasa Apso, the love of my life, went in for his annual shots and the vet felt something enlarged during his exam. I immediately went to a specialist who said he needed his spleen was enlarged and had to be removed. I was in shock. He was the youngest dog and I was worried about the older one. I never prayed so hard in my life. 15 minutes into the surgery, the vet called me and said it was cancer and it had spread and asked if he should continue. Of course, I said yes, and prayed some more. They sent several samples for testing and they all came back negative. No cancer. The vet said there was no way; he saw it, and had them repeat the test. Second time – no cancer. That was 2 years ago and I thank God every day for saving him. No problems since although I do notice he seems hotter lately too.
In May 2015, my 7 year old lab mix was about 62#, with a potbelly. I kept saying to him “Brodie, we need to start walking, you have to get that belly off!” I took him for his shots and the vet asked if that was normal. I said yes (b/c it was). Then about a month later I noticed he wasn’t feeling well, he was snappy with the new foster I had (which is NOT like him at all). His eyes, were dull, after a day or so I noticed the foster kept smelling at his “boy parts” and was very interested in his pee. Then a couple times, he had peed on himself. I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with a UTI and we went home. 2 weeks later we woke up on a Sunday and he wouldn’t eat – or drink – when he did he threw it right up. I ran a strip on his urine and he was starting a UTI again. I called the vet first thing Monday morning – went in – vet said I don’t like the looks of that belly. I want an x-ray. So he had a film which showed a mass the size of a basketball. He went in the next day and had a 7# 13oz tumor attached to his spleen removed. Benign hemangioma He spent 2 days there and came home a new dog. His appetite was back, his energy level was back. He does appear to be a bit more anxious than before but he is also getting older. And he does seem “hotter” now than before. Does anyone have any experience with their dog seeming “hotter” now? slm1020@gmail.com
In May 2015, my 7 year old lab mix was about 62#, with a potbelly. I kept saying to him “Brodie, we need to start walking, you have to get that belly off!” I took him for his shots and the vet asked if that was normal. I said yes (b/c it was). Then about a month later I noticed he wasn’t feeling well, he was snappy with the new foster I had (which is NOT like him at all). His eyes, were dull, after a day or so I noticed the foster kept smelling at his “boy parts” and was very interested in his pee. Then a couple times, he had peed on himself. I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with a UTI and we went home. 2 weeks later we woke up on a Sunday and he wouldn’t eat – or drink – when he did he threw it right up. I ran a strip on his urine and he was starting a UTI again. I called the vet first thing Monday morning – went in – vet said I don’t like the looks of that belly. I want an x-ray. So he had a film which showed a mass the size of a basketball. He went in the next day and had a 7# 13oz tumor attached to his spleen removed. Benign hemangioma He spent 2 days there and came home a new dog. His appetite was back, his energy level was back. He does appear to be a bit more anxious than before but he is also getting older. And he does seem “hotter” now than before. Does anyone have any experience with their dog seeming “hotter” now? slm1020@gmail.com
Our succesful story. Blade is an 8yr old cross paterdale/staffie from the rspca we adopted 6yrs ago. My wife called me at work to say Blade was unwell, his symptoms being shock, very cold and positioning himself in ‘praying position’ (front legs down, hind legs still upright) which fortunately my wife knew to be the sign of a dog in pain, regretfully i told her to “leave it till i get home, he’s probably eat something?”. She chose to ignore me thankfully and took blade to the vet. 1 ex-ray later revealed a ruptured sist the size of an egg bleeding internally.. He was stabalised, then operated on that evening. Whole spleen was removed, blade had lost a lot of blood, was very week and struggling to replenish his own blood supply. We were asked to find a larger suitable dog in the event blade would need blood donating? Appatantly dogs are not like us, with various blood groups.
He managed himself, but was weak for 3 days approx, went as thin as a cat and only started eating on day 3. We have a dog instructor as a neighbour who looked after us, she instructed us to use calpol via syringe as blade refused his tablet form painkillers. We also syringed him water & started him on common pate based meat ‘for smaller dogs’. Once recovery was in place he was pestering us to get out and show off his battle scar, i gave in 3 days early on his 2 week lockdown, we were both getting cabin fever!. 2-3 weeks at most and blade was over it completely. The only concern now was him bursting his stitches (7inch cut), oh, and 1 stitch ony, leaked pinkey water an extra day or two than the others, we had to put a pad over it, and a 2yr childs vest! So he never pulled the pad off. Twice we found blade minus the vest somehow? lol so gave in on that idea…
Our succesful story. Blade is an 8yr old cross paterdale/staffie from the rspca we adopted 6yrs ago. My wife called me at work to say Blade was unwell, his symptoms being shock, very cold and positioning himself in ‘praying position’ (front legs down, hind legs still upright) which fortunately my wife knew to be the sign of a dog in pain, regretfully i told her to “leave it till i get home, he’s probably eat something?”. She chose to ignore me thankfully and took blade to the vet. 1 ex-ray later revealed a ruptured sist the size of an egg bleeding internally.. He was stabalised, then operated on that evening. Whole spleen was removed, blade had lost a lot of blood, was very week and struggling to replenish his own blood supply. We were asked to find a larger suitable dog in the event blade would need blood donating? Appatantly dogs are not like us, with various blood groups.
He managed himself, but was weak for 3 days approx, went as thin as a cat and only started eating on day 3. We have a dog instructor as a neighbour who looked after us, she instructed us to use calpol via syringe as blade refused his tablet form painkillers. We also syringed him water & started him on common pate based meat ‘for smaller dogs’. Once recovery was in place he was pestering us to get out and show off his battle scar, i gave in 3 days early on his 2 week lockdown, we were both getting cabin fever!. 2-3 weeks at most and blade was over it completely. The only concern now was him bursting his stitches (7inch cut), oh, and 1 stitch ony, leaked pinkey water an extra day or two than the others, we had to put a pad over it, and a 2yr childs vest! So he never pulled the pad off. Twice we found blade minus the vest somehow? lol so gave in on that idea…
Our staffie had his life saved by our wonderful vet on Thursday after collapsing suddenly. She found a tumour the size of an orange in his spleen which had started to bleed. He had his spleen removed and came home the same night. By Sunday he could get up on the chair and is eating normally. We get the results of his biopsy tomorrow so have everything crossed at the moment
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Our staffie had his life saved by our wonderful vet on Thursday after collapsing suddenly. She found a tumour the size of an orange in his spleen which had started to bleed. He had his spleen removed and came home the same night. By Sunday he could get up on the chair and is eating normally. We get the results of his biopsy tomorrow so have everything crossed at the moment
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I would like to thank everyone for all the comments and stories. My precious dog Dallas is about to have her second surgery this year on Tuesday . The first surgery they removed a 12 pound mass that had burst and started bleeding everywhere they did emergency surgery . Although it took her a while to recover she had been doing so good until the other day when I heard her cry from trying to lay in her stomach. She started walking slow and her legs started to slide from underneath her. I really wish it would just happen to me instead. I have lost 5 children and two dogs . She is all I have left. If I loose her I don’t want to stay either . If she survives I will write back
I would like to thank everyone for all the comments and stories. My precious dog Dallas is about to have her second surgery this year on Tuesday . The first surgery they removed a 12 pound mass that had burst and started bleeding everywhere they did emergency surgery . Although it took her a while to recover she had been doing so good until the other day when I heard her cry from trying to lay in her stomach. She started walking slow and her legs started to slide from underneath her. I really wish it would just happen to me instead. I have lost 5 children and two dogs . She is all I have left. If I loose her I don’t want to stay either . If she survives I will write back
My lovely GSD Harry has just undergone surgery, as most of you
Experienced a healthy happy dog one minute to a weak listless unresponsive one the next.
I thought someone had swopped him.
We too took him to the vets who
Diagnosed cystitis on Saturday we were back in on Monday and Harry was operated on Tuesdsy. His spleen had ruptured and was bleeding out. Last night was touch and go as he still had a high temperature. This then fell to low.
Harry we hope is on the mend but he also has pancrecitis and peritonitis. I am preying he pulls through this. He is 8 yrs old. Our thoughts were to give him any chance we could even if it’s a slim chance, we love him very much and even if this is bad news at the end of it hopefully we will have some time with him and make it quality time over quantity time. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers to St Anthony the patron saint of animals
My lovely GSD Harry has just undergone surgery, as most of you
Experienced a healthy happy dog one minute to a weak listless unresponsive one the next.
I thought someone had swopped him.
We too took him to the vets who
Diagnosed cystitis on Saturday we were back in on Monday and Harry was operated on Tuesdsy. His spleen had ruptured and was bleeding out. Last night was touch and go as he still had a high temperature. This then fell to low.
Harry we hope is on the mend but he also has pancrecitis and peritonitis. I am preying he pulls through this. He is 8 yrs old. Our thoughts were to give him any chance we could even if it’s a slim chance, we love him very much and even if this is bad news at the end of it hopefully we will have some time with him and make it quality time over quantity time. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers to St Anthony the patron saint of animals
22nd August 2015
I adopted my nearly 10 yr old Basset Henry in January this year. He only had one eye. He was a complex, funny, lively dog who could chase around the garden like a puppy. We soon learned to be happy and loving together and he was very protective of me. Just this week he began to ‘not be himself’, he wanted to eat grass on our walks, his bowels became loose and then one day he passed a very dark, liver type motion. I took him to the vet the following day, he had blood taken which did not show any particular abnormality. Armed with lots of medication we returned home and that night he passed a huge blood like mass and I quickly returned him to the vet who did X-rays and a scan only to discover a mass on Henry’s spleen. The vet said he could operate but commented that Henry might not pull through and he thought the kindest thing was to let him go and not subject him to a big operation. One hour I have my lovely Henry and then very quickly he was gone. Having only had him for 8 months, I feel so sad that I couldn’t keep him for a few more years of contentment. There is a big space in my heart right now.
22nd August 2015
I adopted my nearly 10 yr old Basset Henry in January this year. He only had one eye. He was a complex, funny, lively dog who could chase around the garden like a puppy. We soon learned to be happy and loving together and he was very protective of me. Just this week he began to ‘not be himself’, he wanted to eat grass on our walks, his bowels became loose and then one day he passed a very dark, liver type motion. I took him to the vet the following day, he had blood taken which did not show any particular abnormality. Armed with lots of medication we returned home and that night he passed a huge blood like mass and I quickly returned him to the vet who did X-rays and a scan only to discover a mass on Henry’s spleen. The vet said he could operate but commented that Henry might not pull through and he thought the kindest thing was to let him go and not subject him to a big operation. One hour I have my lovely Henry and then very quickly he was gone. Having only had him for 8 months, I feel so sad that I couldn’t keep him for a few more years of contentment. There is a big space in my heart right now.
Sherri: How is Sasha doing? I hope she is doing well. I am so sorry you are dealing with this pain.
My sweet Kendall is having a splenectomy as I write this, and I am so worried about her. My husband, too, wanted to forgo the surgery, but I was able to convince him. I think he sees how absolutely devastated I am, and I know he, too, wants Kendall to be well. Unfortunately, our vet thinks the tumor is cancerous, so Kendall’s prognosis post-surgery isn’t great, but I had to do everything in my power to increase her quality of life and to give us more time. Over the last weeks, I have been slowly switching her to a homemade diet. She is also taking immunity supplements as well as yunnan baiyao. I am hopeful she comes out of surgery and recovers well so we can try to enjoy what is left of our time together.
Sherri: How is Sasha doing? I hope she is doing well. I am so sorry you are dealing with this pain.
My sweet Kendall is having a splenectomy as I write this, and I am so worried about her. My husband, too, wanted to forgo the surgery, but I was able to convince him. I think he sees how absolutely devastated I am, and I know he, too, wants Kendall to be well. Unfortunately, our vet thinks the tumor is cancerous, so Kendall’s prognosis post-surgery isn’t great, but I had to do everything in my power to increase her quality of life and to give us more time. Over the last weeks, I have been slowly switching her to a homemade diet. She is also taking immunity supplements as well as yunnan baiyao. I am hopeful she comes out of surgery and recovers well so we can try to enjoy what is left of our time together.
I feel for Jane after reading all of our stories. Two weeks ago my lab mix basically crashed within hours after noticing he did not feel well. It was Sat. night so we did not take him to the vet until Monday morning. They found a 12 pound mass in his stomach and emergency surgery was done that day. My vet was not hopeful even though my dog was only 5 yrs old. They saved his life and the mass was not cancer but my thought is how many people can really afford a $2000 vet bill. Whatever choice you have made I am sure that it was the best choice for the situation. I have had 8 dogs in my life and had to put down 5 of them. It does not get any easier.
I feel for Jane after reading all of our stories. Two weeks ago my lab mix basically crashed within hours after noticing he did not feel well. It was Sat. night so we did not take him to the vet until Monday morning. They found a 12 pound mass in his stomach and emergency surgery was done that day. My vet was not hopeful even though my dog was only 5 yrs old. They saved his life and the mass was not cancer but my thought is how many people can really afford a $2000 vet bill. Whatever choice you have made I am sure that it was the best choice for the situation. I have had 8 dogs in my life and had to put down 5 of them. It does not get any easier.
the vet said they would keep her there for a few days at no charge. I have been bringing her to this vet for all of her years. they didn’t catch this 2 weeks ago, or it would not have gotten this large.it is about the size of a nerf football. they are allowing me to make payments on this, because I can’t afford to pay the whole thing up front. I just need to be reassured I am doing the right thing for Sasha. the vet says it will make her more comfortable to get that huge thing off her other organs, and it won’t have a chance to rupture and bleed out.
the vet said they would keep her there for a few days at no charge. I have been bringing her to this vet for all of her years. they didn’t catch this 2 weeks ago, or it would not have gotten this large.it is about the size of a nerf football. they are allowing me to make payments on this, because I can’t afford to pay the whole thing up front. I just need to be reassured I am doing the right thing for Sasha. the vet says it will make her more comfortable to get that huge thing off her other organs, and it won’t have a chance to rupture and bleed out.
I have a 9 yr old female lab sasha with what the vet thinks is a cancerous tumor on her spleen. they don’t know for sure because they did not do a biopsy. my husband thinks we should not have the surgery due to the survival rate of only 3 months. I beleive in God and I have done a lot of research, and I believe she will heal. there are cancer diets out there for your dog, and with the right food, vitamins, and nutrients the cancer can be slowed or even killed. I am supposed to have her to surgery this Tuesday August 11th 2015 at 8am. she is my life and I want her to have a chance. what is the recovery time for this surgery. Angela Griffith, you mentioned your lola was going up and down the stairs, that’s amazing. that’s what I am afraid of for sasha, we live in a split level home with stairs. you give me hope.
I have a 9 yr old female lab sasha with what the vet thinks is a cancerous tumor on her spleen. they don’t know for sure because they did not do a biopsy. my husband thinks we should not have the surgery due to the survival rate of only 3 months. I beleive in God and I have done a lot of research, and I believe she will heal. there are cancer diets out there for your dog, and with the right food, vitamins, and nutrients the cancer can be slowed or even killed. I am supposed to have her to surgery this Tuesday August 11th 2015 at 8am. she is my life and I want her to have a chance. what is the recovery time for this surgery. Angela Griffith, you mentioned your lola was going up and down the stairs, that’s amazing. that’s what I am afraid of for sasha, we live in a split level home with stairs. you give me hope.
Sarah i know exactly how you feel, i took my beautiful spaneil to the vets today after she suddenly fell i,ll were two vets confirmed she had a mass on her spleen and due to the size they believed it to be cancerous and after asking several times. If it was operable i knew from there faces it was a no brainer, so we put her to sleep today at 10.30am, its broke my heart i feel so guilty and after reading the ubove comments of the success stories im wondering if i made the right decision. It. Hurts so much so my heart goes out to u too sarah.
Sarah i know exactly how you feel, i took my beautiful spaneil to the vets today after she suddenly fell i,ll were two vets confirmed she had a mass on her spleen and due to the size they believed it to be cancerous and after asking several times. If it was operable i knew from there faces it was a no brainer, so we put her to sleep today at 10.30am, its broke my heart i feel so guilty and after reading the ubove comments of the success stories im wondering if i made the right decision. It. Hurts so much so my heart goes out to u too sarah.
I have twin shepherds, both boys, almost 7. The vet suggested xraying their spleens due to their size, breed and build – he said larger, deep chested dogs are prone to enlarged spleens. Neither gave any indication there was a problem but their vet likes to thoroughly prevent problems. Sure enough – BOTH had enlarged spleens. One’s spleen was almost 3 times its normal size. He recommended splenectomys for both and performed them a couple weeks later. Upon surgery, the spleen that was so enlarged was discovered to have twisted and was close to becoming life threatening. Biopsies came back yesterday and fortunately neither had any signs of cancers or tumors but tests did indicate that their were other issues that could have presented later, even in my other babies. It’s terrible to watch them have to heal through it but I’m SO grateful that their vet had the foresight to even just take an x-ray. I didn’t realize it was so common for smaller dogs to have problems. Having now had 2 go through this, I certainly recommend anyone with larger breeds (especially with the deep chests) to talk to their vets. Additionally, I am hoping their insurance covers these surgeries – I called beforehand and they said there was no reason they shouldn’t. So I also want to highly recommend pet parents look into these options for their fur babies. It’s amazing what help the right insurance can bring.
I have twin shepherds, both boys, almost 7. The vet suggested xraying their spleens due to their size, breed and build – he said larger, deep chested dogs are prone to enlarged spleens. Neither gave any indication there was a problem but their vet likes to thoroughly prevent problems. Sure enough – BOTH had enlarged spleens. One’s spleen was almost 3 times its normal size. He recommended splenectomys for both and performed them a couple weeks later. Upon surgery, the spleen that was so enlarged was discovered to have twisted and was close to becoming life threatening. Biopsies came back yesterday and fortunately neither had any signs of cancers or tumors but tests did indicate that their were other issues that could have presented later, even in my other babies. It’s terrible to watch them have to heal through it but I’m SO grateful that their vet had the foresight to even just take an x-ray. I didn’t realize it was so common for smaller dogs to have problems. Having now had 2 go through this, I certainly recommend anyone with larger breeds (especially with the deep chests) to talk to their vets. Additionally, I am hoping their insurance covers these surgeries – I called beforehand and they said there was no reason they shouldn’t. So I also want to highly recommend pet parents look into these options for their fur babies. It’s amazing what help the right insurance can bring.
My little 8 pound Chihuahua named Papito is going in for a splenectomy tomorrow morning. I took him to the Vet yesterday for a check up….he’s been slowing down and had s weird cough. After blood test and X-rays….the vet determined that he had a splenic mass…..and it showed it to us on the X-rays. We are hoping that it’s not cancer and am looking forward to our little boy coming back home soon.
My little 8 pound Chihuahua named Papito is going in for a splenectomy tomorrow morning. I took him to the Vet yesterday for a check up….he’s been slowing down and had s weird cough. After blood test and X-rays….the vet determined that he had a splenic mass…..and it showed it to us on the X-rays. We are hoping that it’s not cancer and am looking forward to our little boy coming back home soon.
Sarah: you did everything right! do not feel guilty…it seems your Molly was very sick. trust in the vet when they say not to do surgery..if they did operate, she probably wouldn’t have survived given low blood and fluid in the lungs…my heart aches for you and i hope you find solace in knowing what a great pet parent you were and Molly knows how much she was loved..she’s wagging her tail and smiling down on you from the ‘rainbow bridge’ XOXOXO
Sarah: you did everything right! do not feel guilty…it seems your Molly was very sick. trust in the vet when they say not to do surgery..if they did operate, she probably wouldn’t have survived given low blood and fluid in the lungs…my heart aches for you and i hope you find solace in knowing what a great pet parent you were and Molly knows how much she was loved..she’s wagging her tail and smiling down on you from the ‘rainbow bridge’ XOXOXO
My beautiful girl Molly only 8 1/2 was found to have internal bleeding and an abnormally large spleen after being treated for possible rat poison, as her blood wasnt clotting and she was anemic. This happened 6 1/2 weeks ago over only 2 days, it is still a huge shock. She had 2 blood transfusions but her blood levels didnt pick up much and that is when they realised she was bleeding internally and the spleen was involved. We were given the option of emergency surgery or put her to sleep. I of course wanted to do everything for her and said do the surgery and that cost didnt matter. They wanted to check chest xray first and said they are abnormal and she has fluid on her lungs. They kept saying how this made her a bad candidate for surgery along with internal bleeding and blood levels being abnormal. The vets seemed to not encourage surgery and we somehow made the horrible choice to put her to sleep. I am tormented all the time by that choice. It was the worst mistake of my life. I feel it all happened so fast and I was very upset and emotional and dont think I made a good call. She deserved a chance and I dont know how to forgive myself. I have researched all this stuff about spleens since it happened and the statistics on surgery survival and whether it is cancer or not seem much better than what the vet outlined on that horrible day. I have so much regret I didnt let her have the chance at surgery…I love and miss her so much.
My beautiful girl Molly only 8 1/2 was found to have internal bleeding and an abnormally large spleen after being treated for possible rat poison, as her blood wasnt clotting and she was anemic. This happened 6 1/2 weeks ago over only 2 days, it is still a huge shock. She had 2 blood transfusions but her blood levels didnt pick up much and that is when they realised she was bleeding internally and the spleen was involved. We were given the option of emergency surgery or put her to sleep. I of course wanted to do everything for her and said do the surgery and that cost didnt matter. They wanted to check chest xray first and said they are abnormal and she has fluid on her lungs. They kept saying how this made her a bad candidate for surgery along with internal bleeding and blood levels being abnormal. The vets seemed to not encourage surgery and we somehow made the horrible choice to put her to sleep. I am tormented all the time by that choice. It was the worst mistake of my life. I feel it all happened so fast and I was very upset and emotional and dont think I made a good call. She deserved a chance and I dont know how to forgive myself. I have researched all this stuff about spleens since it happened and the statistics on surgery survival and whether it is cancer or not seem much better than what the vet outlined on that horrible day. I have so much regret I didnt let her have the chance at surgery…I love and miss her so much.
My 13 year old lab was bloated, not eating very well and not feeling well. I took her in and they found her to be anemic with HGB of 8.4, blood in abdomen and mass on spleen. I made the hard choice to do surgery to give her a chance of recovery. Well, unfortunately she ended up having 3 masses on liver and 1 by intestine. I ended up putting her down since the vet said he couldn’t really do anything. I didnt want her to surgery after surgery and then possible die soon afterward. I don’t know if I made the right choice to do surgery, I thought she was coming come after. I didnt expect that and was heart broken…cried for 2 days. I feel maybe I shouldn’t have done surgery and co uh old have said goodbye better. I miss her dearly, was a wonderful dog.
I’m so sorry to hear that – I think you made the decision for exactly the right reasons. Unfortunately, once a tumour of the spleen has spread, the outcome is almost always poor.
My 7 1/2 year old labrador Lola is back home with me today after having her spleen removed yesterday. A large mass was found when I took her to the vets after she would not move at the weekend after a walk… I am terrified at the moment as I have not had the results yet this is all been so sudden and so shocking … we love her so much and this house was not the same at all when she was in hospital … she has been crying on and off but has been going up and down stairs so doesnt seem in so much pain … I am praying for a good outcome for my sweet placid and loving dog
My 7 1/2 year old labrador Lola is back home with me today after having her spleen removed yesterday. A large mass was found when I took her to the vets after she would not move at the weekend after a walk… I am terrified at the moment as I have not had the results yet this is all been so sudden and so shocking … we love her so much and this house was not the same at all when she was in hospital … she has been crying on and off but has been going up and down stairs so doesnt seem in so much pain … I am praying for a good outcome for my sweet placid and loving dog
We found some blood spots on the floor on Sunday just gone. We took my big baby (Tiger.. A long haired German Shepherd) to the vets. They requested to neuter him. They xray and the vet didn’t like what she saw. She explained that there was a mass she didn’t like and that she will undergo surgery. He did today. He had a splenectomy. We still don’t know if benign or malign but we were advised he will live three to six months only. Liver is fine but more tests to be done. He has stayed at the vets overnight to monitor him. I miss him so much.
We found some blood spots on the floor on Sunday just gone. We took my big baby (Tiger.. A long haired German Shepherd) to the vets. They requested to neuter him. They xray and the vet didn’t like what she saw. She explained that there was a mass she didn’t like and that she will undergo surgery. He did today. He had a splenectomy. We still don’t know if benign or malign but we were advised he will live three to six months only. Liver is fine but more tests to be done. He has stayed at the vets overnight to monitor him. I miss him so much.
Our 14 year old springer spaniel had his spleen out in late October 2014. Our/his story is so similar to Julie Payne’s above that I’m not going to repeat it. Now some 6 months later apart from being tired quite quickly on walks it is as if nothing has happened.
I’m grateful every day that we live so close to the Royal Vets College in Potters Bar, without them I don’t think we’d still have a dog, one that completes our family.
Our 14 year old springer spaniel had his spleen out in late October 2014. Our/his story is so similar to Julie Payne’s above that I’m not going to repeat it. Now some 6 months later apart from being tired quite quickly on walks it is as if nothing has happened.
I’m grateful every day that we live so close to the Royal Vets College in Potters Bar, without them I don’t think we’d still have a dog, one that completes our family.
My dog Moze had surgery three weeks ago at noon on a Monday. That same night at 11:30 PM we had him in emergency and at 12:30 he underwent surgery because X-Rays showed he had a twisted/elongated stomach. We saw the X-Rays and the spleen, which is suppose to be located below the stomach, was on top. They were able to save his life, but had to remove the spleen because it looked damaged. The doctor wasn’t able to say if the twisting of the stomach had damaged the spleen or if the spleen had been the problem and had caused the stomach to twist under the stress of the earlier surgery. But now Moze is doing so well and acts like such a much younger dog than he did before, I think the spleen was having problems, and coupled with the stress of the earlier surgery caused the stomach to twist.
My dog Moze had surgery three weeks ago at noon on a Monday. That same night at 11:30 PM we had him in emergency and at 12:30 he underwent surgery because X-Rays showed he had a twisted/elongated stomach. We saw the X-Rays and the spleen, which is suppose to be located below the stomach, was on top. They were able to save his life, but had to remove the spleen because it looked damaged. The doctor wasn’t able to say if the twisting of the stomach had damaged the spleen or if the spleen had been the problem and had caused the stomach to twist under the stress of the earlier surgery. But now Moze is doing so well and acts like such a much younger dog than he did before, I think the spleen was having problems, and coupled with the stress of the earlier surgery caused the stomach to twist.
Julie you mainly wrote my story about my 8 year old Cairn Terrier mix, Roscoe. He jumped off my lap at 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday April 1, 2015 and pranced out the doggy door. He is normally out and back on my lap within 3 minutes. At 10:30 I went to check on him and found him in a daze in the backyard. We spent the rest of the night on the sofa with him cuddled on my shoulder and his sister Samantha beside us both.
At 8 a.m. I was on the phone with the vet’s office. It was just one of those days. The vet wasn’t in. We were directed to the Emergency Hospital where Roscoe was examined and blood work performed. Their x-ray was down but they knew he was bleeding internally. I had to rush him to another ER completely across the Valley (we are in the Phoenix area) which was about 30 miles away. They did x-rays and ultrasound and found a large mass the size of a tennis ball. Their surgeon was not available until Monday so it was back to the first ER where they had called in their surgeon. It was the longest drive I had ever made. My baby was getting sicker and sicker by the minute. We finally made it back and he was in surgery within minutes. By that time his blood count was way low, blood pressure extremely low and he was drifting away from me.
At midnight I talked to the night vet on duty. Roscoe was resting but his blood count was still going down. I gave the doctor verbal consent to do a blood transfusion, if necessary. Thank God that wasn’t needed. His red cell count went all the way down to 16% and at 15% the transfusion would have been needed.
At 6 a.m. when I talked to the night vet, Roscoe was finally alert and wagging his tail when anyone approached him. He was coming back! His 6 a.m. blood workup showed his count at 18%. He needed to stay at the hospital the second night but was doing so much better!
I visited him every few hours and saw the spark (and little devil) come back into my sweet little boy. I brought him home to his sister and me on Saturday. This house was once again a home.
Now it was waiting for the results of the biopsy.
It was the longest week of my life filled with PANIC when the phone rang yet disappointment when it wasn’t “the call”! By then, to look at him, you would never have guessed he was that close to dying and that he had major surgery just days ago. My little boy was a handful to keep quiet yet I didn’t know what was going on inside his little body.
Finally the dreaded call came in one week to the day after his surgery (WHY did it have to take so long!?!) …..
IT WAS BENIGN!
The prognosis from the get-go wasn’t a good one but my little warrior (that acts like a Great Dane) pulled this one off. I don’t know if it was a good thing for all the doctors to be ‘gloom and doom’ but I’m elated they were wrong.
Julie, my heart goes out to you. I’ve walked that walk you are walking. I pray you had the same outcome as I. Those little bugger’s dig so deep into our hearts! Roscoe had to have ACL surgery in November of 2013. Between those two surgeries my Social Security check is stretched to the limit but I’m the richest I’ve ever been in my life when he looks up into my eyes! Unconditional love in both directions.
Julie you mainly wrote my story about my 8 year old Cairn Terrier mix, Roscoe. He jumped off my lap at 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday April 1, 2015 and pranced out the doggy door. He is normally out and back on my lap within 3 minutes. At 10:30 I went to check on him and found him in a daze in the backyard. We spent the rest of the night on the sofa with him cuddled on my shoulder and his sister Samantha beside us both.
At 8 a.m. I was on the phone with the vet’s office. It was just one of those days. The vet wasn’t in. We were directed to the Emergency Hospital where Roscoe was examined and blood work performed. Their x-ray was down but they knew he was bleeding internally. I had to rush him to another ER completely across the Valley (we are in the Phoenix area) which was about 30 miles away. They did x-rays and ultrasound and found a large mass the size of a tennis ball. Their surgeon was not available until Monday so it was back to the first ER where they had called in their surgeon. It was the longest drive I had ever made. My baby was getting sicker and sicker by the minute. We finally made it back and he was in surgery within minutes. By that time his blood count was way low, blood pressure extremely low and he was drifting away from me.
At midnight I talked to the night vet on duty. Roscoe was resting but his blood count was still going down. I gave the doctor verbal consent to do a blood transfusion, if necessary. Thank God that wasn’t needed. His red cell count went all the way down to 16% and at 15% the transfusion would have been needed.
At 6 a.m. when I talked to the night vet, Roscoe was finally alert and wagging his tail when anyone approached him. He was coming back! His 6 a.m. blood workup showed his count at 18%. He needed to stay at the hospital the second night but was doing so much better!
I visited him every few hours and saw the spark (and little devil) come back into my sweet little boy. I brought him home to his sister and me on Saturday. This house was once again a home.
Now it was waiting for the results of the biopsy.
It was the longest week of my life filled with PANIC when the phone rang yet disappointment when it wasn’t “the call”! By then, to look at him, you would never have guessed he was that close to dying and that he had major surgery just days ago. My little boy was a handful to keep quiet yet I didn’t know what was going on inside his little body.
Finally the dreaded call came in one week to the day after his surgery (WHY did it have to take so long!?!) …..
IT WAS BENIGN!
The prognosis from the get-go wasn’t a good one but my little warrior (that acts like a Great Dane) pulled this one off. I don’t know if it was a good thing for all the doctors to be ‘gloom and doom’ but I’m elated they were wrong.
Julie, my heart goes out to you. I’ve walked that walk you are walking. I pray you had the same outcome as I. Those little bugger’s dig so deep into our hearts! Roscoe had to have ACL surgery in November of 2013. Between those two surgeries my Social Security check is stretched to the limit but I’m the richest I’ve ever been in my life when he looks up into my eyes! Unconditional love in both directions.
My 11yr old Wire Fox Terrier, Sammy, became suddenly lethargic this afternoon & shaking. He was at the vet by 4.30pm, blood work, X-ray and ultrasound done less than half hour later and he’s got a very large mass attached to his spleen. It’s not ruptured and there’s no loose fluid showing up, but he’s in surgery right now having it out as I type this. It came on so incredibly suddenly, this morning bouncing about like a jack in a box as normal, then this afternoon not himself at all. Some would call me paranoid & over protective but I believe a dog is like an infant, they deteriorate at lightening speed so vigilance and swift action is needed on every occasion.
Sammy was my Mum & Dad’s dog, he’s been through so much. Dad died first then only last year my Mum suddenly died so he lost both his owners really quickly. We took him in and he’s become such a part of the family, the kids adore him as do I. We’re his forever family and it feels so cruel that we’ve grown to love him and took him in only to potentially lose him only a year after him coming to us.
I’m praying he makes it through the op because we’re all moving to Cornwall in three weeks time, what a fabulous life for him… Fingers crossed.
My 11yr old Wire Fox Terrier, Sammy, became suddenly lethargic this afternoon & shaking. He was at the vet by 4.30pm, blood work, X-ray and ultrasound done less than half hour later and he’s got a very large mass attached to his spleen. It’s not ruptured and there’s no loose fluid showing up, but he’s in surgery right now having it out as I type this. It came on so incredibly suddenly, this morning bouncing about like a jack in a box as normal, then this afternoon not himself at all. Some would call me paranoid & over protective but I believe a dog is like an infant, they deteriorate at lightening speed so vigilance and swift action is needed on every occasion.
Sammy was my Mum & Dad’s dog, he’s been through so much. Dad died first then only last year my Mum suddenly died so he lost both his owners really quickly. We took him in and he’s become such a part of the family, the kids adore him as do I. We’re his forever family and it feels so cruel that we’ve grown to love him and took him in only to potentially lose him only a year after him coming to us.
I’m praying he makes it through the op because we’re all moving to Cornwall in three weeks time, what a fabulous life for him… Fingers crossed.
To Paul M with your baby Jazzy,
Just wanted to say bless you and hope all is well.
We hope to hear fm you soon and share here on the site with us.
As my story is here with our baby Buster, same as you, we was not able to have our own kids, so we put all our love to Buster and many of our non animal friends gives us the FUNNY /YOU are crazy for doing what you do for your dog. But that is okay. Everyone has their own opinion and we just learn to go and chat with other animal lovers like you all here.
To Jenny S who had wonderful story on Biggles. Hope to hear what is going on these days as well?
Update on Buster to share with folks as you can see the previous story what lead to the surgery to have his spleen removed. Ruptured tumor on the spleen. Bad news the biopsy came back HEMANGIOSarcoma, cancer that spreads thru the blood vessels. uggh
Buster is 12 …be 13 in May of this year. So we opt out of chemo/radiation back last year in Aug 2014.
YES< it has now been 8 months since his surgery.
we give him blended raw veggies/kale/spinach/carrots/cabbage/parsley/dandelion/green apples in blender to fine chopped . with on low boiled white meat only chicken. feed him 3x a day about 1 1/2 cups it seems each meal. with supplements : mushrooms /MSM/Flax seeds grounded up when we feed him/Flax oil/HEMP seeds…..he snacks on pieces of apples/carrots these days.
took him off DRY foods all together and those wonderful doggie treats he loved so much which was so bad for him.
Anyway, I am asking for help now cause even though Buster is so energized and seems so healthy…HE LOVES to eat no problem there!!! cause they say cancer dogs to keep eye on that ….
Since Dec 2014 blood work shows his RBC/was at 4.6 norm range is 4.8-9.3
HEMOGLOBIN 10 norm range 12.1-20
Hematocrit 30% very LOW
Then in Jan 2015 was getting lower in all the numbers above
March this week is even lower
RBC 4.2
HEMOGLOBIN 8.8
HEMATOCRIT 29%
Ultrasound as of last week says there are signs of masses growing in the cavity of his stomach….I think I am remembering this right but sure that is is
the biggest size was at 4×2 inches
Can anyone let me know if you have gone thru this and what have you done?
We do research and see that the low numbers is indication of LOW IRON….
but I read up that MEATS/DIARY was not good for CANCER dogs in general
But then I have seen such good info on the BUDWIG program for dogs as well….to get oxygen to the blood cells cause cancer hate oxygen is for a FACT.
But the BUDWIG call for COTTAGE cheese low fat, that means Cheese = Diary!!!
I am so confused cause as the more I read the more contradictions all over the place.
THIS IS GOOD AND SOUNDS TO BE A GREAT FACT AND REASONING BUT THEN ANOTHER FACT CONTRADICTS IT!!!
Then we have been giving Buster the Yannan Baiyou for a few weeks every day 6 capsules a day as we were told by the vet it helps stop internal bleeding…
I came across a site where it says do not give your dog any supplements like mushrooms and such cause it will interfere with the blood coagulating formula.
Please someone help me if you have any kinds of advice base on what you have done with your dog/s that has gone thru what our Buster is going thru.
His gums are not white but like to see it more red
I want to do the BUDWIG program but scared of the CHEESE factor
I know he needs IRON ….and B-12 as I read up those are in the 3 numbers above where Buster is LOW.
Anyone please if you have long details and rather email me directly, please do.
We are here to be advocates for our babies, best friends and most of all…creatures fm LOVE. All born with nothing but to give us unconditional love.
Maylin
maitaz@yahoo.com
Tampa, FL
To Paul M with your baby Jazzy,
Just wanted to say bless you and hope all is well.
We hope to hear fm you soon and share here on the site with us.
As my story is here with our baby Buster, same as you, we was not able to have our own kids, so we put all our love to Buster and many of our non animal friends gives us the FUNNY /YOU are crazy for doing what you do for your dog. But that is okay. Everyone has their own opinion and we just learn to go and chat with other animal lovers like you all here.
To Jenny S who had wonderful story on Biggles. Hope to hear what is going on these days as well?
Update on Buster to share with folks as you can see the previous story what lead to the surgery to have his spleen removed. Ruptured tumor on the spleen. Bad news the biopsy came back HEMANGIOSarcoma, cancer that spreads thru the blood vessels. uggh
Buster is 12 …be 13 in May of this year. So we opt out of chemo/radiation back last year in Aug 2014.
YES< it has now been 8 months since his surgery.
we give him blended raw veggies/kale/spinach/carrots/cabbage/parsley/dandelion/green apples in blender to fine chopped . with on low boiled white meat only chicken. feed him 3x a day about 1 1/2 cups it seems each meal. with supplements : mushrooms /MSM/Flax seeds grounded up when we feed him/Flax oil/HEMP seeds…..he snacks on pieces of apples/carrots these days.
took him off DRY foods all together and those wonderful doggie treats he loved so much which was so bad for him.
Anyway, I am asking for help now cause even though Buster is so energized and seems so healthy…HE LOVES to eat no problem there!!! cause they say cancer dogs to keep eye on that ….
Since Dec 2014 blood work shows his RBC/was at 4.6 norm range is 4.8-9.3
HEMOGLOBIN 10 norm range 12.1-20
Hematocrit 30% very LOW
Then in Jan 2015 was getting lower in all the numbers above
March this week is even lower
RBC 4.2
HEMOGLOBIN 8.8
HEMATOCRIT 29%
Ultrasound as of last week says there are signs of masses growing in the cavity of his stomach….I think I am remembering this right but sure that is is
the biggest size was at 4×2 inches
Can anyone let me know if you have gone thru this and what have you done?
We do research and see that the low numbers is indication of LOW IRON….
but I read up that MEATS/DIARY was not good for CANCER dogs in general
But then I have seen such good info on the BUDWIG program for dogs as well….to get oxygen to the blood cells cause cancer hate oxygen is for a FACT.
But the BUDWIG call for COTTAGE cheese low fat, that means Cheese = Diary!!!
I am so confused cause as the more I read the more contradictions all over the place.
THIS IS GOOD AND SOUNDS TO BE A GREAT FACT AND REASONING BUT THEN ANOTHER FACT CONTRADICTS IT!!!
Then we have been giving Buster the Yannan Baiyou for a few weeks every day 6 capsules a day as we were told by the vet it helps stop internal bleeding…
I came across a site where it says do not give your dog any supplements like mushrooms and such cause it will interfere with the blood coagulating formula.
Please someone help me if you have any kinds of advice base on what you have done with your dog/s that has gone thru what our Buster is going thru.
His gums are not white but like to see it more red
I want to do the BUDWIG program but scared of the CHEESE factor
I know he needs IRON ….and B-12 as I read up those are in the 3 numbers above where Buster is LOW.
Anyone please if you have long details and rather email me directly, please do.
We are here to be advocates for our babies, best friends and most of all…creatures fm LOVE. All born with nothing but to give us unconditional love.
Maylin
maitaz@yahoo.com
Tampa, FL
I have a 15 year old Rotweiler (three years older than me!!!) that is getting his spleen removed on Monday because it is badly swollen and might cause internal bleeding. His stomach is buldging and he is going for his operation on Monday morning at 9am. Hes still in good form and really strong. We hope that the operation goes well.
I have a 15 year old Rotweiler (three years older than me!!!) that is getting his spleen removed on Monday because it is badly swollen and might cause internal bleeding. His stomach is buldging and he is going for his operation on Monday morning at 9am. Hes still in good form and really strong. We hope that the operation goes well.
I have a 14 year old beagle, her name is Princess. She just had her spleen remove yesterday and so far she is doing great!!! I was really worry about the operation because of her age but she’s a champ. This morning at 5am I feed her and she ate pretty good, not her usually portion but enough. The vet warning me about the food so I’m not worry. They send her spleen for a biopsy we will have the result by Thursday, her vet is very optimistic because of the size of the spleen and it have not been no further damage to the other organs.
I thank God that everything went well and I have my Princess back!!!
I have a 14 year old beagle, her name is Princess. She just had her spleen remove yesterday and so far she is doing great!!! I was really worry about the operation because of her age but she’s a champ. This morning at 5am I feed her and she ate pretty good, not her usually portion but enough. The vet warning me about the food so I’m not worry. They send her spleen for a biopsy we will have the result by Thursday, her vet is very optimistic because of the size of the spleen and it have not been no further damage to the other organs.
I thank God that everything went well and I have my Princess back!!!
It’s now been a week since my boy, Kai, took ill and was rushed into theatre to have his splenectomy.
His first pre-op check went well on Monday and yesterday (Wednesday) the vet rang me to give me the results of tests taken from his spleen and the mass attached to it. There were no cancerous cells found which means the prognosis is very good. As he had the whole spleen taken away as well as the mass he requires no further treatment. He lost a lot of blood so I’ve been told to feed him a high protein diet to help get his blood count up and keep him well rested – not an easy job with Staffys, as they are hyperactive, but his pain medication seems to be keeping him a little drowsy.
All I have to do now is get him fit and well. We have our next post-op vet check on Monday 9th, so I’m hoping he will be once again bounding across the garden in a few weeks time.
One thing I did find out was that they had no explanation of why this ‘lump’ had grown. They explained it as something as simple as an ‘extension of his spleen’. It could of course have occurred via a knock of some sort while he was running around.
I hope our story gives someone some hope. I had none until I found this website 🙂 xxx
It’s now been a week since my boy, Kai, took ill and was rushed into theatre to have his splenectomy.
His first pre-op check went well on Monday and yesterday (Wednesday) the vet rang me to give me the results of tests taken from his spleen and the mass attached to it. There were no cancerous cells found which means the prognosis is very good. As he had the whole spleen taken away as well as the mass he requires no further treatment. He lost a lot of blood so I’ve been told to feed him a high protein diet to help get his blood count up and keep him well rested – not an easy job with Staffys, as they are hyperactive, but his pain medication seems to be keeping him a little drowsy.
All I have to do now is get him fit and well. We have our next post-op vet check on Monday 9th, so I’m hoping he will be once again bounding across the garden in a few weeks time.
One thing I did find out was that they had no explanation of why this ‘lump’ had grown. They explained it as something as simple as an ‘extension of his spleen’. It could of course have occurred via a knock of some sort while he was running around.
I hope our story gives someone some hope. I had none until I found this website 🙂 xxx
My boy, Kai is an 8 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier and up until 2 days ago he was his usual self.
On Thursday afternoon he became very lethargic, walking slowly and carefully and just wanting to lie down.
On Friday morning (yesterday) I took him to the vets. They gave him an xray and said there was a large mass, so they did a scan. This revealed a 20cm growth attached to his spleen and they decided to operate immediately. The vet told me that I got him there just in time, because it had only just started to rupture, his gums were still pink and he hadn’t lost too much blood at that stage, although when they removed the mass and the full spleen he did lose a lot.
I brought him home today (Saturday) and he is very sleepy and wouldn’t eat or drink. Without him eating I couldn’t give him his pain killer, so I cooked some chicken, covered with his meds and placed it in a bowl near him. He’s been very restless and obviously in pain, but eventually he wandered over to it and ate it. He hasn’t drank any water yet but has been for a wee twice.
I have to take him back on Monday for his first post-op check and hopefully the test results on the mass/spleen will be in.
I am hoping and praying that he hasn’t got cancer. Would I really want to put him through chemo if all it will do is give him (me!) and extra 2-3 months life?
When this first happened I was in two minds whether to have him put to sleep as the prognosis didn’t seem so good, but as my daughter was murdered nearly 3 years ago and he has been my strength I just new I had to give this a shot. I have to stand by him now, as he has stood by me.
What I want to know is why is this becoming more and more common? Is it hereditary? Is it something in the food? What about the fluoride in our water?
I give him, and my other Staffy, the best food on the market that contains no BHA or BHT and no animal derivatives.
Also I read that once your spleen is removed you are more susceptible to viruses etc because your immune system is virtually zilch.
As a herbalist I will be searching for something to give my boy to boost his immune system in the hope he leads a normal, healthy and long life.
I’m so glad I found this site. As my vet told me it is a 50/50 chance of him being OK I find it comforting to see so many success stories.
I will keep you updated on Kai’s progress in the hope it helps others.
Fingers crossed xxx
My boy, Kai is an 8 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier and up until 2 days ago he was his usual self.
On Thursday afternoon he became very lethargic, walking slowly and carefully and just wanting to lie down.
On Friday morning (yesterday) I took him to the vets. They gave him an xray and said there was a large mass, so they did a scan. This revealed a 20cm growth attached to his spleen and they decided to operate immediately. The vet told me that I got him there just in time, because it had only just started to rupture, his gums were still pink and he hadn’t lost too much blood at that stage, although when they removed the mass and the full spleen he did lose a lot.
I brought him home today (Saturday) and he is very sleepy and wouldn’t eat or drink. Without him eating I couldn’t give him his pain killer, so I cooked some chicken, covered with his meds and placed it in a bowl near him. He’s been very restless and obviously in pain, but eventually he wandered over to it and ate it. He hasn’t drank any water yet but has been for a wee twice.
I have to take him back on Monday for his first post-op check and hopefully the test results on the mass/spleen will be in.
I am hoping and praying that he hasn’t got cancer. Would I really want to put him through chemo if all it will do is give him (me!) and extra 2-3 months life?
When this first happened I was in two minds whether to have him put to sleep as the prognosis didn’t seem so good, but as my daughter was murdered nearly 3 years ago and he has been my strength I just new I had to give this a shot. I have to stand by him now, as he has stood by me.
What I want to know is why is this becoming more and more common? Is it hereditary? Is it something in the food? What about the fluoride in our water?
I give him, and my other Staffy, the best food on the market that contains no BHA or BHT and no animal derivatives.
Also I read that once your spleen is removed you are more susceptible to viruses etc because your immune system is virtually zilch.
As a herbalist I will be searching for something to give my boy to boost his immune system in the hope he leads a normal, healthy and long life.
I’m so glad I found this site. As my vet told me it is a 50/50 chance of him being OK I find it comforting to see so many success stories.
I will keep you updated on Kai’s progress in the hope it helps others.
Fingers crossed xxx
Hi. My dog is Australian shepherd mix labrador is 9 years and one month old has his spleen removed on January 14 , last year 2014. We did not give him the traditional chemo instead we give him I’m Yunity all these time. And I cook for him mostly protein mix with kale sweet potatoes and rice. Because high protein inhibit tumor growth. He’s been very cool, healthy and energetic. But, just 2 weeks ago he reluctant to fetch frisbie which he usually love to fetch! I took him to my vet ran ultra sound. Vet found his tumor came back to his lungs and on top of his stomach where vet said is unoperatable. His tumor is a size of a baseball now. Right now, I am sad. But I will focus and embrace every moment possible with my best Buddy my son and love till his last day. I love him so much.
Hi. My dog is Australian shepherd mix labrador is 9 years and one month old has his spleen removed on January 14 , last year 2014. We did not give him the traditional chemo instead we give him I’m Yunity all these time. And I cook for him mostly protein mix with kale sweet potatoes and rice. Because high protein inhibit tumor growth. He’s been very cool, healthy and energetic. But, just 2 weeks ago he reluctant to fetch frisbie which he usually love to fetch! I took him to my vet ran ultra sound. Vet found his tumor came back to his lungs and on top of his stomach where vet said is unoperatable. His tumor is a size of a baseball now. Right now, I am sad. But I will focus and embrace every moment possible with my best Buddy my son and love till his last day. I love him so much.
I have just come across this site, as today my 9 year old Patterdale Terrier has had his spleen removed. He is still in intevsive Vetenary care and has had blood plasma transfusions today. I have been told that the next 24 hours are critical.
He seemed absolutely fine until 2 days ago. .. similar story to the others I have just read here. His tail stopped wagging, he stopped eating, stop interest in all things even his walkies and squeaky toys!! He just wanted to sleep and drink water. He even urinated in the house, so against his character.
After X-ray this morning the vets set about surgery asap, but rang to say they had removed the spleen plus a large growth and a great deal of blood from his abdomen.
I just hope he pulls through the night and starts to recover tomorrow. Just cried at Keisha’s story, sorry for your loss. xxx
Me and the kids are missing Taz already, he has only been away for one night, I cannot imagine him not returning. He has been my rock for 9 years. He has been part of the kids lives since the days they were born
I have just come across this site, as today my 9 year old Patterdale Terrier has had his spleen removed. He is still in intevsive Vetenary care and has had blood plasma transfusions today. I have been told that the next 24 hours are critical.
He seemed absolutely fine until 2 days ago. .. similar story to the others I have just read here. His tail stopped wagging, he stopped eating, stop interest in all things even his walkies and squeaky toys!! He just wanted to sleep and drink water. He even urinated in the house, so against his character.
After X-ray this morning the vets set about surgery asap, but rang to say they had removed the spleen plus a large growth and a great deal of blood from his abdomen.
I just hope he pulls through the night and starts to recover tomorrow. Just cried at Keisha’s story, sorry for your loss. xxx
Me and the kids are missing Taz already, he has only been away for one night, I cannot imagine him not returning. He has been my rock for 9 years. He has been part of the kids lives since the days they were born
Iv read every single comment on here my 9 year old lab scooby had his spleen removed Saturday as a rumour had ruptured there were no signs of spead which is brilliant but now we are just awaiting the results vets said he’s doing brilliantly I’m
Just not
Hopefull or positive can’t stop crying Im praying its not cancer but
Only Time will tell …. Reading the different stories has helped a little x
Iv read every single comment on here my 9 year old lab scooby had his spleen removed Saturday as a rumour had ruptured there were no signs of spead which is brilliant but now we are just awaiting the results vets said he’s doing brilliantly I’m
Just not
Hopefull or positive can’t stop crying Im praying its not cancer but
Only Time will tell …. Reading the different stories has helped a little x
Thank you everyone these posts were very helpful. My 9 year old pitt, Jazzy goes in tomorrow for surgery. No sign of other masses so fingers crossed.
Thank you everyone these posts were very helpful. My 9 year old pitt, Jazzy goes in tomorrow for surgery. No sign of other masses so fingers crossed.
Hey Everyone,
My 8yr. old pit bull pup Sunny literally went in for a TPLO surgery on his left leg the 16th of December, and then I noticed in the weeks following constipation issues, regurgitation, and finally a bloated belly! I immediately took him in thinking it was bloat and the doctors looked at me like I was crazy. They assured me he was fine and give him GasX and on our way. Then later that day I decided there was something more that they were missing and decided to go to the Animal Hospital and have an ultrasound done. The doctor insisted he was having acid reflux and we could simply put him on antacids. He wanted to do an endoscopy of the esophagus to check, but I insisted that in addition they do an ultrasound. I just knew something wasn’t right. Sunny is my baby and my world I knew something just wasn’t right. Finally the doctor agreed and unfortunately my suspicions were confirmed. They found 3 golfball size tumors in his spleen. As of January 14th, Sunny had his splenectomy and now we are waiting for the patho results praying it isn’t cancer…praying there is no spread. I keep praying and feel hopeful by reading some of these posts. I just don’t know that I could put this poor boy through chemo if it is cancer. They fear it might be hemangiosarcoma, which is fast and extremely aggressive. I cannot even imagine losing my boy; he is my best friend. Now I’ve been told one of the keys to helping your dog during this time is to not be sad around them and show your anxiety, but I am struggling. Can I ask everyone out there how you dealt with this? And for those of you who did meet a cancer diagnosis what treatment method did you use? Someone suggested a holistic approach of chinese herbs, and some kind of tea that helps the dog. I was told chemo nor the other methods mentioned cure the cancer if it is in fact the type they believe it to be. Everywhere I read people are saying dogs diagnosed with this last a few weeks to a few months tops. It is truly heartbreaking and unnerving. They discharged Sunny yesterday to me, only 24hours after his surgery. I’M PANICKING! He cried all night long and urinated every hour on the hour. They said this was due to the IV fluids. When I fed him this morning, Hills ID sensitive diet they prescribed, he still regurgitated a few times throughout the day. I’ve called and they say it’s not normal but they don’t know what to do for him. I ask does this mean it is cancer? Does it mean there are more tumors somewhere else within his GI system. I get no answers. They simply tell me I will have to wait for the path results to get back but I can readmit him to the hospital. I’m struggling watching my baby sigh in pain frequently with no way to alleviate it. He moans and readjusts himself constantly. Given my discharge was so quick after his surgery does anyone out there believe perhaps this is normal? Perhaps he should have been monitored longer at the hospital? Temporarily they increased his pain meds, put him on prilosec, zantac, and cerenia for nausea…I’m not one for all those meds, but I’m praying they help ease his pain. Please anyone who can offer advice for me would be greatly appreciated. I can’t bare to see my baby in pain, and he does worse when he is away from me at the hospital. 🙁 Suggestions?
Hey Everyone,
My 8yr. old pit bull pup Sunny literally went in for a TPLO surgery on his left leg the 16th of December, and then I noticed in the weeks following constipation issues, regurgitation, and finally a bloated belly! I immediately took him in thinking it was bloat and the doctors looked at me like I was crazy. They assured me he was fine and give him GasX and on our way. Then later that day I decided there was something more that they were missing and decided to go to the Animal Hospital and have an ultrasound done. The doctor insisted he was having acid reflux and we could simply put him on antacids. He wanted to do an endoscopy of the esophagus to check, but I insisted that in addition they do an ultrasound. I just knew something wasn’t right. Sunny is my baby and my world I knew something just wasn’t right. Finally the doctor agreed and unfortunately my suspicions were confirmed. They found 3 golfball size tumors in his spleen. As of January 14th, Sunny had his splenectomy and now we are waiting for the patho results praying it isn’t cancer…praying there is no spread. I keep praying and feel hopeful by reading some of these posts. I just don’t know that I could put this poor boy through chemo if it is cancer. They fear it might be hemangiosarcoma, which is fast and extremely aggressive. I cannot even imagine losing my boy; he is my best friend. Now I’ve been told one of the keys to helping your dog during this time is to not be sad around them and show your anxiety, but I am struggling. Can I ask everyone out there how you dealt with this? And for those of you who did meet a cancer diagnosis what treatment method did you use? Someone suggested a holistic approach of chinese herbs, and some kind of tea that helps the dog. I was told chemo nor the other methods mentioned cure the cancer if it is in fact the type they believe it to be. Everywhere I read people are saying dogs diagnosed with this last a few weeks to a few months tops. It is truly heartbreaking and unnerving. They discharged Sunny yesterday to me, only 24hours after his surgery. I’M PANICKING! He cried all night long and urinated every hour on the hour. They said this was due to the IV fluids. When I fed him this morning, Hills ID sensitive diet they prescribed, he still regurgitated a few times throughout the day. I’ve called and they say it’s not normal but they don’t know what to do for him. I ask does this mean it is cancer? Does it mean there are more tumors somewhere else within his GI system. I get no answers. They simply tell me I will have to wait for the path results to get back but I can readmit him to the hospital. I’m struggling watching my baby sigh in pain frequently with no way to alleviate it. He moans and readjusts himself constantly. Given my discharge was so quick after his surgery does anyone out there believe perhaps this is normal? Perhaps he should have been monitored longer at the hospital? Temporarily they increased his pain meds, put him on prilosec, zantac, and cerenia for nausea…I’m not one for all those meds, but I’m praying they help ease his pain. Please anyone who can offer advice for me would be greatly appreciated. I can’t bare to see my baby in pain, and he does worse when he is away from me at the hospital. 🙁 Suggestions?
Follow-up:
Happy to report that surgery for Maggie went just fine 🙂 She had very minimal bleeding so she didn’t need a blood transfusion. The vet was not able to see anything else on any of her other organs so that is also a very good sign! She had to spend the night at an emergency clinic so they could monitor her and give her her pain medication, but she came home yesterday morning! She seems to be very happy with no ill effects, and she doesn’t seem to be in any pain. She has a re-check with her vet on Tuesday, then stitches will come out the following week. Still waiting on test results from the tumor sample, just hoping it is not cancer!
Follow-up:
Happy to report that surgery for Maggie went just fine 🙂 She had very minimal bleeding so she didn’t need a blood transfusion. The vet was not able to see anything else on any of her other organs so that is also a very good sign! She had to spend the night at an emergency clinic so they could monitor her and give her her pain medication, but she came home yesterday morning! She seems to be very happy with no ill effects, and she doesn’t seem to be in any pain. She has a re-check with her vet on Tuesday, then stitches will come out the following week. Still waiting on test results from the tumor sample, just hoping it is not cancer!
Reading everything on here has given me great hope for our 7yr old Beagle Maggie. She went in this morning to have her spleen and large tumor removed. We took her Christmas Eve to an emergency clinic because she just wasn’t acting herself at all. They ended up taking some xrays and found a huge tumor in her abdomen. We followed up with our regular vet who performed an ultrasound yesterday and wanted to operate today. The ultrasound showed no signs of the tumor being in other areas, but they won’t know anything 100% until they operate today. The vets have told us that since the tumor is so large it most likely is not cancer. She did have some fluid in her abdomen which they said lowers her prognosis for the surgery today. It’s good to read these success stories as our vet had to prepare us for the worst case scenario. I’m hopeful her surgery goes well today and she will be back to her normal goofy self in no time.
Reading everything on here has given me great hope for our 7yr old Beagle Maggie. She went in this morning to have her spleen and large tumor removed. We took her Christmas Eve to an emergency clinic because she just wasn’t acting herself at all. They ended up taking some xrays and found a huge tumor in her abdomen. We followed up with our regular vet who performed an ultrasound yesterday and wanted to operate today. The ultrasound showed no signs of the tumor being in other areas, but they won’t know anything 100% until they operate today. The vets have told us that since the tumor is so large it most likely is not cancer. She did have some fluid in her abdomen which they said lowers her prognosis for the surgery today. It’s good to read these success stories as our vet had to prepare us for the worst case scenario. I’m hopeful her surgery goes well today and she will be back to her normal goofy self in no time.
Hi All
The heart ache that you all have experienced has brought tears to my eyes more than once! And for the few that have had the joy of their beloved doggie surviving makes me happy that my jazzy girl has a chance!
She is an 11 year old cross GS and LAB which is the average age for both of those breeds! In the last week she was starting to become more lethargic and drinking an excessive amount of water. Her stomach had become more visibly bloated in the last few days and she stopped eating on Friday so we took her to the vet Saturday morning, had some blood work done.
She is anemic with a ruptured spleen and all of her blood going into her abdomen, apparently 40% is a normal amount of blood and Jazz has a blood count of 20.8% a few pts above having to have a blood transfusion. The white blood cell is very high as well Her gums don’t look white and the vet suggested that was because she has a lot of pigment colour in her gums! But when he pulled back her eyelids the were all white! She has been booked in for the operation tomorrow to remove the spleen.
I’m unable to decide if this is the best course of action? Will it be a malignant tumor and will it have spread to other organs? What will be her quality of life after surgery? Will she recover? Geez so many questions!
The heart ache dealing with this is so hard a few days after xmas and being my wifes birthday today the 28th! WE were unable to have kids due to cancer and Jazz is our furbaby, and has travelled everywhere with us because of a severe case of separation anxiety!
I’ll share with you our outcome over the next few days and below are a couple of links I have found which really help to understand what and how to deal with this terrible distressing problem!
Thanks for listening
Paul McC
http://www.tuftsyourdog.com/download/SilentKiller&Curable.pdf
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=189&A=1394&S=0&EVetID=3001644
Hi All
The heart ache that you all have experienced has brought tears to my eyes more than once! And for the few that have had the joy of their beloved doggie surviving makes me happy that my jazzy girl has a chance!
She is an 11 year old cross GS and LAB which is the average age for both of those breeds! In the last week she was starting to become more lethargic and drinking an excessive amount of water. Her stomach had become more visibly bloated in the last few days and she stopped eating on Friday so we took her to the vet Saturday morning, had some blood work done.
She is anemic with a ruptured spleen and all of her blood going into her abdomen, apparently 40% is a normal amount of blood and Jazz has a blood count of 20.8% a few pts above having to have a blood transfusion. The white blood cell is very high as well Her gums don’t look white and the vet suggested that was because she has a lot of pigment colour in her gums! But when he pulled back her eyelids the were all white! She has been booked in for the operation tomorrow to remove the spleen.
I’m unable to decide if this is the best course of action? Will it be a malignant tumor and will it have spread to other organs? What will be her quality of life after surgery? Will she recover? Geez so many questions!
The heart ache dealing with this is so hard a few days after xmas and being my wifes birthday today the 28th! WE were unable to have kids due to cancer and Jazz is our furbaby, and has travelled everywhere with us because of a severe case of separation anxiety!
I’ll share with you our outcome over the next few days and below are a couple of links I have found which really help to understand what and how to deal with this terrible distressing problem!
Thanks for listening
Paul McC
http://www.tuftsyourdog.com/download/SilentKiller&Curable.pdf
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=189&A=1394&S=0&EVetID=3001644
Bonnie, your little pup just had major surgery. She would be extremely exhausted, sore, stiff and just would not want to be touched. As with all surgical procedure she will be in terrible pain. hence the pain meds and once removed she became restless because she was in pain. She was loving and herself as I would believe because she was not in pain which docs usually give them meds before they leave. And yes, some respond differently but a call to the vet to report her reactions would have helped you to solve the situation whether halving the pill or she prescribe you another one. There are 24 hours emergency animal vets that one could call for advice and help. to stop the med without consult, she must have been in terrible pain. Like any human who has surgery, the pain meds are giving out equally throughout the day so no one feels the excruciating effects of surgery. I hope you had it solved. as to the water, we never place a water bowl in a kennel after surgery. the animals have been well hydrated from IV fluids. they could fall in the bowl, spill it and get wet and chilled. also, when placed in the kennel, they are groggy and not able to swallow well. You may be angry and annoyed, but a nice chat with the vet would have help you and your pet avoid all the anxiety and pain. Good for you though to be worried about the pacing and uneasiness with the pain med. Next time, a call to the vet will help with your anxiety and your pets. Or half the dose and call the vet in the morning. Mine is going in for emergency surgery tomorrow with spleen removal. i have already had my list of questions before surgery and what I wanted answer after surgery and taking her home what and what not to do. and if there is a number i can call during the midnight hours.
Bonnie, your little pup just had major surgery. She would be extremely exhausted, sore, stiff and just would not want to be touched. As with all surgical procedure she will be in terrible pain. hence the pain meds and once removed she became restless because she was in pain. She was loving and herself as I would believe because she was not in pain which docs usually give them meds before they leave. And yes, some respond differently but a call to the vet to report her reactions would have helped you to solve the situation whether halving the pill or she prescribe you another one. There are 24 hours emergency animal vets that one could call for advice and help. to stop the med without consult, she must have been in terrible pain. Like any human who has surgery, the pain meds are giving out equally throughout the day so no one feels the excruciating effects of surgery. I hope you had it solved. as to the water, we never place a water bowl in a kennel after surgery. the animals have been well hydrated from IV fluids. they could fall in the bowl, spill it and get wet and chilled. also, when placed in the kennel, they are groggy and not able to swallow well. You may be angry and annoyed, but a nice chat with the vet would have help you and your pet avoid all the anxiety and pain. Good for you though to be worried about the pacing and uneasiness with the pain med. Next time, a call to the vet will help with your anxiety and your pets. Or half the dose and call the vet in the morning. Mine is going in for emergency surgery tomorrow with spleen removal. i have already had my list of questions before surgery and what I wanted answer after surgery and taking her home what and what not to do. and if there is a number i can call during the midnight hours.
Hello…My maltese/terrier mix who is around 11 had her spleen removed. They found a swollen lymph node but have to wait to see the results in four days for malignancy.
I am concerned..she came home next day but when I picked her up, she had no water at the vet in her cage.
Then I took her home and she was exhausted and the vet said no pain pill without food, so I gave her food and pain pill…all day long she couldnt stop moving..and by 5pm that nite she fell asleep. By the next morning she seemed perfect and without pain…loving and sleeping…so I didnt give her a pain pill just the antibiotic…So late evening she became restless.
Then all thru the night, moving around and not settled ..by 5am screaming in the backyard, and moving and totally disoriented…and panting constantly walking confused from room to room..she just left for the vet and God only knows whats wrong..gave her food this am at 5am to give her that useless pain pill..she was walking around insane and crying….I could lose my mind and never felt more helpless..told my husband to ask vet despite giving her a pain pill, can she give her a shot to calm her or to figure this out so she isnt so miserable.
Everyone has a different experience, please help me with yours if its similiar.
Thank you..bonnie
Was it cancer? Wondering the outcome we just had our spleen rupture then a successful removal, she is a 9.5 yr old Morkie and she was diagnosed with hermangiosarcoma with a life expectancy of 4-6 wks I am hoping not!
Curios how you made out.
Hello…My maltese/terrier mix who is around 11 had her spleen removed. They found a swollen lymph node but have to wait to see the results in four days for malignancy.
I am concerned..she came home next day but when I picked her up, she had no water at the vet in her cage.
Then I took her home and she was exhausted and the vet said no pain pill without food, so I gave her food and pain pill…all day long she couldnt stop moving..and by 5pm that nite she fell asleep. By the next morning she seemed perfect and without pain…loving and sleeping…so I didnt give her a pain pill just the antibiotic…So late evening she became restless.
Then all thru the night, moving around and not settled ..by 5am screaming in the backyard, and moving and totally disoriented…and panting constantly walking confused from room to room..she just left for the vet and God only knows whats wrong..gave her food this am at 5am to give her that useless pain pill..she was walking around insane and crying….I could lose my mind and never felt more helpless..told my husband to ask vet despite giving her a pain pill, can she give her a shot to calm her or to figure this out so she isnt so miserable.
Everyone has a different experience, please help me with yours if its similiar.
Thank you..bonnie
An update on Maggie, who I posted about yesterday: we got the tissue report and no cancer was detected! And an EKG this morning showed no signs of heart arrhythmia. She seems to be improving hourly. So my conclusion: Have hope for your pup if they are having a problem. We almost let her go when the vet thought it was mesentaric torsion, which has a slim chance of survival—but I am now so glad we okayed the exploratory surgery. Sometimes there’s no other way to diagnose accurately.
An update on Maggie, who I posted about yesterday: we got the tissue report and no cancer was detected! And an EKG this morning showed no signs of heart arrhythmia. She seems to be improving hourly. So my conclusion: Have hope for your pup if they are having a problem. We almost let her go when the vet thought it was mesentaric torsion, which has a slim chance of survival—but I am now so glad we okayed the exploratory surgery. Sometimes there’s no other way to diagnose accurately.
These posts are giving me hope. My 9- or 10-year-old Pyrenees-Lab-?-mix rescue Maggie had emergency surgery 5 days ago when I thought she was showing signs of bloat or some other digestive twist. It turns out her spleen had a large mass on it and had ruptured! They removed her spleen, then found there was more bleeding from one of her kidneys, which revealed a cyst on it. The surgeon removed the kidney also. 60% of her blood had spilled into her abdomen by the time it was all over. She was in good hands, though, and came home 3 days post surgery. She is having post-surgery heart arrhythmia issues that we hope resolve themselves, but otherwise she is clearly getting better each day. Her appetite is slowly returning. We won’t hear the tissue results until next week. She seems happy to be back home and I feel thankful. We will face whatever comes, but this site makes me feel hopeful. Thank you! –from the Midwest U.S.
These posts are giving me hope. My 9- or 10-year-old Pyrenees-Lab-?-mix rescue Maggie had emergency surgery 5 days ago when I thought she was showing signs of bloat or some other digestive twist. It turns out her spleen had a large mass on it and had ruptured! They removed her spleen, then found there was more bleeding from one of her kidneys, which revealed a cyst on it. The surgeon removed the kidney also. 60% of her blood had spilled into her abdomen by the time it was all over. She was in good hands, though, and came home 3 days post surgery. She is having post-surgery heart arrhythmia issues that we hope resolve themselves, but otherwise she is clearly getting better each day. Her appetite is slowly returning. We won’t hear the tissue results until next week. She seems happy to be back home and I feel thankful. We will face whatever comes, but this site makes me feel hopeful. Thank you! –from the Midwest U.S.
Reading this has made me hopeful and even more scared, both at the same time. My 10.5 yo rescue boy Augie (my whole world) has an adrenal gland tumor (not entangled or surrounding his vena cava thankfully) and 2 nodules in his spleen. He has had an ultrasound and CT scan and the vet thinks they are unrelated and most likely begnin (they think the adrenal tumor is related to Cushings disease, which he is having a low-dose dexamethasone test right now to confirm).
With that being said, they have recommended removal of the adrenal gland (since it is operable) and the spleen. I am setting up a surgery consultation for Friday to determine if we shold go the surgical route or do the lysodren treatment for the adrenal gland and leave the spleen alone. I worry taking out both will be too hard on him. Has anyone ever had to have both taken out on their dog?
Thanks,
Tracy
***PRAYERS FOR MY AUGIE***
Reading this has made me hopeful and even more scared, both at the same time. My 10.5 yo rescue boy Augie (my whole world) has an adrenal gland tumor (not entangled or surrounding his vena cava thankfully) and 2 nodules in his spleen. He has had an ultrasound and CT scan and the vet thinks they are unrelated and most likely begnin (they think the adrenal tumor is related to Cushings disease, which he is having a low-dose dexamethasone test right now to confirm).
With that being said, they have recommended removal of the adrenal gland (since it is operable) and the spleen. I am setting up a surgery consultation for Friday to determine if we shold go the surgical route or do the lysodren treatment for the adrenal gland and leave the spleen alone. I worry taking out both will be too hard on him. Has anyone ever had to have both taken out on their dog?
Thanks,
Tracy
***PRAYERS FOR MY AUGIE***
Help very worried my baby Chopper 7 yr old rott had his spleen removed due to a ruptured tumor he is now home and will not get up won’t try to get up and when we pull him up he walks a little but hits walls and drags back legs and not eating he is 4 days past surgery now is this normal
Hi, we strongly advise calling your vet with this update – he might want to see Chopper again as a check.
Help very worried my baby Chopper 7 yr old rott had his spleen removed due to a ruptured tumor he is now home and will not get up won’t try to get up and when we pull him up he walks a little but hits walls and drags back legs and not eating he is 4 days past surgery now is this normal
Hi, we strongly advise calling your vet with this update – he might want to see Chopper again as a check.
My 9 year old Lhasa Apso has a tumour in his abdomen but they don’t know if it is located on his spleen or his liver. He has just gone into surgery and we are all fearing the worst, but it is heartening to see that some dogs have survived the operation and gone on to live happy lives.
Praying my darling little boy can do the same.
My 9 year old Lhasa Apso has a tumour in his abdomen but they don’t know if it is located on his spleen or his liver. He has just gone into surgery and we are all fearing the worst, but it is heartening to see that some dogs have survived the operation and gone on to live happy lives.
Praying my darling little boy can do the same.
My 15 year old Dauchsund had all the symptoms described above. She had surgery and a 2.5 lb tumor was removed; she weighed 11lbs at the time. No malignancy, total success and she is eating well and gaining weight! I am grateful to God and my Mexican Vets!!
My 15 year old Dauchsund had all the symptoms described above. She had surgery and a 2.5 lb tumor was removed; she weighed 11lbs at the time. No malignancy, total success and she is eating well and gaining weight! I am grateful to God and my Mexican Vets!!
My German shepherd/ husky mix had the same surgery at 11 years old. It has been a year and a half since then, and he is alive and well! He’s even more peppy than pre-operation! He had the same symptoms: sudden lethargy, loss of appetite, weakness, and pale gums. As soon as I saw the white gums, it was off to the ER at 1:00 AM! I was a nervous wreck but he came through the surgery and the mass on his spleen was benign. It took a couple days for him to start eating again, which worried me, but I think he was nauseated from the anesthesia. He also almost lay down in the grass while urinating because his muscles were so weak. It was a rough couple weeks of recovery and trying to keep him still and the stitches clean (the dreaded cone on his head!) but it was so worth it to have at least another year and a half with him. I empathize with anyone going through this with their pup and I wish you luck and hope for a good outcome!
My German shepherd/ husky mix had the same surgery at 11 years old. It has been a year and a half since then, and he is alive and well! He’s even more peppy than pre-operation! He had the same symptoms: sudden lethargy, loss of appetite, weakness, and pale gums. As soon as I saw the white gums, it was off to the ER at 1:00 AM! I was a nervous wreck but he came through the surgery and the mass on his spleen was benign. It took a couple days for him to start eating again, which worried me, but I think he was nauseated from the anesthesia. He also almost lay down in the grass while urinating because his muscles were so weak. It was a rough couple weeks of recovery and trying to keep him still and the stitches clean (the dreaded cone on his head!) but it was so worth it to have at least another year and a half with him. I empathize with anyone going through this with their pup and I wish you luck and hope for a good outcome!
Hi Sarah cried since 2.45pm when informed my 6yr old shep has mass on spleen…operating 8am to ensure no spread…. I am devastated …housebound his my world ! Your story gave me hope thank you ??
My 7 year old jack Russell had his spleen removed and in less than 48 hrs he was back to himself, eating like crazy, bowel movements and wants to play. Wishing him only good Health from here on end! There is hope after this surgery!
My 7 year old jack Russell had his spleen removed and in less than 48 hrs he was back to himself, eating like crazy, bowel movements and wants to play. Wishing him only good Health from here on end! There is hope after this surgery!
Hi ya guys
I am desperate and looking for some hope
My stitch is a 6 year old rott
A big baby
And our world!!
He wasn’t his usual self and we became very worried
We took him to the emergency vet on Sunday
Who immediately informed us without doing any tests
Stitch had a football size tumour (cancer) he said it felt as though it had spread
My partner walked in the house and dropped to the floor
We had to take him to the vets the next day
It was confirmed a football size tumour
However of the spleen !!!!
I have seen this in my other baby who has his spleen removed at 11 and sadly passed at 12.5
A good age for a rott
All of stitchys blood work was good and no signs of any spread
However they wouldn’t be sure until they operated
We decided if it had spread to let him go during the op
I never cried so much in all my life
No sleep no food
Reading horror stories of pets who haven’t made it
Devestated
Stitch is already back to our puppy we know
Infact we are worried he is doing to much !!!
He wants to do everything
He picks his bowl up
Like he used too
We are trying to slow him down as he must recover
I am so scared it all been for nothing
I don’t want him to go through it again
I know one day I will loose my baby
But not at 6 years old
Life is so cruel
I know mackintosh my first baby passed a year and a half later but he was a lot older and had other health issues
Still worth it and never regretted it
Please how are your babies doing now ??????
Hi ya guys
I am desperate and looking for some hope
My stitch is a 6 year old rott
A big baby
And our world!!
He wasn’t his usual self and we became very worried
We took him to the emergency vet on Sunday
Who immediately informed us without doing any tests
Stitch had a football size tumour (cancer) he said it felt as though it had spread
My partner walked in the house and dropped to the floor
We had to take him to the vets the next day
It was confirmed a football size tumour
However of the spleen !!!!
I have seen this in my other baby who has his spleen removed at 11 and sadly passed at 12.5
A good age for a rott
All of stitchys blood work was good and no signs of any spread
However they wouldn’t be sure until they operated
We decided if it had spread to let him go during the op
I never cried so much in all my life
No sleep no food
Reading horror stories of pets who haven’t made it
Devestated
Stitch is already back to our puppy we know
Infact we are worried he is doing to much !!!
He wants to do everything
He picks his bowl up
Like he used too
We are trying to slow him down as he must recover
I am so scared it all been for nothing
I don’t want him to go through it again
I know one day I will loose my baby
But not at 6 years old
Life is so cruel
I know mackintosh my first baby passed a year and a half later but he was a lot older and had other health issues
Still worth it and never regretted it
Please how are your babies doing now ??????
Our 8 year old cockapoo had a tumor the size of a grapefruit on his spleen, which was removed 4 years ago. He only weighs 18 pounds. It was amazing that he didn’t have other complications prior to his surgery. He was a rescue and we’d only had him for 8 months, so we had no history on him. Glad to say he did well with the surgery, tumor was benign and he is happy and healthy. He has never had any further issues and the emergency surgery saved his life. Keep the faith! You can all have a happy life like Joe! Prayers to the families going through cancer. We were very lucky!
Our 8 year old cockapoo had a tumor the size of a grapefruit on his spleen, which was removed 4 years ago. He only weighs 18 pounds. It was amazing that he didn’t have other complications prior to his surgery. He was a rescue and we’d only had him for 8 months, so we had no history on him. Glad to say he did well with the surgery, tumor was benign and he is happy and healthy. He has never had any further issues and the emergency surgery saved his life. Keep the faith! You can all have a happy life like Joe! Prayers to the families going through cancer. We were very lucky!
My 8 1/2 year old lab displayed all the symptoms like many of the dogs above, suddenly lethargic, not eating, panting heavily and drinking way more that usual. this happened yesterday (Sunday), this morning she was at our vets by 8:15 -blood work and ultrasound determined a 9cm mass on her spleen – surgery performed at noon and she is recovering – hopefully benign. Just goes to show it is always a good thing to get your dog checked out sooner rather than later – I am going to get her this evening.. we’ll be sleeping downstairs so she can out without the extra hassle. It is scary to think our babies can go from perfectly fine to so sick so quickly… she had had her yearly physical only a month ago!!
My 8 1/2 year old lab displayed all the symptoms like many of the dogs above, suddenly lethargic, not eating, panting heavily and drinking way more that usual. this happened yesterday (Sunday), this morning she was at our vets by 8:15 -blood work and ultrasound determined a 9cm mass on her spleen – surgery performed at noon and she is recovering – hopefully benign. Just goes to show it is always a good thing to get your dog checked out sooner rather than later – I am going to get her this evening.. we’ll be sleeping downstairs so she can out without the extra hassle. It is scary to think our babies can go from perfectly fine to so sick so quickly… she had had her yearly physical only a month ago!!
I have a 8yo german shepard who just had the same op did biggles have trouble putting weight back on
I have a 8yo german shepard who just had the same op did biggles have trouble putting weight back on
reading these stories is giving me some comfort, my 10 year old springer had an emergency splenectomy this morning just taking things a momment at a time, he made it through surgery then he made it through the night , like maitaz he is our baby as we to have no kids and the house is so empty without him at the momment but praying he gets well and comes home to us.
reading these stories is giving me some comfort, my 10 year old springer had an emergency splenectomy this morning just taking things a momment at a time, he made it through surgery then he made it through the night , like maitaz he is our baby as we to have no kids and the house is so empty without him at the momment but praying he gets well and comes home to us.
Dear All:
Hello fm hot Tampa FL. I have a 11 yr old rescue dog. His been our baby boy since he was pup on in the streets near my mom’s home.
I say we are lucky that he picked us up! many of you can understand, but we have no HUMAN kids so it may seem we spoil Buster Buh to the max.
Last Mon I got home and there was no Buster’s welcome home barks. Open the door and he was just slump on the floor. he finally got up slowly and usually dashes out the door to do his business. but he sluggish outside and quickly came back in and layed right back down. NOT common fo him as he normally runs around the house and comes to the kitchen and wags for treats.
so took him into ER at 8pm last Monday and gave them the info and they looked at his gums and it was all white…
They said he had to get in ASAP, he has lost blood was all they told me.
I of course was feeling SICK to my gut.
They came out 10-15 minutes later and had a lil tube of blood and said this was in his tummy, not suppose to be there.
they would have to do xray to see what is going on.
Xray showed tumor in the spleen and it had ruptured.
it was scary Monday night into Tues AM.
They said that usually when they see this it is 60% cancerous and left us with the options.
We HAD TO SAVE HIM FM THE BLEEDING. He is our baby of 11 yrs and the fact that he has good checkups nothing major and was being very active, no signs of old aging ….before this ordeal…….OF COURSE we needed to be his guardian and decide what was right at this very moment.
SAVE the BABY boy.
Fm 10pm Mon to 2am Tues last week was one of the scariest moments cause they had to stabilize him to have him even get to the point of surgery. 3am last Tues got call saying Buster was not taking in the 1 full bag of blood fusion. we said to try another bag and at 5 am they called and said the 2nd fully bag of blood fusion was not taking….it was not looking good. We said to please do what is necessary to get the blood in him so they said they would have to do blood plasma. at 6am we got a call with better news. His body was showing the blood was cougulating finally. Imagine having a hole in a balloon and trying to fill it up without fixing the rip, that is what I think is happening here. So I assume the blood plasma was something that helps couagulate the blood to hold in.
Finally with no sleep fm Monday into Tuesday last week, Buster got his spleen and tumor removed.
The next news was just as sickeing as the first. the biopsy fm the tumor was positive for C. Went in and had the talk and options and what the possibilty of his time on earth. uggghh
he is home and doing well. first few days was all drugged up still. One big concern off hand at this moment is that there are 2 areas on the back right side leg…his his now limping and favors it by holding it up and hops, he does tend to forget and walks on it but shortly after he is hoping and just favors it.
We took him in last Sunday and they said it could be nuerological issues!!! what in the world. I said he was fine , never had any issues with his back right leg til after the surgery.
The areas where it was shaved was around the paw/foot and inner thigh area. So I am thinking the needles hit something that cause this pain?
Can anyone suggest or have had the same issues, or know if this can be what I am thinking of and how long would that last? Is it taking him longer to heal due to the spleen taken out and his immune system is down?
taking him back to where he had his surgery this Tues the 19th to talk to oncology about his next step with cancer …but can anyone get back to me about his back leg having this issue?
I AM SO SCARED TO PUT HIM THRU CHEMO WITH NO SPLEEN, MUCH MORE ON HIS BODY TO TAKE.
with much peace and thank you
email me at maitaz@yahoo.com if easier anytime.
Maylin
Tampa FL
Dear All:
Hello fm hot Tampa FL. I have a 11 yr old rescue dog. His been our baby boy since he was pup on in the streets near my mom’s home.
I say we are lucky that he picked us up! many of you can understand, but we have no HUMAN kids so it may seem we spoil Buster Buh to the max.
Last Mon I got home and there was no Buster’s welcome home barks. Open the door and he was just slump on the floor. he finally got up slowly and usually dashes out the door to do his business. but he sluggish outside and quickly came back in and layed right back down. NOT common fo him as he normally runs around the house and comes to the kitchen and wags for treats.
so took him into ER at 8pm last Monday and gave them the info and they looked at his gums and it was all white…
They said he had to get in ASAP, he has lost blood was all they told me.
I of course was feeling SICK to my gut.
They came out 10-15 minutes later and had a lil tube of blood and said this was in his tummy, not suppose to be there.
they would have to do xray to see what is going on.
Xray showed tumor in the spleen and it had ruptured.
it was scary Monday night into Tues AM.
They said that usually when they see this it is 60% cancerous and left us with the options.
We HAD TO SAVE HIM FM THE BLEEDING. He is our baby of 11 yrs and the fact that he has good checkups nothing major and was being very active, no signs of old aging ….before this ordeal…….OF COURSE we needed to be his guardian and decide what was right at this very moment.
SAVE the BABY boy.
Fm 10pm Mon to 2am Tues last week was one of the scariest moments cause they had to stabilize him to have him even get to the point of surgery. 3am last Tues got call saying Buster was not taking in the 1 full bag of blood fusion. we said to try another bag and at 5 am they called and said the 2nd fully bag of blood fusion was not taking….it was not looking good. We said to please do what is necessary to get the blood in him so they said they would have to do blood plasma. at 6am we got a call with better news. His body was showing the blood was cougulating finally. Imagine having a hole in a balloon and trying to fill it up without fixing the rip, that is what I think is happening here. So I assume the blood plasma was something that helps couagulate the blood to hold in.
Finally with no sleep fm Monday into Tuesday last week, Buster got his spleen and tumor removed.
The next news was just as sickeing as the first. the biopsy fm the tumor was positive for C. Went in and had the talk and options and what the possibilty of his time on earth. uggghh
he is home and doing well. first few days was all drugged up still. One big concern off hand at this moment is that there are 2 areas on the back right side leg…his his now limping and favors it by holding it up and hops, he does tend to forget and walks on it but shortly after he is hoping and just favors it.
We took him in last Sunday and they said it could be nuerological issues!!! what in the world. I said he was fine , never had any issues with his back right leg til after the surgery.
The areas where it was shaved was around the paw/foot and inner thigh area. So I am thinking the needles hit something that cause this pain?
Can anyone suggest or have had the same issues, or know if this can be what I am thinking of and how long would that last? Is it taking him longer to heal due to the spleen taken out and his immune system is down?
taking him back to where he had his surgery this Tues the 19th to talk to oncology about his next step with cancer …but can anyone get back to me about his back leg having this issue?
I AM SO SCARED TO PUT HIM THRU CHEMO WITH NO SPLEEN, MUCH MORE ON HIS BODY TO TAKE.
with much peace and thank you
email me at maitaz@yahoo.com if easier anytime.
Maylin
Tampa FL
I have two GSD’ who have had their spleens removed , Asti’s for haemangiosarcoma 9 months ago and Quinn’s two weeks ago today following gastric tortion.His results are thankfully tumour free.Asti has just completed IV chemotherapy and is now on oral for the rest of her life.I was told by the oncology vets at Liverpool University small animal teaching hospital that without treatment she would live 3 months post surgerywith ,and 6 months with treatment and there was an 8% chance of her surviving to a year.She had no secondary tumours at the time of surgery , but it is known as a very virilant tumour.There is currently a study being undertaken on GSD’s with the disease and those over 7yrs with no diseae to try and discover any possible genetic cause.
I have two GSD’ who have had their spleens removed , Asti’s for haemangiosarcoma 9 months ago and Quinn’s two weeks ago today following gastric tortion.His results are thankfully tumour free.Asti has just completed IV chemotherapy and is now on oral for the rest of her life.I was told by the oncology vets at Liverpool University small animal teaching hospital that without treatment she would live 3 months post surgerywith ,and 6 months with treatment and there was an 8% chance of her surviving to a year.She had no secondary tumours at the time of surgery , but it is known as a very virilant tumour.There is currently a study being undertaken on GSD’s with the disease and those over 7yrs with no diseae to try and discover any possible genetic cause.
Our Jack Russell Woody , has a mass on his spleen ,he is going to theatre Tuesday (20th May ) for splenectomy We have to try to save him .He is fine in himself apart from the weigh loss .Thank god for this blog I won’t be writing Woody off yet x
If u dont mind me asking u a few questions like the outcome expense and life expectancy
My Black GSD female Star had her spleen removed when she was turning 9 years old and will be 12 this August. She had a huge hematoma that was going to burst any minute when our Vet saved her life. She still plays at the Dog Park almost daily and acts as if she is only around 6. Your dog can have a great life post surgery but make sure that you prevent any sharing of water bowls at the Park and of course any exposure to other animal’s poop since there is no spleen to counteract infection. And from memory I think that the surgery was approximately $1500-2000. Good luck.
Our Jack Russell Woody , has a mass on his spleen ,he is going to theatre Tuesday (20th May ) for splenectomy We have to try to save him .He is fine in himself apart from the weigh loss .Thank god for this blog I won’t be writing Woody off yet x
Keisha I’m Absolutly gutted for you :((( there are no words :((((((((( I’m so sorry I haven’t been back on !
We are still fighting this cancer ,and I know soon it going to win ,Oscar is 2 months post opp and no energy ,no strength ,but doing the best I can for him !
Try email me Keisha — sharron1977@icloud.com
Keisha I’m Absolutly gutted for you :((( there are no words :((((((((( I’m so sorry I haven’t been back on !
We are still fighting this cancer ,and I know soon it going to win ,Oscar is 2 months post opp and no energy ,no strength ,but doing the best I can for him !
Try email me Keisha — sharron1977@icloud.com
Thanks for these helpful comments.
My 11 year old Red Setter had to have his spleen removed after it ruptured when another very boisterous dog ran into him.
Many internet sites implied that he would be lucky to live for another six months.
Well, I hope I am not tempting fate, but it it is now 5 months post splenectomy and he is full of fun and looking well. This article has given me both information and some encouragement.
Thanks for these helpful comments.
My 11 year old Red Setter had to have his spleen removed after it ruptured when another very boisterous dog ran into him.
Many internet sites implied that he would be lucky to live for another six months.
Well, I hope I am not tempting fate, but it it is now 5 months post splenectomy and he is full of fun and looking well. This article has given me both information and some encouragement.
My Black GSD female Star had her spleen removed when she was turning 9 years old and will be 12 this August. She had a huge hematoma that was going to burst any minute when our Vet saved her life. She still plays at the Dog Park almost daily and acts as if she is only around 6. Your dog can have a great life post surgery but make sure that you prevent any sharing of water bowls at the Park and of course any exposure to other animal’s poop since there is no spleen to counteract infection. Good luck.
My 14 year old dog Murphy had his spleen removed yesterday morning with a baseball sized mass, no evidence of spread, but haven’t gotten the results back yet. I didn’t think I’d have to put him through surgery at this age, but after he had a bleed Sat night i had no choice. He came home this afternoon and seems okay, but not himself. He ate maybe 2 bites of chicken but won’t touch anything else. He can walk around but is pretty lethargic overall. I’m praying that he will eat something tomorrow. Anyone else had issues getting their dogs to eat? I’m wondering if its the pain meds (Tramadol). I may try lowering the dose a bit. He’s pretty out of it.
My 14 year old dog Murphy had his spleen removed yesterday morning with a baseball sized mass, no evidence of spread, but haven’t gotten the results back yet. I didn’t think I’d have to put him through surgery at this age, but after he had a bleed Sat night i had no choice. He came home this afternoon and seems okay, but not himself. He ate maybe 2 bites of chicken but won’t touch anything else. He can walk around but is pretty lethargic overall. I’m praying that he will eat something tomorrow. Anyone else had issues getting their dogs to eat? I’m wondering if its the pain meds (Tramadol). I may try lowering the dose a bit. He’s pretty out of it.
My Scoobie Do was operated on five days ago and had his spleen and five tumors removed. He is home now and slowly eating some chicken and pot roast. Lethargic,
But who wouldn’t be? He is 13 years old and I made the decision to open him up,
And if the tumors had spread or were ruptured, to let him go. Luckily he survived,
But May live only another year or two. Hope this helps you make a good decision.
Our 10 year, 3 month old Minature Schnauzer had a small lump on his side that I felt while petting him. We had a Europe vacation planned for April 4,14 and thought we would wait, not wanting it to be on our minds the whole time, until we got home to go to the vet. Within a matter of three days, he went from a Very health dog to mear death looking/acting. To the vet we went. Xrays showed a mass and a day later ultrasound was done and showed not within other organs? and no bleed outs. We then a day later had his spleen removed, 2 1/2 lbs. Five days later, results. Cancer. A week later he is almost completely back to his old active self. His blood count is fine and eating every drop of food. Now we set and think when is his time up with us. That is the hardest thing now. We gave him more time with us and would not have second guessed that since it showed not in any other organs? We are taking him again back camping and will love him for the time we have!! God bless our TUCKER!
Our 10 year, 3 month old Minature Schnauzer had a small lump on his side that I felt while petting him. We had a Europe vacation planned for April 4,14 and thought we would wait, not wanting it to be on our minds the whole time, until we got home to go to the vet. Within a matter of three days, he went from a Very health dog to mear death looking/acting. To the vet we went. Xrays showed a mass and a day later ultrasound was done and showed not within other organs? and no bleed outs. We then a day later had his spleen removed, 2 1/2 lbs. Five days later, results. Cancer. A week later he is almost completely back to his old active self. His blood count is fine and eating every drop of food. Now we set and think when is his time up with us. That is the hardest thing now. We gave him more time with us and would not have second guessed that since it showed not in any other organs? We are taking him again back camping and will love him for the time we have!! God bless our TUCKER!
We have recently had the same with our mini schnauser. He went to the vet to have his yearly jab, he had a heart murmer, then with further tests a tumour. So spleen removed along with mass tumour. They wanted us to go to a specialist to have a ct scan, but as he has been through so much already we have decided not to. X
My retired Greyhound had to have her spleen removed before we got her but we were told that she had to have it removed because of Congestion whatever that means,does anyone have an idea?.Anyway she is fine and well dispite not having it.
My retired Greyhound had to have her spleen removed before we got her but we were told that she had to have it removed because of Congestion whatever that means,does anyone have an idea?.Anyway she is fine and well dispite not having it.
My golden had his spleen removed three months ago Because of a softball sized hematoma that caused it to burst. He is doing well but he has developed a cough and is acting weaker then usual and this is starting to worry me and I cant find much information about it on the web. Has anyone seen these symptoms post spleen surgery with there Pet.
My golden had his spleen removed three months ago Because of a softball sized hematoma that caused it to burst. He is doing well but he has developed a cough and is acting weaker then usual and this is starting to worry me and I cant find much information about it on the web. Has anyone seen these symptoms post spleen surgery with there Pet.
Hello, get an X-ray with your vet as it might be cancer spread to the lungs if the dog is having difficulty breathing ;(
Hi all: My eight year old mixed breed male dog had an emergency spleenectomy and tumor removal on March 1st.
He needed a transfusion during surgery because of blood loss.
I am thrilled beyond belief that he rallied so quickly, eating, drinking and ready to play – though not permitted off leash for almost three weeks. Thankfully the tumor was not malignant.
He is now fully back to his rowdy self. Each of you are to be commended for being aware and caring pet owners. Without your insight and love more pets will be lost to a condition that can be reversed by a good surgeon. Xoxo
Thanks for letting us no how he is doing,my springer alpha has had to have his spleen removed due to the vet finding a mass.the vet said the op went well and there was no sign of any other spread.i so hope alpha recovers well .we have been in bits since we found out the news.ive been looking on internet for how the dogs are doing now after thier spleen has been removed but can’t find much.
Hi all: My eight year old mixed breed male dog had an emergency spleenectomy and tumor removal on March 1st.
He needed a transfusion during surgery because of blood loss.
I am thrilled beyond belief that he rallied so quickly, eating, drinking and ready to play – though not permitted off leash for almost three weeks. Thankfully the tumor was not malignant.
He is now fully back to his rowdy self. Each of you are to be commended for being aware and caring pet owners. Without your insight and love more pets will be lost to a condition that can be reversed by a good surgeon. Xoxo
Very informative site, I came to it looking for suggestions to help my 8 year old lab, Butch live a long healthy life. He has had a rough 6 weeks. Started with a vet check on a half dollar size spot on his side that suddenly came and the crusty top fell off, turned out to be a skin cancer (Spindle Cell)and the vet found a different kind of cancer on the rear hock that was marble size, successful removal and a great check up 2 weeks later. Then 2 days after that visit he quit eating and acted distressed and wanted out constantly and kept straining to poop with nothing happening, rushed him sat. & Sun 35 miles to his vet and on Sunday she kept him. By Tues. morning she went into emergency surgery on him because it looked like a large mass on his spleen and the barium would not pass. She called during the surgery to say his normal 4 x 8 spleen was actually 8 x 16 and twisted and folded over in which made it look like a tumor in the x ray. When she untwisted his spleen it started going back to the normal size and showed a lot of bruising to it, so we made the decision to remove it. He immediately started improving, after 4 days we brought him home with over 10″ of staples in belly. He took his time each day increasing his activity and with in a few days he was playing with his best friend our 3 yo female lab Dolly and he couldn’t get enough to eat. I take him tomorrow to get the staples out, we already got the report no cancer and he has finished 2 different prescriptions of antibiotics and a pill to sooth his intestines. Over $2000.00 in vet bills paid, but he is so worth it. He came to us after the 8 yo lab we had before him died 8 months after his spleen was removed when he got sick right after a tumor was removed from his thigh. His gall bladder went and we let him go during the surgery because he was in such sad shape. So yep I have worries and want to make sure I feed Butch properly and take all the precautions I need to, any suggestions appreciated.
Very informative site, I came to it looking for suggestions to help my 8 year old lab, Butch live a long healthy life. He has had a rough 6 weeks. Started with a vet check on a half dollar size spot on his side that suddenly came and the crusty top fell off, turned out to be a skin cancer (Spindle Cell)and the vet found a different kind of cancer on the rear hock that was marble size, successful removal and a great check up 2 weeks later. Then 2 days after that visit he quit eating and acted distressed and wanted out constantly and kept straining to poop with nothing happening, rushed him sat. & Sun 35 miles to his vet and on Sunday she kept him. By Tues. morning she went into emergency surgery on him because it looked like a large mass on his spleen and the barium would not pass. She called during the surgery to say his normal 4 x 8 spleen was actually 8 x 16 and twisted and folded over in which made it look like a tumor in the x ray. When she untwisted his spleen it started going back to the normal size and showed a lot of bruising to it, so we made the decision to remove it. He immediately started improving, after 4 days we brought him home with over 10″ of staples in belly. He took his time each day increasing his activity and with in a few days he was playing with his best friend our 3 yo female lab Dolly and he couldn’t get enough to eat. I take him tomorrow to get the staples out, we already got the report no cancer and he has finished 2 different prescriptions of antibiotics and a pill to sooth his intestines. Over $2000.00 in vet bills paid, but he is so worth it. He came to us after the 8 yo lab we had before him died 8 months after his spleen was removed when he got sick right after a tumor was removed from his thigh. His gall bladder went and we let him go during the surgery because he was in such sad shape. So yep I have worries and want to make sure I feed Butch properly and take all the precautions I need to, any suggestions appreciated.
This is gives me so much hope! My Beagle has a growth on his spleen and is having it removed next week. I’m sick thinking they won’t get it in time and it may rupture. They have found no other growths on his other organs, so I’m praying for the surgery to go well and another year or so with my friend. Please send a prayer up for Cooper of you’re reading this. He and I both need all the help we can get right now.
Hi Julie
I also have a beagle who is having his spleen removed as I write this. Unfortunately they have seen masses on his liver too. So we in dilemma as what to do next.
How long did your beagle live after the spleen was removed?
Many thanks
Stephen
Reading these comments is both helpful and heartbreaking. My GSD Zodia, who is 11 and weighs in at a lean 119 lbs, just had her spleen removed. I had her in to get a sonogram to check her liver because of high enzyme levels. The liver looked good (and is doing well w/ a daily Denamarin tab to protect it), but they found nodules on her spleen. I took her in for a second sonogram a couple days later so that they could verify it – they found several. She had her spleen removed that day. It was covered with nodules. It’s been 3 weeks now and she is doing well. She’s actually getting around quite well and has had her stitches removed – i have to wonder if it was not causing her pain. Thankfully the pathology report showed it was not cancer, but it was a long, sad few days awaiting that result. My vet assured me that not having a spleen will not likely have a negative affect on her because I live in the southeast. Something to do with what mosquito borne viruses or other viruses she’d be exposed to, I think. Leaving the spleen in, however, would likely have proved fatal. I feel so incredibly blessed in that it was caught in time and was not cancer, and hope to have Zodia around for at least a couple more years, healthy and happy. My heart goes out to all who are going thru this now and I hope you all get the results I did.
Love looking at positives sadly my girl died Christmas Day only 2 years went in same as yours left with a lead heartbroken ??
Hi my border collie x misha had her spleen removed on xmas eve after she went off her food and just wasn’t her self after an hour of taking her to the vets they rang me saying the xray had found a tumour and twisted spleen and bleeding a lot she came out xmas day I find out hopefully on sunday 5th January if theres any more I’m literally on tenter hooks shes 6 on valentine’s day and never had any illness before
This is gives me so much hope! My Beagle has a growth on his spleen and is having it removed next week. I’m sick thinking they won’t get it in time and it may rupture. They have found no other growths on his other organs, so I’m praying for the surgery to go well and another year or so with my friend. Please send a prayer up for Cooper of you’re reading this. He and I both need all the help we can get right now.
My rescue pup, 10 years old, always acts like a puppy so when he slowed down and list his appetite we figured it was because we were moving. We drove 4 days from Colorado to Florida. We had so many problems with the move ( our furniture didn’t arrive for 3 weeks) I kept thinking that he wasn’t acting right, drinking tons of water…finally it was over a month, couldn’t get him into a vet here so finally took him to Banfield ( inside petsmart) they sent him to a critical hospital care vet an hour away. After 6 weeks of me being aweful and not really paying attention ( hate myself for that part) after a sonogram, an x-ray, blood tests, they found after surgery to remove his spleen, that he had a huge abscess on it! Bryson stayed overnight and well into the next evening but came out grand! He’s back to acting like a 10 year old puppy, his pathology came back clear, all is well so far!
The point here is that if you can get into surgery in a couple of days and follow the vets orders of keeping your pup calm, all should go well. Don’t worry yourself to pieces waiting for the surgery a couple of days. Animals pick up on your stress!
Take those days if you can and hang with your pup on the floor and around the house, it will feel better being with you and both of you will be more calm, happy.
I’m sorry to hear about your German Shepherd. I can’t even imagine. Just the thought of the surgery is freaking me out there’s a chance of losing my baby kills me. My dog is boxer/lab mix. She has a very enlarged spleen. They are doing the surgery on Tuesday and until then she’s not allowed to get excited because it might rupture. I’m terrified that it might be malignant but the vet said her blood work looks good and chest x rays showed no signs of any other tumors. She also said since it’s so big it’s probably benign but they won’t know for sure til they open her up and send off a biopsy to the lab. I’m terrified. She is my baby. The vet said if she lives through the surgery she should live a long happy healthy life. She really doesn’t think it’s malignant cause the size of her spleen if it was the malignant kind she would already be showing signs of growths elsewhere. I’m also scared because all of these sites say they might need blood transfusions and I don’t if my vet has the ability or the blood to do the blood transfusions and I’m scared to ask because I have been calling and asking questions every few days sometimes a couple times in a day. I’m just worried. But if we don’t have the surgery my dog will die whether it’s malignant or not so there’s really no choice in the matter. I should stop worrying and give it to God that she will make it through and come out of the surgery fine and be healthy and happy once again.
I’m sorry to hear about your German Shepherd. I can’t even imagine. Just the thought of the surgery is freaking me out there’s a chance of losing my baby kills me. My dog is boxer/lab mix. She has a very enlarged spleen. They are doing the surgery on Tuesday and until then she’s not allowed to get excited because it might rupture. I’m terrified that it might be malignant but the vet said her blood work looks good and chest x rays showed no signs of any other tumors. She also said since it’s so big it’s probably benign but they won’t know for sure til they open her up and send off a biopsy to the lab. I’m terrified. She is my baby. The vet said if she lives through the surgery she should live a long happy healthy life. She really doesn’t think it’s malignant cause the size of her spleen if it was the malignant kind she would already be showing signs of growths elsewhere. I’m also scared because all of these sites say they might need blood transfusions and I don’t if my vet has the ability or the blood to do the blood transfusions and I’m scared to ask because I have been calling and asking questions every few days sometimes a couple times in a day. I’m just worried. But if we don’t have the surgery my dog will die whether it’s malignant or not so there’s really no choice in the matter. I should stop worrying and give it to God that she will make it through and come out of the surgery fine and be healthy and happy once again.
I am sorry to hear about the german shepherd. My beautiful Ridgeback had such a large spleen my vet never came across. He was put on 22 steroids tablets a day, but then his tummy went so big, his breathing rapid and he passed away last saturday the 30th november. Only just 6 yrs old. 5 weeks ago he was running in the forest.such a shock. I am heartbroken. Ghislaine in somerset
How long did you have with him after they put him on steroids? Did he do a little better for awhile during that time? Our baby has this and I don’t think he has long.
Sadly, I had to have to my German shepherd boy put to sleep on the 11th march. The blood loss was just too bad and he was so weak. I’m heartbroken.
I am so saddened to hear they couldn’t save him. I am so very sorry. I pray by now you have a different rescue dog in your life. You soon like such a great mom! I have a 12 or old staffie who was just given an ultra sound today…shows two tumors in his spleen. 🙁
My 2 year old GSD was rushed into emergency surgery late last night with a twisted spleen. The vet said it was rare that the spleen only twisted. The surgeon called me just a while ago to give me post op status. Vet said that his pancreas was angry and that they will be monitoring it. Wife called me last night at 8 telling me he was not acting himself. She described his behavior and my first thought was the feared twisted
stomach. Called our emergency vet # and was recommended that was get him to a university vet hospital. Luckily wife caught it early. He should be able to come home Sunday.
Sadly, I had to have to my German shepherd boy put to sleep on the 11th march. The blood loss was just too bad and he was so weak. I’m heartbroken.
Hi Keisha, I know it has been a couple years now & I hope you have a new belived rescue in your life. I have one thing I was wondering about? Why did they not do a blood transfusion for your boy?
There is also something clinically proven called yunnan baio. It’s an herb, Holistic vets use to help with excessive bleeding. This herb can stop excessive bleeding. You can research it. It is also recommended pre surgery instead of a blood transfusion. Etc.
This is absolutely NOT clinically proven. Even pro-hippy style herbal therapists view it as, at best, ineffective and potentially harmful. Perhaps if these TCM peddlars submitted their products to proper testing and registration…
Hmmm, thanks for flagging that – it shouldn’t have got itself posted without an explanation of the limits of the evidence available, thank you.
My 4 year old Bernese had a stomach torsion 2 days ago and emergency surgery. Vet discovered that spleen had ruptured and 2.2 litres of blood was suctioned out of the abdomen. He is now doing well and resting and gradually colour is returning to his gums. my only concern is the huge amount of water he is drinking (will check with my vet today). He is however beginning to eat small meals without too much coaxing. I’m hoping the excessive thirst is just a side-effect of surgery and not a development of other problems such as diabetes etc. anyone have any suggestions? Thanks, Ivana
My 4 year old Bernese had a stomach torsion 2 days ago and emergency surgery. Vet discovered that spleen had ruptured and 2.2 litres of blood was suctioned out of the abdomen. He is now doing well and resting and gradually colour is returning to his gums. my only concern is the huge amount of water he is drinking (will check with my vet today). He is however beginning to eat small meals without too much coaxing. I’m hoping the excessive thirst is just a side-effect of surgery and not a development of other problems such as diabetes etc. anyone have any suggestions? Thanks, Ivana
I’m so sorry. I’m just wondering how your dog did after you posted this. My Berner was just diagnosed with tumor on spleen and I am devastated
But yes the blood loss is my biggest concern too. Very worrying!
But yes the blood loss is my biggest concern too. Very worrying!
Cheers sharron, he’s booked in for Wednesday. Earliest they can get him in, his belly is really bloated so full of blood. I feel physically ill and it’s all I can think about. This tumor needs to not have spread, I can’t handle that and the fact I would have put him through surgery if the tumour has already spread. I guess if I do nothing he will die, no doubt about it, so this way he has a chance. He has been too good to me over the past ten years (rescue dog) I owe him a shot! That’s what I’m thinking anyway I keep googling it and it’s making me feel worse.
Cheers sharron, he’s booked in for Wednesday. Earliest they can get him in, his belly is really bloated so full of blood. I feel physically ill and it’s all I can think about. This tumor needs to not have spread, I can’t handle that and the fact I would have put him through surgery if the tumour has already spread. I guess if I do nothing he will die, no doubt about it, so this way he has a chance. He has been too good to me over the past ten years (rescue dog) I owe him a shot! That’s what I’m thinking anyway I keep googling it and it’s making me feel worse.
Keisha my Oscar is an 11 year old Cocker and I have decided to go for the op. He can’t carry on the way he is. It’s not fair on him and I can’t bear to watch him lying there all floppy. His op will be Thursday if all goes well. If it’s spread or he doesn’t recover at least we gave him a shot!
How is Oscar doing now?
I have a 5 yr old cocker myself. My sons pitmix just had her spleen & tumor rupture! Almost didn’t make it.
Our 10 year old mixed breed had her spleen removed yesterday after a growth was discovered during surgery to remove bladder stones. This morning when I visited the vet , she was up and walking around.
After reading Biggles story, I have hope now that she will continue to recover.
Our 10 year old mixed breed had her spleen removed yesterday after a growth was discovered during surgery to remove bladder stones. This morning when I visited the vet , she was up and walking around.
After reading Biggles story, I have hope now that she will continue to recover.
My 12 year old staff had a ruptured tumor & spleen removed Monday , his abdomen was full with blood and no signs it had spread yet , but vet has advised it will be back ! I am more worried about loss of blood and he is so anaemic ? can anyone advise?
Keisha , I was sick all day Monday and like a crazy woman pacing , and waiting , but he did it for us im sure! Go for it and good luck !!
Kelli , my Oscar is eating but only hand fed cooked meat , and he cant be bothered to walk any where !
Well done biggles xxxxx
My 12 year old staff had a ruptured tumor & spleen removed Monday , his abdomen was full with blood and no signs it had spread yet , but vet has advised it will be back ! I am more worried about loss of blood and he is so anaemic ? can anyone advise?
Keisha , I was sick all day Monday and like a crazy woman pacing , and waiting , but he did it for us im sure! Go for it and good luck !!
Kelli , my Oscar is eating but only hand fed cooked meat , and he cant be bothered to walk any where !
Well done biggles xxxxx
Great news for biggles, my dog had an X-ray yesterday and he has bleeding into his abdomin causes by a tumor on his spleen, he is an 11 year shepherd. And I’ve already chose to do the 2 thousand dollar surgery even though I have this awful feeling when he opens him up the tumor will already have spread judging by the amount of blood in his abdomin. I feel sick with worry but I’m hoping for the best outcome.
Great news for biggles, my dog had an X-ray yesterday and he has bleeding into his abdomin causes by a tumor on his spleen, he is an 11 year shepherd. And I’ve already chose to do the 2 thousand dollar surgery even though I have this awful feeling when he opens him up the tumor will already have spread judging by the amount of blood in his abdomin. I feel sick with worry but I’m hoping for the best outcome.
How did your dog do? My 10 yr old corgi is having the same issue and he is also diabetic. I am physically ill from trying to make the decision, also. Did everything turn out ok?
Ihave my poodle 11 yrs. her spleen was inflamed but the doctor said no need operation because it can cure with medicine. They found also had diabetes she’s in the hospital now. So worried she had also insulin
So glad to hear that Biggles is doing well. My 8 year old Boxer, Bailey, had to have his spleen removed Tuesday night. His Vet said that there was no spread to the other organs that he could see, but of course we still need to wait for results. My concern right now is with his recovery, it has been almost 48 hours an he hasn’t eaten and he is knuckling and dragging his back feet when he walks. He is a big boxer 117lbs and his tumor was softball size. I am just wondering if this is normal. THANKS for all you do for our furry friends!!
I’ve read your stories and it breaks my heart.
I need yalls advice as well.
My little 10 year old poodle was mauled today by a neighbors dog.
He has been in emergency surgery for over six hours now for 30 plus puncture wounds and a hernia operation. Now they are inside there is a lwaking speen as well. How far is far enough. The little guy is all I have.
Evening my boxer also just had his spleen fully removed on Tuesday the 27 th of February. His appetite has came back. How did your vet find out about the tumor? My baby had a huge growth in the spleen still waiting for pathological report. I will keep your baby in my prayers. How is your baby’s recovery going.
After two days of not eating and bouts of vomiting we found out today by sonogram that our 10yr old PitBull has two tumors in her spleen. She is scheduled to have her spleen removed tomorrow morning. She is otherwise in great health and pray she makes it through the surgery just fine. Thank you for sharing your story. It really helps hearing from others going through the same thing.
How did your pup do with her surgery? My 12 yr old pit had to have hers out next week. I’m worried.
I have an 11 year old American Staffordshire terrier he has been losing his appetite and vomiting found out he has a spot on his spleen going in for surgery on Tuesday
My 9 year old dog Jasmine (German & Australia Shepherd) had her spleen rupture in Feb 2020, she was vomiting, could hardly walk, and was sensitive on her left side. We took her to our local vet as we thought she may be sick and were devastated to get the news. The vet did a ultrasound and gave us the news that her spleen had ruptured due to possible cancer of the spleen. We opted to do the spleen removal and left our girl at the vet to get a blood transfusion for the surgery. The vet called us later and told us that after further investigation she couldn’t get a blood transfusion because there was too much blood around her heart. We were then give one of the hardest choices I’ve made. We decided to take her home for the night to day goodbye and had her laid to rest the next day. It’s crazy how quickly things can happen. Don’t ever take your loved ones fir granted. 🐶
Sorry to hear that, but at least you still have her. A dear friend of mine who has had Spots who is a boxer and 8yr old found out yesterday, that he has a large tumor on his spleen , but there’s nothing they can do for him. So she has taken him home for two days to say her goodbyes. I don’t know how she’s going to get through this she is 66yrs old, the last of her family living lost her husband 4yrs ago and now their dog is going to be put to sleep day after tomorrow. He is such a good boy R.I.P. Spotters you will be missed! My prayers go out to Linda and Mona.
This is so awful, my 12 yr black lad had his removed yesterday and is not recovering well, alot of pain and I’m so heart broken with the upcoming decisions.
So sorry – good luck with him.
Why did they say they cannot remove the tumor on Spots?
What happend did everything came out okay my dog has the same thing but they told me not to do it because my dog is a senior and he can die in the operatioing room
What did you decide with your dog & what kind of dog food do you use? I’m currently going through with our older dog
Hi
My dog is 13yrs and collapsed late last night, thus rushed to the vet. We were told that the ultrasound found major issues and bleeding from her spleen. She was fighting to stay alive.
We chose to operate rather than loose our valued girl.
I have just received news that the operation went as well as can be expected and her spleen has been removed.
It weighed 1.3 kilos in total and should have been approx 200grams. At the moment she is in recovery.
My wife and I are counting every extra minute as a blessing especially whilst COVID 19 is spreading.
Today is Good Friday.
If u dont mind me asking u a few questions like the outcome expense and life expectancy
How did it go? please give update
My 9 year old French Bulldog has a tumor on her spleen and is scheduled to have it removed this story helped me a lot! Please if there is any other information anyone can give me it would be appreciated.
My 11 year old shiz-zu has to have his spleen removed next Tuesday on the 9th. I’m really cared. But thinking positive.
As I read about your dog my 15 year old griffon is in a bed, sleeping soundly after having her spleen out this afternoon. She had 2 tumours and it doesn’t appear that any other organs are involved….. so now we wait for the histo results. She’s such a little trooper and doing well. Fingers crossed we both have positive outcomes.
So glad to hear that Biggles is doing well. My 8 year old Boxer, Bailey, had to have his spleen removed Tuesday night. His Vet said that there was no spread to the other organs that he could see, but of course we still need to wait for results. My concern right now is with his recovery, it has been almost 48 hours an he hasn’t eaten and he is knuckling and dragging his back feet when he walks. He is a big boxer 117lbs and his tumor was softball size. I am just wondering if this is normal. THANKS for all you do for our furry friends!!
Hope he will be alright, I lost my German shepherd boy aged 7,had his spleen removed, and he didn’t make it after his operation, not sure what went wrong as the tumour was contained in his spleen, wish I had chosen different vet. That was in December 12th 2019.still heartbroken.
Sometimes even if they’re contained the tumour tissue is so fragile (we call it friable) that they rupture however careful and good the surgeon is. Splenic tumours have a really bad prognosis usually because they tend to be nasty, invasive, and fragile.
What were his signs something was wrong and how was recovery?