Kidney surgery on beagle mix, is it worth getting a second opinion?

I have a 12 year old male beagle mix. During an X-Ray at the vet, the vet discovered a mass in one of his kidneys which the vet could also feel on the outside. Without a biopsy, vet cannot be certain if it is cancer or not, but thinks it likely is cancer based on the X-ray. However, there was no trace of cancer cells in the urine. Dog's blood work, including kidney function, is normal. So vet said other kidney is fully compensating.   My dog does also have a heart murmur and an enlarged heart, although X-rays of lungs showed no fluid in lungs and no congestive heart failure. He does have a cough that gets very bad whenever he gets excited or when he tries to grunt or snort to get someone's attention. He does not get the cough while on walks or right after a walk, though. The vet believes from the X-rays that the cough is caused by the enlarged heart pressing on the trachea (is that correct word?) and causing irritation. He is eating and drinking normally for the most part. Other than the cough, he acts pretty much normal right now.   Vet says that the only treatment option for the kidney, assuming it is cancer, is removing that entire kidney. He would refer to a specialist for this procedure. Vet says that this would be a very high risk thing to do given the dog's age, enlarged heart, and heart murmur.   Do you think it is worth seeking a second opinion from another vet? If I did get a second opinion, do you think there'd likely be any other options other than full kidney removal? Do you agree that this is a very high risk procedure given the dog's age, heart murmur, and enlarged heart?   Thanks.

Hello!  It sounds to me as though your vet is suggesting that you go to a specialist, who shouldn't just follow your vets' advice;  they are the expert and should review the case themselves, giving a second opinion.   In general, asking another GP vet will give you another GP opinion - but asking the kidney expert would give you the best advice.  Perhaps a question of the kidney expert, like; Do you agree this is the right thing to do? Is what is needed here.  You could ask to meet or talk to the kidney expert before the procedure, perhaps.

Another way of phrasing it, is that the kidney expert is the second opinion here.