How bad is an enlarged spleen in my dog? What are the dangers?

The spleen can enlarge with certain infections (especially blood borne infections or tick borne disease), splenic torsions, or certain types of cancer. It can also be normal for some dogs to have a larger spleen, and certain drugs used for sedation or anesthesia can cause the spleen to enlarge. Your veterinarian might want to perform blood work to look for changes that could suggest an infection or may want to perform an ultrasound to examine the spleen as a next step. Some of these causes are very treatable and others are not.

Enlarged spleens can occur for many reasons including immune mediated disease, infections and tumours and the treatment for each is quite different. Blood tests to rule out infections and removal and biopsy of the spleen are often used to investigate. There is no single treatment which would be expected to be curative but a well balanced diet is recommended

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Betty Lou. A lot of dogs develop splenic masses and many of them are not cancerous. There is no way to know by looking at the spleen. It needs be removed and submitted to the laboratory for a pathologist to evaluate microscopically. The same holds true for the liver. Just because a lesion is seen on the liver in surgery does not mean cancer has spread from the spleen. It is best in this case to remove the spleen and biopsy any abnormality in the liver. You may consider having an abdominal ultrasound performed prior to surgery by a board certified radiologist. This will allow a full evaluation of the abdomen and give you a better idea of what to expect in surgery. I hope this information helps. Good luck to you and Betty Lou!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Rocks. I would think that since the spleen plays a big role in the immune system and a storage area for red blood cells, that a subsequent enlargement of the organ is entirely possible. I would say this though......if the spleen remains enlarged a month or two after the snake bite episode, I would pursue the x-ray and/or ultrasound to evaluate why it is truly enlarged. Many middle aged to older dogs end up having problems with their spleens including hematomas, splenic cysts, or even splenic tumors which can either be benign or malignant. Sometimes these problems with the spleen cause internal bleeding from the damaged organ thus often necessitating an emergency splenectomy. Your vet is correct to advise imaging studies to try to detect an enlarged spleen and attempt to treat it if necessary in a non emergent setting. Good luck with Rocks and I hope this is all related to the snake bite.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! As a veterinarian who specializes in cancer and sees a lot of splenic tumors on a regular basis, I can tell you that this could have happened as a result of an arrhythmia as some of these tumors that affect the spleen such as hemangiosarcoma can result in arrhythmias or a result of a splenic mass rupture causing significant internal bleeding. So sorry for your loss.

I would highly recommend taking her to a vet as soon as possible. Bleeding in the eye can be due to local trauma to the eye but also can be connected to underlying disease like toxin (rat poison), bleeding disorders, cancer, high blood pressure or infectious disease. I would be very concerned in an older dog with enlarged spleen that the blood in eye is related to this. I would recommend x-rays of the body and blood work to look at organ function and platelet count. Also, taking sassy to an ophthalmologist would be in her best interest

Not necessarily. It depends on the cause of the mass. Now if it’s a splenic hemangiosarcoma, the life expectancy with surgery is three months, and that’s if Bessy survives the surgery. The mass could be something like an abscess, but I can’t say for certain. You can try to give her a chance, and maybe luck will be in your favor and it’s not cancer. But if it is cancer, letting her go is the kindest option. I hope this helps.