Dog's eye melanoma regrew after surgery. What's best for an 11-year-old?

I'm very sorry this is happening to Roxi! It sounds like this tumor has gotten quite large, and is likely very irritating to her eye. In my opinion, surgery can be done on old dogs as long as blood work is done first that shows their organs are in good enough health to handle the anesthesia. Any surgery is a risk, and the anesthetic risk should be evaluated before making the decision to go or not. Given that the tumor is so large that you cannot see her eye anymore, her quality of life is affected, and it would be worth seeing if the tumor can be removed. If your vet does not want to do it, I would recommend seeking a second opinion from another vet.

I have no idea about her prognosis as it all depends on the exact type of tumour she has in the eyelid. Some tumours spread quickly whilst others linger in one area. It might be worth getting your vet to stage the cancer. You can habe a biopsy sent to the lab to get an exact diagnosis for rhe tumour then have Lymph nodes, the lungs and organs checked for metastases. If there is nothing in the other organs i would go ahead.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. There is no way of knowing what it is just based on its appearance. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Regardless if benign or malignant, removal should be considered to try to make her more comfortable. How likely it is to come back after removal will depend on what kind of growth this is and how malignant it is. Good luck and have a good night!

My last visit to my dog's ophthalmologist was quite a bit less than surgery would be to remove his eye, so before making any rash decisions, I would find out the cost of seeing the ophthalmologist. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to determine if a mass in the anterior chamber is an iris cyst (which is benign) or a melanoma, but one trick is that an iris cyst may move in the eye. So if Tia is on her back, does the mass move? If so, be sure to give your doctor that information. I wish I had a simple answer for you, but I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Ellie. The pigmentation can grow over time. I will put a link below to an article as to what this could be. If this is pigmentary keratitis, the underlying cause needs to be diagnosed so it can be treated correctly. Even if this was a melanoma, yes they are usually benign in dogs. In fact, 80% of them are benign. If it was melanoma, it could be destroyed with a laser since it's small. Have her see a veterinary ophthalmologist before getting too worried about it. Best of luck. https://www.northwestanimaleye.com/pigmentary-keratitis.pml

Sometimes during surgery it is difficult to remove all the cancer cells. Cells are microscopic and unless very wide margins were taken at surgery some cells may have been left behind. It is not necessarily the vet's fault. Cancer is difficult. The same thing happens in humans. Age is not a disease, if she is relatively in good health there is no reason for her to be unable to have surgery.

I recommend you get him rechecked by your vet as soon as possible, this may be bruising or infection in the area or indeed a recurrence of the tumor. Referral to a specialist oncologist should be considered to explore all options if the tumor is growing