Dog gum sore grew after treatment. Is it cancer or an abscess?

I'm sorry to hear about Stephanie's problem. To know for sure what the type of growth is and what to expect from it, a pathologist should look at a sample of the tissue from a surgical biopsy. Without this info, we are just guessing by its appearance, rate of growth and our experience. I am very concerned by the appearance of this mass and the rapid growth after it was initially removed. It is suggestive of a malignant mouth cancer. These are typically very aggressive and very difficult to treat. Your best bet is to ask your veterinarian to refer you to a veterinary oncologist. This is a specialized doctor that can give you the best treatment options. My guess is that they could combine radical surgical resection of the growth and the portion of the jaw that it is growing from. This may be preceded by or followed by radiation treatment. They can go over the prognosis and what exactly to expect, but your regular veterinarian is probably limited to the surgery that was already done. It can be repeated, but the outcome will be the same....rapid tumor re growth. Ask your veterinarian if there is a good specialist that you can see to find out all of your options and decide if treatment is feasible.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This is an epulis - a growth (benign of malignant) on the gum. It can get bigger and starts bothering Baxter but it may stay small and not cause any problems at all. You should monitor the growth for the next 2-3 months. If it is getting bigger or keeps bleeding, that would suggest this is a malignant mass and you will have to think to get it surgically removed. If it stays small, you just need to keep an eye on it. It does not look infected (in fact this kind of growths usually don't get infected in general) so I would wait with azithromycin, Baxter probably does not need it at the moment.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. That is may be why it came back after removing it. There is no way of knowing for sure without an examination though this represents a reason to seek veterinary care. This is usually determined with an examination and a fine needle aspirate (FNA) or a biopsy. Treatment depends on the findings up to that point. I recommend you have Rufus evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

That does look concerning. Unfortunately there is no way to tell from the appearance alone as to whether or not it cancerous. You are correct in that it may be a benign growth, it may cancer, or it may some sort of inflammatory mass from an infection of the gums either due to a dental problem or due to an embedded bit of small stick or something along those lines. Gingival hyperplasia (overactive growth of the gum tissue) is possible, however it usually appears less "mass-like." If she is still eating, active and happy, make an appointment with your vet at your convenience in the coming weeks to have it checked out. If she is not eating or otherwise seems ill, or if you are noticing that her breath is really bad, get her in as soon as you can. Your vet may recommend that a biopsy be considered. A biopsy is the only way to determine what exactly it is, how dangerous it is, and what needs to be done about it. I hope thats helpful for you! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think you are talking about something called gingival hyperplasia. If it looks very similar to the one that was removed and tested, it’s probably the same thing. (Though we can never guarantee as some kids of cancer can look similar.) Usually there is nothing to do treatment or prevention-wise except remove them at routine dental cleaning. And I do recommend routine dental cleaning as tartar can build up dramatically under that gum tissue. Best of luck to you and Lilly!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor guy! This can certainly be just an abscess due to an infection. However, it is possible that there is an underlying cancer which is why this keeps occurring. I think this is less likely to be true and this is more likely just an abscess that needs to be treated. If this has improved on the therapies that Kronk is on at this time then I would follow the course. If he is not improving, they should consider submitting the wound fluid to a laboratory to check for the possibility of a resistant infection that may need to be treated with a different antibiotic. Otherwise, they should sample that tissue inside and submit to a laboratory for histopathology to check for the possibility of underlying cancer. The facts that there are lesions in different places makes allergies possible. I am hoping for a speedy recovery!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is possible that this is still cancer and perhaps the biopsy that was taken was not representative. It really may not be cancer and it may represent fibrosis or inflammation and scar tissue. I think it would be a good idea to consider getting larger biopsies to see if the diagnosis changes. If it does come back as cancer, this could be removed. Even if benign, your veterinarian could consider referring Milo to a board certified surgeon to see if there is surgical option to remove this even if benign for quality of life purposes. Good luck and best wishes!