My dog has a neck lump. Is anesthesia safe with his heart murmur?

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Just because he has a heart murmur does not mean he cannot go under anesthesia. There are also other methods such as using a local anesthetic to numb the area and removing it while he is awake if the heart is that much of a concern. Special precautions are taken wi dogs that have a heart murmur and need anesthesia. I have placed many dogs with heart murmurs under anesthesia and have never had any complications. I've even done my fair share of patients in congestive heart failure under anesthesia and they have done well. I would discuss with you vet the other options to remove this besides anesthesia if you are uncomfortable putting him under. You can also discuss freezing the cyst with your vet. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am assuming that your vet did a needle aspirate and wasn't able to get a diagnosis. The only way to know the cause of the lumps would be to remove them and submit to a lab for biopsy. As long as he is otherwise healthy then the risk of anesthesia is low. If he needs a dental cleaning then your vet could do both at the same time. If you don't want to have them removed then you could monitor for a month or so and see how the lumps change. If they are growing then they really should be removed.

In a senior dog like Sandy, there is always a chance that a lump could be malignant. This does need to be seen by a vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump while the dog is awake to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. There are senior dogs who have anesthesia without problems, and that may be the case with Sandy. The lump needs to be diagnosed first before worrying about going to surgery, so give your vet a call in the morning to make an appointment. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

It sounds as if your vet is concerned that your dog has a malignant tumor, most likely squamous cell carcinoma. If there is suspicion about the malignancy of a tumor the best course of action is to have it removed. I can understand your concerns about Dahlia undergoing surgery but it would be safer and easier to remove it now, while it is smaller, then it would be if it was left to continue to grow. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

I would have the lumps on the neck checked out for sure. I am guessing those lumps are enlarged lymph nodes. This can be serious and I doubt they would want to put her under anesthesia with enlarged lymph nodes. I would call your vet and get her back in for an exam to check her out.

Depending on the size of the mass, local anesthetic could be used but the use of sedatives in a patient with heart disease can be risky. If she is not in heart failure but has a heart murmur, anesthesia can still safely be used, just used with some precautions. It depends on the veterinarian and what they are comfortable with. She also wouldn't be sedated with lidocaine. Lidocaine would be injected around the mass to numb the area prior to the procedure. Dahlia would be sedated using a combination of other drugs in addition to the lidocaine injection. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

In a young puppy, birth defects are always a strong suspicion and a specialist ultrasound by a cardiologist really is the best option. This will help to determine the actual site and type of heart problem and is the only way to diagnose what is going on. A definitive diagnosis will guide the most appropriate management with regards to surgery or medication as well as providing information on long term prognosis and likely consequences as he gets older. Most heart murmurs do not require medical treatment nor do they exclude the possibility of general anesthesia although careful planning and monitoring is recommended throughout any procedures