My dog has a splenic mass & breathing issues. Can she survive surgery?

Unfortunately without seeing the tests myself, I cannot say for sure whether or not it is cancerous. A lot would depend on its location as to whether or not it needs to be surgically removed. You could have an abdominal ultrasound done to help identify where it is located. Sometimes the mass can be aspirated during the exam and a small sample of cells can be examined under the microscope to help determine whether or not it is cancerous. If it is on the spleen and it is bleeding or growing then I would recommend a splenectomy. I have seen these masses be both benign and malignant. Removing the spleen is the best treatment to prevent both types of masses from rupture and prevent the cancer from spreading. As far as costs, I would talk to your vet about whether they offer payment plans or care credit. I would also ask for an estimate beforehand so your can properly plan. I hope this helps!

IF the mass is located on an organ that is safe to remove, then good. If it is attached to the spleen or uterus, those can be safely removed and dogs recover well and live comfortable without those parts. However, it should be sent off for analysis to see if it is cancer or not as that can affect the time and quality of life after. If the mass is attached to the stomach or liver, then it may not be able to be removed and you will be forced to make the decision to not wake her up from the surgery or wake her up and let her live a comfortable life for however amount of time that may be.

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.

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!

I'm so sorry that Gunner had a hemagiosarcoma! It's unfortunately a very aggressive cancer, and the overall prognosis is typically poor as it's rarely curable. It's been found that dogs who do not have identifiable metastasis at the time of surgery and receive chemo have a life expectancy of 6-10 months. It is good that his tumor hasn't ruptured the spleen have a better prognosis, and the combination of a spleenectomy and chemo can increase survival time. Fewer than 10% of dogs survive more than 1 year. I hope this helps!

Unfortunately surgery is not an option in this case, Prednisolone (a steroid) often can help reducing the swelling temporarily, if he is already on this medication (not chemo) and it does not have any effect, you should consider euthanasia.

This is always such a difficult decision to make, and it is very normal to have second thoughts when you have to decide quickly about proceeding with invasive procedures vs. euthanasia in an older dog. While it's impossible to know for certain, I have seen many dogs during my career who have had splenectomy surgery and either have extensive metastatic cancer found during the surgery, or succumb to the disease a couple of months afterwards. I honestly don't know if I would go forward with surgery for my own 12 year old dog in a similar situation. There are many pet loss support groups that can be very helpful: this website lists a few that may be near you https://aplb.org/support/groups/michigan.html