My senior dog has a growing eyelid tumor. Can she have surgery?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can see that Jake has a very large, round, well demarcated growth on his side. While it is impossible to tell exactly what type of tumor it is and give a prognosis following removal, it is likely that removing the tumor will make him more comfortable. Depending on the approach, the surgical site may be rather large and require some care and pain management at home. As long as Jake is otherwise healthy, surgery and anesthesia are relatively safe as well. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you have!

I believe that in such a case, because the quality of life is affected greatly, that a surgery should be done with all it's risks, it's a simple surgery that does not take a long time meaning risks are still very minor. if your vet does not agree you might want to look for another clinic in your area of living that might share my opinion.

Old age is not a disease. And the eye itself sounds like it will need to be operated on either now or later. You should try to save the eye. If the eye does rupture Bruno will still need an operation to remove the eye due to intense pain and discomfort. So this is definitely the better of two options in my professional opinion. Also you should know that every Venerian does pre-op bloodwork to make sure there is no organ malfunction that needs special care during surgery. With every surgery there is a risk, but most veterinarians are equipped to handle any issues that may arise while the pet is under general anesthesia. I hope Bruno gets well soon!

Unfortunately you do not say whether the melanoma is in his eye ball or the eye lid or skin around the eye ball. If it is in the eye ball it likely would be best to remove the eye. Removing the melanoma from the eye lids or skin around the eye is also advisable if it is returning with a vengeance, ie growing again. The major problem there will be complete removal having skin left to close the skin defect. Unfortunately, if it is not removed there is a chance of metastastes. I would not worry so much about her age, if she is fairly healthy and even in dogs with heart disease, for example, we can do special anesthesia tailored to your dog that is very safe.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely a growth. Most of these growths in the eyelids are benign in nature meaning that they are benign cancers. However, even though they are benign in nature, they can get to the point of bothering the patient. I would recommend to consider removal if this appears to be bothering Simon or if this starts getting larger as it may be more problematic or not possible to remove later on. You can consider taking him to a specialty hospital where his liver enzyme elevation can be worked up before surgery but that is rarely a contraindication to undergo anesthesia so he should be fine. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If it is possible, I would recommend having the x-rays done without sedation and depending on how the x-rays look and how her blood work looks, consider removal of the mass under anesthesia. She is not too old for anesthesia but the risk of anesthetic complications rises with age. As long as her heart, lungs and blood work are normal, she should be fine under anesthesia. 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.

It is hard to evaluate eyes based on a photo. If your vet has told you your dog has cataracts, whether or not surgery is an option depends on a few factors. These include your pets overall health (a physical exam and bloodwork can help determine this), whether or not your pet will tolerate the aftercare (including frequent eye drops at first), and if your dog can still be visual once the cataract is removed (you may need to see an ophthalmologist for special testing to determine this). I would start with a general wellness exam and blood screening at your vet. If all looks good the next step would be a consultation with an ophthalmologist. More info can be found at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=659