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Lily Is Out of Surgery

Shay,
I am just getting to this as we have travelled last night and have had a very busy day today. I am glad that Lily is home and seems to be doing well.

A story I have not shared......When Duncan was little but after his neuter (7 or 8 months) he developed a horrible inguinal hernia...it was HUGE. We had it removed and our vet (at the time) said "she had no idea what it was but it looked like a third testicle." We chuckled and went about healing our buddy. About 2 days later there was and egg sized, hard as a rock growth at the hernia site. We paniced and went to the ER vet that night. They told us they thought it was a suture reaction, tried to aspirate it to know avail and then told us to see our vet in the morning. Our vet (again, former) wanted to open him up AGAIN. 3rd time in 3 months and 2nd that week!! We thought better of it - asked for the "speciman" from the hernia surgery - and met my in-laws 1/2 way to B'ham to see thier vet (Becker Animal Clinic in Homewood) Dr Becker first recommended that we get a new vet, and the IMMEDIATELY sent the removed tissue for a biopsy at no charge to us after confirming the ER vet's diagnosis. The moral of my diatribe....He said, "if it was worth removing it was worth testing"... and while your vet sounds excellent otherwise and has acted very quickly and seemingly correctly with Lily I just wanted you to hear another perspective. I am sure Lily is fine, just as Duncan is, but I loved knowing that we were 100% confident that what came out of our little boy was just herniated tissue, not a third testicle :D or other ailment.

I will say that my DH still tells Duncan he was blessed with 3.
 
What a relief for you!! I get those nasty cysts from time to time and (well in female humans i know this to be true so I dont see why dogs woulld be different) they are always almost beign little nothings that just play havoc when there. Good to know they can be kept and then sent, what a smart idea!
 
duncans_ma said:
and met my in-laws 1/2 way to B'ham to see their vet (Becker Animal Clinic in Homewood) Dr Becker first recommended that we get a new vet, and the IMMEDIATELY sent the removed tissue for a biopsy at no charge to us after confirming the ER vet's diagnosis.
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Hi Ashley.....I appreciate the heads up. Believe it or not, the Vets I used for 13 years for Chloe was Becker Animal Clinic. I actually used Dr. Riley. Dr. Becker is semi retired now. I agree, they are wonderful. Dr. Riley saved Chloe's life more than once and was the Vet who put her to sleep as well and cried with me, sent me a beautiful plant, and an angel doggy pin. I brought Lily to Dr. Riley when we first got her and once after that. I figured I would try this new Vet for routine stuff because he was so close, but if anything life threatening should happen to Lily, I would go to Dr. Riley. As it turned out, I really liked this Vet. He always takes so much time with Lily and seems to be very thorough. I was a little concerned that he didn't send it off, but as he explained it, at this time there is no need, because everything in there is gone, so if it was anything, it is gone now. He said he was 99% sure it was just a cyst, but would keep the tissue for 6 months or so, just in case. Hope you have a great weekend in B'ham.
 
I immediately thought the same thing Ashley mentioned. But if he's that sure than I wouldn't worry. Jake's growth was sent out and turned out to be cancerous and they thought it wasn't. Don't want to alarm you....again, if he's that sure, I'm sure it's okay.

So glad she's home and doing well. Your vet sounds like a real charm.
 
Cathy T said:
I immediately thought the same thing Ashley mentioned. But if he's that sure than I wouldn't worry. Jake's growth was sent out and turned out to be cancerous and they thought it wasn't. Don't want to alarm you....again, if he's that sure, I'm sure it's okay.

So glad she's home and doing well. Your vet sounds like a real charm.
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o.k. now I'm worried! Why would he have not sent it off? Is it standard to send it off? Should I ask him to go ahead and send it off? What kind of growth did Jake have? Sorry for all the questions, I am very concerned now that he should have sent it off. I wonder if I am missing something in what he said. I am going to have my husband call him tomorrow.
 
Shay,

I concur, the cyst or the fluid from it, should be biopsied at the time of removal.

Good idea to request that he send it out now. You need to know 100%. :)
 
Shay, I couldn't go to bed tonight without checking in to see how Lily's surgery went. I'm so glad she's fine and doing well tonight.

Even though I expect that the vet's judgment is probably correct--that the odds are strongly in Lily's favor that this is something benign--maybe it does make sense from a peace-of-mind standpoint to go ahead and have him get it biopsied now. Probably part of his reasoning is that even if it turns out to be something malignant, right now there would be nothing to treat since he took everything out. However, personally, I'd probably rather know for sure now that it is benign. (And he has no idea how much other "expert advice" you have access to! :) )

I hope that Lily will be feeling much, much better tomorrow! I'm sure she'll be back to herself in short order.
 
err...point of clarification, it has already been "biopsied"-that refers to the mechanical process of removing the tissue. It will need to be "read" or "examined" --that refers to microscopic and/or gross analysis by a veterinary pathologist or similar such entity. Sorry to be pedantic. --Natalie:dogwlk:

Bianca adds" I don't care what you call it. Is it ham or not?"
 
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Shay, I really did not mean to alarm, I just wanted to tell you our experience. I trust that you and your vet will do everything right by Lily. When our vet initially did not send out the tissue, I was not concerned. Then when Dr Becker made is very simple but logical statement about why not get it checked it just made sense.

I just wanted to give you an additional perspective. I am sure that Lily is alright.
 
Oh no Ashley....I really appreciate your concern. I am a worry wort by nature. I drive my hubby crazy. Everything you said made sense, and I had wondered why he didn't send it off too, but after he explained that he took out everything, which he said is the best course of treatment, that made sense too. That if it was anything, it is gone now. But, just to be on the safe side, I am going to ask him to send it off. Thanks for your concern for Lily. I would feel terrible if it was something and I didn't follow up. Thanks to you and Cathy for telling me your stories.
 
shay i'm so glad to hear that everything went well for lily and that there is finally an answer to why she's been going through so much. extra cuddles from indy and i and i'm sure she's getting loads from you already :)

k
 
Shay,

Chester and i just want to contribute our hugs and kisses and best wishes to you and especially Lily on a speedy recovery!:lotsaluv::D :hug: :D:lotsaluv:
 
Hi Shay & Lily...such great news that Lily is ok!! Big puppy (((Hugs))) from Molly & Max. I hope she feels better very soon. :dogwlk:
 
Thanks everyone for checking on Lily. She is back to her self this morning playing and jumping on the sofa. It is hard to keep her still. Her appetite is out of control. She is acting like she is starving. She had not been that interested in her food for several weeks before her surgery. She has had no bleeding what so ever. The vet said that because she was in full blown heat, she may continue to bleed for several days, but nothing. This is a good thing. :rah: We have decided to talk to the Vet again when we take her back to have her stitches removed as to why he did not think it necessary to send off the tissue and growth. I think his issue was that the course of action if it would have been anything, is to remove all of her females organ. Everything is gone now, so I guess that's why he decided not to send it off. I just want to be certain that I understood him correctly as to why he didn't feel the need to have it read. We more than likely will ask him to go ahead and send it off.

Thanks again for all your concern for Lily and me.:thnku:
 
So glad Lily is bouncing back so well. Let us know what your vet says re the sample. I'm curious. Here's to a full and complete recovery and a long and happy and healthy life!!!:hug:

I didn't mean to upset or concern you. As is usually the case with my two (Shelby's failed knee surgery) Jake's results were completely and totally unexpected. The vet was fairly certain it was a benign growth...after all, the dog was only 2 years old and the chances that it was cancerous were slim. Unfortunately....we again beat the odds. Everything is great now but it could have been disastrous. Tell your vet about our stories and get his view. I'm not a vet (duh!) so what's going on with Lily could be nothing compared to my experience.
 
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Cathy T said:
I didn't mean to upset or concern you. As is usually the case with my two (Shelby's failed knee surgery) Jake's results were completely and totally unexpected.
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Oh no Cathy, you did not upset me. I just appreciate you and Ashley sharing your stories. I have PM'd you.
 
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