My 13 year old Golden Retriever has lesions on varying locations of his body (2 on abdominal cavity, 1 between his right eye and ear, etc.). The growths continue to grow with the largest being about 1cm above the skin.
I saw the first lesion about 5 years ago on his left front leg. It initially looked like an engorged tick, but when I tugged on it, I realized it was a growth. The surrounding area had redness radiating from the growth. The vet opted to remove it and much of the surrounding area. He said the growth was very vascular but that he didn’t know what it was. The pathology came back negative for malignancy. Could these be hemangiomas? Or the rarer angiokeratoma? I can take a photo and attach it if you’d like further information.
My Golden now has many more of these growths and because my guy is elderly, I’ve opted not to put him through any more surgeries to excise these growths. In your opinion, is this a bad decision on my part? Thank you for any advice you can give me.
In my opinion, you have made a good decision! In the circles or homeopathy, we do not believe that the removal of these growths are a good thing. In stead, we treat the whole system, ie. diet etc. One must also consider vaccines, etc. ………..
I can better you if I had the history of the animal etc. Please feel free to call or email me with more information. Until then, you are doing good!
Dyanna McCain, DIHom DVetHom Holistic Animal Healing Los Angeles, CA
You indicate that the pathology came back negative for malignancy, but what did the pathologist identify the lesion as being?
Pathologists describe the histology of the tissue in their report and then identify what they believe the cause of the lesion is: tumor, inflammation, fungal, autoimmune etc.
Ask your veterinarian to discuss the results from the pathologist and write down what the diagnosis is. It is difficult for anyone to guess what the lesions are from a description, but you already have a biopsy result and therein lies the answer to your question.
Possibly your veterinarian can recommend an oncologist if the lesion is something like a Mast cell tumor, or a hemangioma as you suspect.
Don’t be bashful, ask for a referral for a higher level of diagnostics if you wish. Maybe a dermatologist consult would be helpful as a referral.
Dr. Mark Logan, DVM Baysea Veterinary Hospital Cape May, NJ
It is interesting that you ask whether the growths might be very specific types of tumors, yet do not say anything more about the pathology report on the first one except that there was no malignancy. The pathology report would have specifically named the type of mass that it was, (not just said yes or no for cancer) and if you don’t know that, you should request a copy of the biopsy report from your veterinarian.
Regardless, you cannot say from a 5-year old biopsy result that the new growths are the same thing. There are many types of skin growths in older dogs, and gross appearance may suggest identification but isn’t always 100% correct. The good news is that many such growths are benign and more of a cosmetic concern or nuisance than dangerous. Even if they are cancerous, depending on type, location, rate of growth and other factors, they may not be life-threatening for a long time.