| 0717Singapore
bitch breast tumour health and welfare educational for animal lovers, excerpts from The Glamorous Vets,
Singapore, sponsored by AsiaHomes Internet.
July 06, 2002 Did the vet play God?  "Why didn't the vet recommend the lump
under the skin to be removed by surgery?" Mr Soon asked me. "My wife was worried
about the lump, but the vet said it was normal." He had seen the vet five
months ago. This lump was now a one-cm hard rounded mass one cm in diameter lying as a
discrete mass under the skin, to the right side the most posterior nipple in this
seven-year-old bitch. Mr Soon had consulted me about the skin disease under the bitch's neck and lower part of the body and the lump was an incidental finding when the coat was clipped. Decayed teeth and gum disease were other incidental findings too. Whether the vet had said that the lump was normal or not, I would not dispute with Mr Soon as I was not present at the time of diagnosis. "Only a biopsy, that is the examination of the lump tissue by the veterinary histopathologist would confirm whether the lump was breast cancer or not," I said. "Most dog owners do not want this to be done." Mr Soon's complaint was the non-stop itchiness of the bitch's neck skin which had by now thickened, scattered with numerous red scratch wounds and scars. The breast lump was a solitary one but it had doubled in sized in four months. On further probing, Mr Soon said the tumour was present probably more than a year ago smaller than a "kachang puteh" (small peanut). It was not easily seen unless you really scrutinise for a bluish subcutaneous swelling. It was large enough to be felt under the skin and this size would cause considerable worry in women. Was it cancerous? The first vet had said it was not significant, according to the Owner. Well, I don't think the vet would have said that but then I was not present.  "What should be done
now?" Mr Soon asked. The bitch was in the middle of skin disease treatment. If
she was operated, the massive numbers of bacteria and fungi from the surrounding skin
might invade the surgical area and cause infections. This dog was now middle aged and breast tumours in unspayed bitches do present themselves at veterinary clinics. Not all are malignant and therefore different vets may have different opinions as to the surgical removal of the breast tumours. "How many tumours have you seen?" Mr Soon asked me when I said that the tumour ought to be removed surgically. This was a different opinion from the first veterinarian according to him. "I have seen at least one hundred over the past twenty years of practice," I said. The longer the veterinarian is in practice, the more of such cases he or she will encounter. All breast tumours should be removed early and a biopsy to check whether they are malignant should be done. However, in the real world, most owners do not want to incur the extra costs of biopsies. If the tumours grow bigger, they may decide to operate. I doubt that the first veterinarian would play God by saying that this breast lump was insignificant just because it was very small. The over-riding problem was the extreme itchiness of the lower part of the body and this problem could not be resolved so easily with drugs as the cause was unknown. The dog came back six weeks later with the same redness and itchiness all over the lower part of the body and neck. There were black scabs on the neck and near the nose too. 
She did recover with
the drug injection and the hair had grown, the owner said. If you look at the picture above during the first vist, there was real hair growth on the front legs. But now, it was back to square one on the stomach area as the dog had scratched herself raw. Many young dog owners in Singapore are hard pressed for time as they work hard. It will be better if the dog with skin problems can be reviewed in three or four weeks' time or as soon as the problems start. Not every case of ventral dermatitis can be cured, but some can be controlled by medication or by the wearing of clothing to cover the lower part of the body. The ear canals and bad teeth may need to be checked too to eliminate other causes of itchiness. |