hi ev1

my dog is 16 and just had a mammary tumour removed she is very lively now but the vet said she has another one on the other side. he said he didnt think he could remove it as he didnt think there would be enough skin to stitch her up. i didnt ask any questions at the time as i was in shock, but i dont understand what he means, surely they cut a flap to stitch up when they remove lumps..... any 1 else heard of this please

Yes, this is a common problem when removing large tumors, especially mammary tumors.

The procedure isn't to make an incision over the tumor, lift and cut loose the skin, remove the underlying tumor, and sew the skin up. The incision is made around the tumor, and skin, fascia and tumor are removed all together.

There are several reasons for this, them main one being to remove any possible stray cells from the tumor that might have invaded surrounding tissue. The pathologist's term is "getting clean margins."

Seriously, at the age of 16, I would probably opt to keep my pet comfortable for as long as possible, and not put her through another major surgery.

Originally Posted by vetgroomer

Yes, this is a common problem when removing large tumors, especially mammary tumors.

The procedure isn't to make an incision over the tumor, lift and cut loose the skin, remove the underlying tumor, and sew the skin up. The incision is made around the tumor, and skin, fascia and tumor are removed all together.

There are several reasons for this, them main one being to remove any possible stray cells from the tumor that might have invaded surrounding tissue. The pathologist's term is "getting clean margins."

Seriously, at the age of 16, I would probably opt to keep my pet comfortable for as long as possible, and not put her through another major surgery.

many thanx for your explanation and advice....at the moment she is very lively and i will look around to see if there are any natural remedies that could help her

Originally Posted by jeffers

hi ev1

my dog is 16 and just had a mammary tumour removed she is very lively now but the vet said she has another one on the other side. he said he didnt think he could remove it as he didnt think there would be enough skin to stitch her up. i didnt ask any questions at the time as i was in shock, but i dont understand what he means, surely they cut a flap to stitch up when they remove lumps..... any 1 else heard of this please

it never happened to my dog however yeah i heard this before you should do that in order to remove the tumor..