Wikipedia states "The rule of Three is a principle that suggests that things that come in three are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective that other numbers of things. This last week it has been three masses in three very different patients with three very worrisome parents.
All were pets who had been to the office time after time after time. All were at the end of a very long list of tried treatments and all had failed.
All of these pets were older.I have a tough time saying "older" not because they aren't, but because too often in veterinary medicine "old" seems to indicate "unlikely to receive the same standard of care as young."
This is the story of each of them.
Bugs is a 13 year old house cat of a long time devoted client. She loves her pets dearly and she takes exceptional care of them. Through the many years I have known her she has lost many pets. Each one of them passed away after a long bought of a disease she tried desperately to prevail over. Each pets passing was met with sadness and despair. She is a tough woman with a big heart.
When I saw her at the clinic last week it was to put another cat down after a long bought of respiratory distress that had progressed to suffocating and suffering.
This week she was visiting with Bugs. Bugs had been having more and more difficulty defecating due to a mass originating from his left anal sac. The mass had grown over the last weeks to being so large that it blocked his ability to defecate. Worse than that (if that is possible) the mass was bleeding profusely more and more often. He was uncomfortable, bleeding everywhere, and his mom was exasperated and on the brink.
After repeated visits and many many discussions about IF, or when, the mass should be removed we found ourselves here. Up against a wall.
You see, the mass was so large and so problematic that we HAD to do something. Up until this point every attempt to shrink it had failed. A biopsy had been done and it had come back as cancer.
At this point we all knew that there was nothing more to do, EXCEPT try. Try to take it off, and try to maintain the ability to defecate voluntarily. There were certainly no shortage of IF's but the only other option was to give up.
Surgery was scheduled a few days later.
You see, the mass was so large and so problematic that we HAD to do something. Up until this point every attempt to shrink it had failed. A biopsy had been done and it had come back as cancer.
At this point we all knew that there was nothing more to do, EXCEPT try. Try to take it off, and try to maintain the ability to defecate voluntarily. There were certainly no shortage of IF's but the only other option was to give up.
It went beautifully!
Bugs is recovering well, defecating normally, and pain free.
Not every story has a happy ending, but for Bugs it was just a matter of trying, AGAIN.
II. Casey is a 12 year old Lab. She has a baseball sized mass on her back. It 'exploded' open a day ago. Her story tomorrow.
III. Taffy, the 13 year old orange tabby cat with a very large lesion on the underside of the back half of her tongue.
Her story on Thursday.
All were pets who had been to the office time after time after time. All were at the end of a very long list of tried treatments and all had failed.
All of these pets were older.I have a tough time saying "older" not because they aren't, but because too often in veterinary medicine "old" seems to indicate "unlikely to receive the same standard of care as young."
This is the story of each of them.
Bugs is a 13 year old house cat of a long time devoted client. She loves her pets dearly and she takes exceptional care of them. Through the many years I have known her she has lost many pets. Each one of them passed away after a long bought of a disease she tried desperately to prevail over. Each pets passing was met with sadness and despair. She is a tough woman with a big heart.
When I saw her at the clinic last week it was to put another cat down after a long bought of respiratory distress that had progressed to suffocating and suffering.
This week she was visiting with Bugs. Bugs had been having more and more difficulty defecating due to a mass originating from his left anal sac. The mass had grown over the last weeks to being so large that it blocked his ability to defecate. Worse than that (if that is possible) the mass was bleeding profusely more and more often. He was uncomfortable, bleeding everywhere, and his mom was exasperated and on the brink.
After repeated visits and many many discussions about IF, or when, the mass should be removed we found ourselves here. Up against a wall.
You see, the mass was so large and so problematic that we HAD to do something. Up until this point every attempt to shrink it had failed. A biopsy had been done and it had come back as cancer.
At this point we all knew that there was nothing more to do, EXCEPT try. Try to take it off, and try to maintain the ability to defecate voluntarily. There were certainly no shortage of IF's but the only other option was to give up.
Surgery was scheduled a few days later.
You see, the mass was so large and so problematic that we HAD to do something. Up until this point every attempt to shrink it had failed. A biopsy had been done and it had come back as cancer.
At this point we all knew that there was nothing more to do, EXCEPT try. Try to take it off, and try to maintain the ability to defecate voluntarily. There were certainly no shortage of IF's but the only other option was to give up.
Surgery was scheduled a few days later.
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| Laser removal of the anal mass allows quick cutting with very little bleeding. It also increases healing time and pain. All very important aspects of healing when you are already in a dirty area. |
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| Using electrocautery to stop a small bleeding vessel. |
 |
| Finished product. |
It went beautifully!
Bugs is recovering well, defecating normally, and pain free.
Not every story has a happy ending, but for Bugs it was just a matter of trying, AGAIN.
II. Casey is a 12 year old Lab. She has a baseball sized mass on her back. It 'exploded' open a day ago. Her story tomorrow.
III. Taffy, the 13 year old orange tabby cat with a very large lesion on the underside of the back half of her tongue.
Her story on Thursday.
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