7:00 a.m. I dropped Erde off at the vet hospital this morning for her dental appointment. It was not a happy moment, but not only because of Erde. While I was there, a man emerged alone from an examination room in tears, hugged the doctor and left, stopping only to stoop down to pat a nearby dog on the head saying, "Good dog." Then he left . Minutes later, a technician emerged from the same examination room carrying a dog's body wrapped in a blanket. It was a stark reminder of what we pet owners all have ahead of us in one form of another. It is one of the unfairnesses of life that our pets live such short lives. But it was also a reminder to me that whatever problem is discovered with Erde, I still have her and have options to deal with it, and that is most important.
I met with the doctor for about 15 minutes and was somewhat encouraged by what I heard. Although it was too early for me to be optimistic with good reason, I was optimistic for several reasons. First, I thought Erde was only going in today only for a cleaning and biopsy. Actually, during the course of the procedure they do as much can to remove the mass, which means that if it a benign tumor, there is no more work that need be done. Second, I asked the doctor how the mass looked to her, and she told me she was somewhat encouraged by the way it looked because it might be tooth related and not a serious problem.
11:00 a.m. The doctor just called me. She told me that Erde is now under anesthesia but she wanted to tell me what she found upon careful examination before she proceeds with the surgery. The news was not good. It was about the worst I could have expected at this point. Erde has serious fractures of two teeth, one on each side of her lower rear mouth, which have nothing to do with the mass on the upper rear left side. Both of those teeth must come out. As far as the mass is concerned, there is a surface fracture on the associated tooth, but the tooth itself and the root are healthy and can remain, so the mass has nothing to do with the tooth or root. Worse, there is some thinning of the bone surrounding the tooth and the mass extends beyond the gums to the palate, which increases the chances of a malignancy, but doesn't guarantee it. The doctor said that because of the extension of the mass to the palate, they would not be able to remove the entire mass. This could be problematic in the future.
Any optimism I had this morning after dropping Erde off has diminished significantly, especially since this doctor told me that benign tumors can change to malignant. The hope would be that if this a benign tumor, it would be slow to develop into something more serious, including a malignancy, that would require something to be done to correct it.
Unless the doctor tells me something more encouraging than what she told me just now after she calls me this afternoon after the surgery, we will not be heading off on our trip until after I get the results of the biopsy back next Friday. If the tumor is benign, we will take the trip. If it is malignant, we will put it on hold indefinitely until the matter is resolved.
For the last 10 years, I have been taking my dogs every couple of years to a holistic vet for teeth cleaning to avoid putting them under anesthesia. While this mass might not have been there over a year ago and discoverable when my dogs had their teeth cleaned last, I see that that might have been a mistake on my part. In the future, I will at least alternate vets for this, or opt solely for the cleaning under anesthesia.
4:00 p.m. I just heard from the vet. The surgery went as the doctor thought it would. The two lower teeth (one large) were extracted and the mass around the outside of the rear upper left gum was removed. The doctor could not remove any of the mass that had spread to the palate, but she did not know if that was actually the tumor spreading or just inflammation caused by the mass itself. There was really no more she could add until the biopsy comes in 7 business days from now. Then we will know what it is, whether it is benign or malignant, and what the options are for treatment if it is malignant. If it is benign, nothing more needs to be done except watch it. If it is malignant, I have options, and I intend to pursue any and all that keep this magnificent dog with me for as long as I can. I feel sorry for the poor dogs whose owners cannot afford to say that. Now I have to go pick up some soft dog food for Erde so she can eat this next week.
I will update this posting after I bring Erde home tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment