Story at-a-glance Today, Dr. Becker is filming at her practice, Natural Pet. She’ll be removing two masses from her dog, Violet, and discussing how to decide whether a lump or bump on your own pet requires surgery. The first thing Dr. Becker recommends is weekly at-home wellness checks of your pet, which will help you immediately discover any eruptions on or under your pet’s skin. If you’re not in the habit of inspecting your pet’s body on a regular basis, when you do discover a suspicious lump or bump, you’ll have no idea how long it’s been there or if it is growing or changing. It’s important to monitor any growth you find on your pet’s body to determine whether it’s getting bigger or changing. A growth that doesn’t change isn’t cause for immediate concern – you can simply mention it to your vet at your next appointment. But a lump or bump or other irregularity that is rapidly growing or changing shape, texture or color needs to be evaluated by your veterinarian sooner rather than later. And the evaluation should always include extracting cells for examination using a fine needle aspirate procedure. Dr. Becker only advocates surgical removal of lumps or bumps when there is potential for cancerous cells, or when the mass is impinging on the animal’s comfort and quality of life. In the case of benign masses that are not bothersome to the pet, she believes the risk of anesthesia and surgery far outweighs any benefit to be derived from removing the growth. It’s important for any pet owner with an animal scheduled for general anesthesia and surgery to understand and feel comfortable with the veterinary clinic’s anesthesia, pain management and recovery protocols. In the final 10 minutes of the video, you’ll watch as Dr. Becker and her vet tech, Ashley, prepare Violet for her procedure, surgically remove the questionable masses, and assist her through the post-surgery recovery process.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 12:51:32 +0000
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