Bit of reassurance from our resident professionals please!
Discussion
Last Friday, we noticed a lump about the size of a walnut under the jaw of Otis, our 4 yr old neutered male GSD. As it would happen, I was due to travel to Austria the following day for a ski trip. Mrs C took him to the vet whilst I was on my way to the airport. The vet said almost definitely "just" a cyst, she took a sample via a needle and had a look under the microscope, but sent the sample off for verification.
Fast forward to today. I am indeed now in Austria, reassured by the vet's original diagnosis. However, MrsC has today noticed that the lump has grown from the size of a walnut to the size of a tennis ball. Back to the vet.
Vet says it's a "foreign body cannula" - at least that's what MrsC understood her to say. She (the vet) thinks there's something in there which the body is fighting and growing tissue around. I thought a cannula was one of those things you have in hospital to deliver drugs intravenously. Vet says immediate antibiotics (two jabs tonight apparently) and surgery tomorrow. Says it will be a "difficult" operation but that there's nothing malignant at play.
Otis is very jowly by nature, and he does like to follow our smaller GSD cross into whatever undergrowth is available, where they both pretend they're terriers, so it's entirely possibly he's got something stuck in those jowls.
Clearly we're both pretty concerned about this, particularly me as I'm 800 miles from home and feeling a tad disconnected and out of control.
If anyone is able to offer any words of comfort/reassurance they would be gratefully received!
Fast forward to today. I am indeed now in Austria, reassured by the vet's original diagnosis. However, MrsC has today noticed that the lump has grown from the size of a walnut to the size of a tennis ball. Back to the vet.
Vet says it's a "foreign body cannula" - at least that's what MrsC understood her to say. She (the vet) thinks there's something in there which the body is fighting and growing tissue around. I thought a cannula was one of those things you have in hospital to deliver drugs intravenously. Vet says immediate antibiotics (two jabs tonight apparently) and surgery tomorrow. Says it will be a "difficult" operation but that there's nothing malignant at play.
Otis is very jowly by nature, and he does like to follow our smaller GSD cross into whatever undergrowth is available, where they both pretend they're terriers, so it's entirely possibly he's got something stuck in those jowls.
Clearly we're both pretty concerned about this, particularly me as I'm 800 miles from home and feeling a tad disconnected and out of control.
If anyone is able to offer any words of comfort/reassurance they would be gratefully received!
I have only just seen your post.
Firstly I hope everything goes well with the surgery today.
I am wondering if the vet actually said fistula rather than cannula?
This is when a lump can have a channel linking eg one lump to another. If this is the case surgical intervention is the best option because antibiotics alone rarely get deep enough to properly kill of all the bud that cause the lumps.
Also if it is caused by a foreign body it gives more chance to remove it. Though sometimes a fb tracks so by the time a lump comes up they have already moved soemwehre else, that can get tricky to resolve so fingers crossed that isn't it.
Let us know how he gets on.
Firstly I hope everything goes well with the surgery today.
I am wondering if the vet actually said fistula rather than cannula?
This is when a lump can have a channel linking eg one lump to another. If this is the case surgical intervention is the best option because antibiotics alone rarely get deep enough to properly kill of all the bud that cause the lumps.
Also if it is caused by a foreign body it gives more chance to remove it. Though sometimes a fb tracks so by the time a lump comes up they have already moved soemwehre else, that can get tricky to resolve so fingers crossed that isn't it.
Let us know how he gets on.
Thanks Bex. I’m somewhat on tenterhooks waiting for the call later but will update after.
Fistula sounds more likely to fit, I couldn’t understand why it was a cannula although that’s apparently what the vet said. English isn’t her first language though, I think she’s German, so maybe slightly lost in translation.
Fistula sounds more likely to fit, I couldn’t understand why it was a cannula although that’s apparently what the vet said. English isn’t her first language though, I think she’s German, so maybe slightly lost in translation.
I've seen several jaw lumps over the years which have turned out to be reaction to some foreign material rather than cancer, the position of the various lumps made a massive difference to the option of any surgery, due to arteries veins and nerves. If the lump has grown then some action is needed, ranging from antibiotics to see if shrinks or not, to surgery or referral depending on lump location/nature.
Diagnosis is key, you need to know as much about the lump as possible to get the course of action correct. If not completely happy with the diagnosis/course then ask for referral to specialist.
Diagnosis is key, you need to know as much about the lump as possible to get the course of action correct. If not completely happy with the diagnosis/course then ask for referral to specialist.
Well the update is that he came through the surgery fine, and the diagnosis given to MrsC when she rang to check on him is that it was an abcess. No further info until he collects him and sees the vet in an hour or so but I’ll let you know if there’s more after that.
I guess it must have been pretty sore if that’s what it was but he wasn’t complaining. In fact he was chasing round the field with our other dog this morning on his pre-vet walk.
I guess it must have been pretty sore if that’s what it was but he wasn’t complaining. In fact he was chasing round the field with our other dog this morning on his pre-vet walk.
CAPP0 said:
Well the update is that he came through the surgery fine, and the diagnosis given to MrsC when she rang to check on him is that it was an abcess. No further info until he collects him and sees the vet in an hour or so but I’ll let you know if there’s more after that.
I guess it must have been pretty sore if that’s what it was but he wasn’t complaining. In fact he was chasing round the field with our other dog this morning on his pre-vet walk.
Great news! Not often you hear about a Dane & an Austrian from Germany.I guess it must have been pretty sore if that’s what it was but he wasn’t complaining. In fact he was chasing round the field with our other dog this morning on his pre-vet walk.
I was worried it might be a Manitou. Did you see that film?
Bit of an update.
Otis is back home and doing fine. However the vet said it was best to leave the wound and the cyst sac open and allow them to heal and shrink naturally, so, whilst I haven’t seen it yet, MrsC says he has a 3” slit in his neck into which you could still fit a tennis ball if you were so inclined. He’s in a cone of shame with puppy pads to soak up the leakage from the wound. Apparently this will take at least 2 weeks to start closing up.
But he’s eating, drinking, pooing and weeing just fine and even found the energy to chase Lola round the field earlier. He and Lola have a strange little hierarchy thing where one of them is in charge for certain things, and vice versa. Apparently yesterday evening he hopped up onto the sofa and stood over her until she moved (grumbling like mad!) so he could have that spot. That’s one thing she’s usually fully in charge of!
He’s back to the vet on Sat for a checkup.
Otis is back home and doing fine. However the vet said it was best to leave the wound and the cyst sac open and allow them to heal and shrink naturally, so, whilst I haven’t seen it yet, MrsC says he has a 3” slit in his neck into which you could still fit a tennis ball if you were so inclined. He’s in a cone of shame with puppy pads to soak up the leakage from the wound. Apparently this will take at least 2 weeks to start closing up.
But he’s eating, drinking, pooing and weeing just fine and even found the energy to chase Lola round the field earlier. He and Lola have a strange little hierarchy thing where one of them is in charge for certain things, and vice versa. Apparently yesterday evening he hopped up onto the sofa and stood over her until she moved (grumbling like mad!) so he could have that spot. That’s one thing she’s usually fully in charge of!
He’s back to the vet on Sat for a checkup.
Yes that is not so unusual, esp if it was not encapsulated or not possible to remove the sac, sometimes they would put a drain in but they have to be removed after about 3 days and probably wouldn't have been that effective in the area.
It is a bit mucky but hopefully the discharge should reduce over the next 2-3 days.
It is a bit mucky but hopefully the discharge should reduce over the next 2-3 days.
Thanks Bex. I got home this afternoon so I've seen him now.
It is indeed an impressive incision under his neck! Probably 2.5" long, in line with his jaw, at the top of his neck. It's quite livid still but the discharge is fairly low-level now. He saw the vet again today before I got home and she's happy with him. Said it will be around 10 days before the cut closes up. He seems fairly happy in himself which is good, wanted a game of football when I got home! (although I didn't oblige him, don't think that would work out well).
Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.
It is indeed an impressive incision under his neck! Probably 2.5" long, in line with his jaw, at the top of his neck. It's quite livid still but the discharge is fairly low-level now. He saw the vet again today before I got home and she's happy with him. Said it will be around 10 days before the cut closes up. He seems fairly happy in himself which is good, wanted a game of football when I got home! (although I didn't oblige him, don't think that would work out well).
Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.
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