Before Surgery
A few weeks ago, Bill detected a mammary mass on Striker’s belly. He expressed it and it went away. When we noticed it returned and realized it was making Striker kind of stinky, we knew it was time for a visit to the vet.
After having the mass biopsied, we found that Striker’s mass was not cancerous and would not metastasize but that it was necrotic, meaning it could grow and eventually cause Striker a lot of pain. There were two options and each one had a risk. We could have the mass removed, understanding that intubating an animal Striker’s size was difficult, that small pets don’t handle anesthesia well and that he could die in surgery OR we could leave the mass there, knowing that it could eventually grow bigger and result in a slow, painful death.
We explained the options to Mason and let him make the decision. It was clearly a difficult deliberation but in the end, Mason decided to move ahead with surgery.
All the patients have their names on the board at the vet.
Thankfully, Striker came out with flying colors and has been doing quite well. Now we just have to nurse him back to health, a job we are happy to have.
After Surgery
Blessing on the Doctors. Good decision, Mason!
You are great pet-grandparents! I’m glad Striker is doing well!