Tumour Of The Spleen

Tumour of the spleen - This discussion was started 29-11-05 with thanks to the participants. in the forum by Affie Lovers members - the outcome for this particular Afghan hound was excellent

The tumour on the photo was on one of our members bitches spleen and was growing mainly in the cranial abdomen under the ribs, like many spleen tumours it got very large, 8lbs in weight, before any signs showed. The tumour was very recently removed successfully and the Affie is doing extremely well now, luckily it turned out to be benign. I know they are not always easy to detect as many years ago I took on an older Afghan who had a similar sized tumour removed from his spleen, he lived very happily for another year after the surgery. I find it incredible that we can't always notice them until they have reached this size as some of them are larger than a new born baby but then we know how bitches can have puppies well hidden and surprise us at times. Hazel

This photo is not for the squeamish so please be aware before you look - Thumbnail

It is surprising how these things can remain undetected for so long...something of that size you would think be noticeable especially in a Build of dog like an afghan... but we know that is not the case.. I hope this Girl will make a full and speedy recovery. Jo

Like you say, hazel, not for the squeamish but amazing still! Hope this Affie does well and must feel much better after having that baby removed! Best of luck to her, Shona

OMG that's huge and like you said definitely not for the squeamish. Am I right in thinking that this must have been seated under the rib cage for it not to be noticed. Diz

You are right, the spleen is situated quite high in the abdomen and that type of tumour grows up and under the ribs in the main, the amazing thing is that the girl it was on never showed any symptoms of a problem, never missed a meal and carried on as normal, now it's removed she is livelier than ever, eating for England , trying to catch the postman and thoroughly enjoying life. Hazel

This same thing happened to us earlier this year with Ametrine, a very happy healthy bitch, or so we thought, it just arrived in front of your eyes....I was so shocked I thought she was about to give birth...We were at the vets within 1/2hour with scans and x rays.....unfortunately Ametrine's was on the point of bursting and we lost her..........Its good to hear of a happy result from these nasty tumours. Jackie

I had this many years ago with Khala ( Sarik Shahara) Hers filled a washing up bowl. This was the first time my vet had done this operation. Hers was attached by a 'thread' and was also benign. We had missed it because she had been spayed and the weight we all thought was because of that. The only time we knew something was wrong was when she 'piddled blood'. The next morning she was x-rayed etc and operated on. Khala went on to live to over 14 years old. She was never ill again and died peacefully in her sleep. Pat

Hello Jackie, I am so sorry to hear that was what you lost Ametrine with. Pluto's was very like her one, it suddenly appeared as an enormous pot belly which he had never had before, from what I can remember now the vet said it had reached a size where it couldn't be contained under the ribs and had suddenly shifted downwards, I really feel for you as the outcome I believe for this type of benign tumour is usually a pretty good one

Many thanks for posting that Pat, it will make the owner of the bitch very happy to read how successful this type of surgery can be long term. Hazel

Black Jack had the same problem, unfortunately his bled into the thoracic cavity, and was discovered too late. The signs often don't appear until the tumour becomes large enough to cause problems by its size, or bleeds into the chest. The signs are breathlessness, cough and lethargy, the same as heart disease. In an old dog it is so easy to think that it is heart disease, especially if that is already present. As Pat points out, surgery can be effective if done in time. Keep this condition in mind when taking your hound to the vets with the above symptoms. Gerry

Many thanks for pointing those symptoms out Gerry, I wanted to ask if the girl who has just had surgery had any of those but it seems she hadn't reached that stage thankfully before her owner noticed a rounding and slight hardening of her tummy and had it looked into. Zeta again is a spayed bitch so the slight weight gain was thought to be due to that. The Bitch that the tumour came out of is poor Di Searles girl, immediately after having almost lost Shana with spontaneous pnuemothorax she also had Zeta in the vets having the tumour removed so it has been a very tough time for her and Keith. Both bitches are now doing very well and hopefully will continue to do so. Hazel

GERRY has made some VERY GOOD observations regarding ANY splenic tumour benign or malignant, but whatever BOTH have the potential to cause internal bleeding which can result in an early unexpected death in a dearly loved dog.
The benign splenic tumours tend to be SLOW growing, they do NOT metastasize (secondary growth spread to other vital organs liver, lungs heart etc) & if it is possible surgery can be CURATIVE and this has been demonstrated in the stories relayed here, however as Gerry has pointed out sometimes by virtue of their size, these tumours can become what are termed space occupying lesions and surgical removal may prove EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, particularly in inexperienced hands.
The malignant type viz HEMANGIOSARCOMA which is what Moira's boy had and I also had a dog, my SHURA (1981) with such a tumour, by comparison may not reach such a LARGE size. These tumours within the splenic tissue contain large areas of clotted blood due to minor bleeds, they grow rapidly & spread rapidly so it may well be that the dog is presented to a vet with "OTHER" signs but the cancer has already taken over. IF these dogs do show any signs they may include a loss of appetite, weight LOSS (not GAIN!) weakness & pale gums, vomiting as well as possible abdominal distension.
The keyword for ALL of us is OBSERVATION of our dogs at ALL times and even then we may still MISS out on some of the signs to a significant underlying "primary" problem. This is why it can be of so much benefit for us ALL to SHARE our experiences. SYLVIA

You are very right in that any splenic tumour can bleed internally and that's what Zee's was doing, thankfully only mildly as we caught it in time. The blood test she had at the time of the operation showed she was anaemic with a blood count lower than the norm, but when she went back for her check up eight days later this had gone up to 47 which was well within the normal limits. Fortunately too Zee has had none of the potential signs that you talked about for malignant tumours - no loss of appetite (quite the reverse!!). no weight loss, no weakness, no pale gums except through the anaemia, no vomiting at any time. You are right that we should know our dogs thoroughly through observation though, and I do try to carry this out but it's not always possible to be on the ball all the time is it? I thank you very much for your input, both on the site and personally. Di

Update on Zeeta - 26. 3.06 Zeta is doing very well indeed following her operation to remove the enormous haematoma on her spleen late last year. She has had one minor problem in that the operation wound had a small seepage caused by the stitches disintegrating which irritated her, but a quick trip to the vet for a check up and then bathing it regularly with salt water as recommended all is well (she had dissolving stitches internally and externally). She is bouncing with health again and for a 10 year old shows a remarkable turn of speed if she is in the garden when the postman goes by, or a duck dares to land on the bird table! She is not on any medication and indeed none was recommended after the course of antibiotics following the operation. She eats well, sleeps well - and I swear has had a character transplant too! She is much more mischievous than she used to be and a little less fiery - but having said that she very nearly bit the bum of the electrician the other day when he called, so was hastily put into another room!! I love afghans!!!! Di Searle (Salamkhan Afghan Hounds)

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Updated 27-03-06