Surgery for 11 year old large dog - would you do it?

[vacation1]

If the leg ‘ulcer’ is growing, I’d be concerned. As I recall the many, many times I’ve had the 'wtf is this bump???!!" conversation with vets, a biopsy of any given part of a bump is inconclusive; you might have just missed the malignant cells. A second opinion seems like a good idea.

I had a leg bump taken off my 65lb dog when she was around 12; she was fine, but it aged me. It was also a weirdie little spot that came and went, and which she licked sometimes (her allergist noticed it first), and I just couldn’t take the not knowing anymore. It came back benign, but I was relieved to just have it gone, and she never licked the area again.

$2k sounds a little high, but not by much. My dog had 2 large bumps removed last year (at 16!) and the cost was about that, all told - drugs, supplies, IV catheterization, bloodwork, the cost of a surgeon’s time, etc.

[hoopoe]

sounds like a lick granuloma on the leg
has any drug therapy been offered?

is the wart on the eyelid creating a dysfunction of the eyelid or rubbing on the cornea?

personally i would seek second opinion

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Horsegal984;8789025]
I was asking because I suspect it’s a lick granuloma as well. I think treatment should be attempted before jumping to a 2k surgery. The cells would look unusual as they are reactive and inflammatory, but that doesn’t mean you cut it off, since chances are the dog will just lick the incision open and continue the behavior.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I would have the growth removed from the eyelid and see if treatment will work on the ulcer. Although it is not clear what “surgery” the vet is planning to do on the leg?

That said - I would not consider a healthy 11 year old to be too old for anything, unless it was an 11 year old Great Dane, for example (meaning it’s lifespan has already been exceeded). But for an eyelid growth removal? Even that would seem reasonable, assuming the vet has deemed the dog to be healthy.

I would probably get a 2nd opinion at this point on the leg ulcer. Or, at least I would want a better understanding (and maybe the owner has this already) of what exactly the vet is going to do to the leg while under anesthesia.

ETA: re-reading…“remove both” – remove the ulcer on the leg or the leg itself?? Definitely would not amputate without a 2nd opinion if that’s what that means.

[DogIsMyCopilot]

Could just be ‘lick granuloma’, but could also be something more serious like e.g. mast cell tumor. No one on the internet will be able to tell you.

I would probably repeat the biopsy / histo in the hope of a more conclusive answer before paying $2K for surgery. If it is e.g. a “lick granuloma”, pyodermia, or a benign growth, surgery may not be necessary. If it is something malignant like a mast cell tumor, surgery may not bring the results you’re hoping for.

Depending on how big the lesion is, what it is and where it’s located, removal from the leg can be difficult. There just might not be enough tissue to remove the whole lesion with some surrounding tissue.
So my way forward would probably be repeat the biopsy / histo for a more conclusive answer and then remove if it proves to be malignant and the lesion is small enough to hope for full removal.
The only reason for rushing would be if it were small enough now, but grew rapidly.