Mike's Buddy - Sores, medcial procedure - Need input!

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Mike&Buddy

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Hello everyone,

As some of you may or may not know Buddy has developed sores that flare up on and off frequently, sometimes they can be serious. They can be the size of a button or almost twice the of a dollar coin. They are possibly related to his FDB in some way or are at least not helping it. And we want to bring him in for a check up to the VHC center.

Everything in my mind and body is at full alert mode on this. It may sound eccentric but I think once you read my concerns you will understand. I would like some input on this, pro and cons please.

They want to do both blood work and a biopsy on his sores but here is where I get worried. They advise that they have to put him under anesthesia to do it. And the reasons I feel scared for this to be done is this.

1. He is asthmatic
2. He has a slight heart murmur
3. He is of course diabetic
4. And he is almost 13 years old

Putting him under scares the hell out of me with these conditions. You would think that they already know of this and would give other alternatives. The vet that sees him already told me over a year ago because he had pre-asthma conditions and a heart murmur that a dental for him was not a good idea and to work at scraping and picking what tarter off his teeth that I could.

I am wondering if they could just sedate him a little and let me be there with him. So am I being over reactive here? We need to do something, these sores are really getting bad.

Mike
 
I'm by no means an expert - but could you split the difference and just do the CBC to start, see where you are, and then consider biopsy?

I feel for you and your little guy :cry:

If they can get an idea of what's probably causing the sores, maybe you & your vet can start tentative treatment with close monitoring instead of going for broke with a biopsy? Anesthetics + heart murmmer + asthma wouldn't sit comfortably with me either. You've come to the right place. Someone round here will have better answers for you soon. I"m sorry I can't do more for you, but I've got plenty of hugs: (((HUGS!)))

tough decisions, in my estimation, require lots of hugs :smile:
 
My Clouseau (GA) had severe asthma, diabetes and non-regenerative anemia. We were able to give him anesthetic for a dental by using iso (gas), keeping him under as briefly as possible with close monitoring and administering fluids before, during and after. He was 14 at the time. So, in my opinion it can be done- if done very carefully, but there are definite risks involved... I am not sure why they can't draw blood or take a skin scrape w/o sedation??? Those never require it with any of my crew... If they need to excise one of the spots to biopsy, that is a different story.
 
Another option to ask about is using just enough sedation for calming, then doing a local nerve block to numb the area being scraped (something they do an very large animals).
 
OK, here is a Surgeon's opinion, based on kids and geriatric humans mainly.

Essentially, 3 types of skin biopsies: (1) scraping,( 2)incisional, where a piece or core of the area is taken, and (3) excisional biopsy, where the entire area is removed. For a sore, I doubt 3 is in order.

Both 1 and 2 can be done under local anesthesia - but that still involves putting needles in and ouchy local anesthesia being injected, pretty sure not to make Buddy very happy. #1 can be done without any local anesthesia but Buddy would have to be restrained in some way.

For kids, I would generally use what we called a papoose - lots of soft wrapping and straps. The kid still struggles and screams as would a cat most likely, but they are scared, not being hurt. I would think vets have something similar for animals, especially cats that can inflict some nasty bites and scratches. (That's one of the reasons I like cats & kids - they're small but ferocious! Gotta admire that!)

I agree that I'd get the CBC first, see if there is sign of infection from that, and then talk to your vet about TYPE of biopsy, anesthesia options, and how biopsy results might possibly change the treatment plan.

_Rebecca
 
My civi Izzzebelle has had three mast-cell tumors removed. The first one was done during a dental. The second one was on her flank and a local injection of lidocaine was sufficient for removal of it. However, the last one was by her head and she would not remain still enough with a licocaine injection as well as a buprenex injection. Removal of a skin mast-cell tumor is akin to a skin biopsy.
 
Hi my name is Heather and i happened to come across your post as i have been trying to figure out more about the sores and lesions on my diabetic cat jinx. I have taken him to the vet and he was concerned about the way it looked even mentioned at the worst cancer. He is on antibotics and even prednisone. I am not really noticing much of an improvement only slight. Does this pic look like the sores that were on your baby mike? Hope everything is well with you :)

Thanks

Heather and Jinx
 

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