Tumour on a dog’s forehead

A young man walked into the office without his pet. He wanted to know if we deal with the removal of tumors in dogs.

As he came without a dog, he was given general information and we can start talking about details after examining the dog. On the same day, came again with a small hybrid. There was an orange-sized tumor on the dog’s forehead.

Bloody leakage from the top of the tumor, was not a good prognostic sign. X-ray of the head in several projections was recommended to determine the extent of the tumor and to make a preliminary prognosis for surgery.

X-rays showed massive disintegration of the frontal bone, with no chance for successful surgical treatment without life threatening. The prognosis was poor, and under these circumstances the chance of tumor recurrence is high. The owner was informed of the prognosis and palliative treatment was recommended.

After this information, the owner asked us why the previous veterinarian recommended waiting? What was this dog supposed to wait for? Oncology recommends removing any tumor as quickly as possible while preserving a large border of healthy tissue if possible. Cancerous tumors lying on soft ground give this chance. The situation is different if the nodules are located on hard tissue such as bones.

Management should be possible quickly to prevent the tumor from penetrating the bone. Early surgery gives less risk of recurrence. Do not wait for hopeless situations with such lesions, consultation with a doctor who deals with oncological surgery, increases the chances of a positive conclusion to such a problem.