Post by pinky on Aug 30, 2012 0:48:07 GMT -4
These are bloody tumors; not sure what might slow them down.
Ping is as happy a fella as he could be under the circumstances.
Bad news for Mable re darkened eye. Vet visit outcome:
-anterior bleed and significant enlargement, with probable very high intraocular pressure and danger of prolapse. No doubt that she's blind in that eye.
-mammary tumor
Planning on surgery to remove tumor (is hard; benign? malignant?) and eye and look for possible metastasis in eye region. She is young (13 months) and the vet is optimistic about the outcome. Surgery will be Friday or Tuesday.
I can read the vet like a book--his facial expression and body language belie his news. Of course, he knows he can be brutally honest with me and so maybe he just abandons all pretense. Our relationship is such that I could actually ask him this.
I really got to see that body language because he came out to get me while I was talking to a colleague of mine and his Keeshond, and I followed him into the room.
Surgery was option 2. Doing nothing seemed too risky (he's really worried about the eye popping out, even between now and surgery), and euthanasia seemed far too drastic (he did NOT recommend this in the least--he just put it on the table).
Anesthesia isn't Mable's friend, but he said both procedures are quick and he had no qualms about being able to do the work well.
He couldn't give me a figure for % malignancy in hamster mammary tumors, though he was able to quote them for many other species. Rats: mostly benign. Guinea pigs/rabbits: mostly malignant.
[Note that I later found a source that said that hamster mammary tumors are generally benign. :-) (And interestingly, that gerbils' are generally malignant. Tom: any experience to add here?)]
So this will be my first hamster surgery experience in 14 years of ownership.
EDIT: I got the estimate. Wondering if I should let nature take its course, as I am doing with Ping. Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, but I'm on the fence after hearing from some people on the issue.
Ping is as happy a fella as he could be under the circumstances.
Bad news for Mable re darkened eye. Vet visit outcome:
-anterior bleed and significant enlargement, with probable very high intraocular pressure and danger of prolapse. No doubt that she's blind in that eye.
-mammary tumor
Planning on surgery to remove tumor (is hard; benign? malignant?) and eye and look for possible metastasis in eye region. She is young (13 months) and the vet is optimistic about the outcome. Surgery will be Friday or Tuesday.
I can read the vet like a book--his facial expression and body language belie his news. Of course, he knows he can be brutally honest with me and so maybe he just abandons all pretense. Our relationship is such that I could actually ask him this.
I really got to see that body language because he came out to get me while I was talking to a colleague of mine and his Keeshond, and I followed him into the room.
Surgery was option 2. Doing nothing seemed too risky (he's really worried about the eye popping out, even between now and surgery), and euthanasia seemed far too drastic (he did NOT recommend this in the least--he just put it on the table).
Anesthesia isn't Mable's friend, but he said both procedures are quick and he had no qualms about being able to do the work well.
He couldn't give me a figure for % malignancy in hamster mammary tumors, though he was able to quote them for many other species. Rats: mostly benign. Guinea pigs/rabbits: mostly malignant.
[Note that I later found a source that said that hamster mammary tumors are generally benign. :-) (And interestingly, that gerbils' are generally malignant. Tom: any experience to add here?)]
So this will be my first hamster surgery experience in 14 years of ownership.
EDIT: I got the estimate. Wondering if I should let nature take its course, as I am doing with Ping. Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, but I'm on the fence after hearing from some people on the issue.