The ‘right touch’ revealed harmful tumor
By: Dr. Daniel Eubanks
Valentino came into our office three weeks ago for his routine annual physical exam and booster shots.
He is an 8-year-old male German shepherd, good-tempered and good-looking. He acted like an 8-year-old dog neither animated nor very enthusiastic.
He just figured he was along for the ride, and, according to the owner, he was doing fine.
Upon the exam table, the veterinarian gave him the once over, and everything appeared to be okay, except for the palpable mass in his abdomen.
The doctor could feel an unidentifiable (not supposed to be there) tissue mass about the size of a grapefruit concealed within the abdominal cavity by the last few ribs. Questioning the owners revealed he was acting normally and eating well.
The presence of the mass was discussed, and a plan was agreed upon to pursue a more definitive diagnosis. Routine blood work was unremarkable, but X-ray and ultrasound revealed the mass to be a tumor on the spleen. It was, in fact, the size of a grapefruit.
Splenic tumors of this size are not uncommon, especially in middle-aged large breed dogs. They can be malignant or benign, the majority being the former.
If not detected early, however, it doesn’t much matter. Even the benign ones enlarge to the point of rupture. The dog then hemorrhages internally and is presented as an acute emergency in shock and dying.
Surgery being the only viable option, Valentino received oxygenated gas anesthesia with intravenous fluids throughout the procedure. Two individuals operated for about an hour and a half, successfully, accomplishing total splenectomy to remove the tumor.
At one point, one could only envision Alien II bursting out of the abdomen. The spleen plus the attached tumor weighed about 5 pounds and was on the verge of rupture.
Recovery was uneventful, and one week later, Valentino returned for suture removal. Vivacious and bouncy, he looked and acted like a different dog. No one was even aware his persona prior to the surgery was abnormal. He couldn’t tell anyone a vague pressure in his abdomen was weighing him down.
In any event, Valentino is one happy dog now, and he won’t be brought in on a stretcher next week in shock from internal hemorrhage.
The case illustrates the importance of the annual physical exam. Yes, the booster shots are important, and some are required. But equally or more important is the thorough examination your pet should receive every year.
So many problems can be effectively treated with early detection, especially in our pets that cannot communicate how they’re feeling. The doctor’s God-given senses of sight, smell, sound and feel, augmented with blood work when appropriate, can reveal many conditions before they become serious.
Just ask Valentino. He is alive today because his annual physical exam was just in the nick of time, and the examining veterinarian had "just the right touch."

