# Histiocytoma-what do you know?



## railNtrailcowgrl (Jul 24, 2008)

Another trip to the vet today to check in on how the SA is going and if the Chlomicalm is still doing it's job. While we were there I has the Dr look at a small bump on Pebs leg that sprang up overnight about 3 weeks ago (right AFTER our last appt . Didn't hurt or bother her so I just waited until this appt. He took a skin scrape and looked at it said it looked benign but we could biopsy it further and send it to pathology for $85, aspirate it with a needle (same price), or watch and wait a bit longer. I opted for the last (cheaper) alternative. So a shot of prednisolone and a topical antibiotic and now it's watch and wait. Obviously if it gets worse before our next appt Feb 9 I'll take her in and we may choose a more aggressive option.

So I guess my question is have any of you experienced something similar? How did it go, what were your treatment options, ect...


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## Farore (Apr 20, 2008)

railNtrailcowgrl said:


> Another trip to the vet today to check in on how the SA is going and if the Chlomicalm is still doing it's job. While we were there I has the Dr look at a small bump on Pebs leg that sprang up overnight about 3 weeks ago (right AFTER our last appt . Didn't hurt or bother her so I just waited until this appt. He took a skin scrape and looked at it said it looked benign but we could biopsy it further and send it to pathology for $85, aspirate it with a needle (same price), or watch and wait a bit longer. I opted for the last (cheaper) alternative. So a shot of prednisolone and a topical antibiotic and now it's watch and wait. Obviously if it gets worse before our next appt Feb 9 I'll take her in and we may choose a more aggressive option.
> 
> So I guess my question is have any of you experienced something similar? How did it go, what were your treatment options, ect...


Yep. Sarge had this little bump on his back that looked kind of odd. At first we just let it sit because we wanted to see if it grew or whatever. It appeared rather quickly, so at his next check-up we inquired and they tried to do a skin-scrape. Benign.  But we wanted it removed because it did get a bit bigger. It was supposed to be a day. Easy peasy. Not. Sarge was so scared they had to put him out in order to remove it.

I found out that one of his breeds tends to get this a lot, and in fact, he has a wart or something behind his ear right now. We're going to check it out again soon.


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## Moonshadow (Nov 9, 2008)

I've never heard of a skin scrape determining if a lump was a histiocytoma....maybe possible but I don't think I'd trust the results enough to leave the lump there.

Histiocytomas are nothing to get worried about however, Mast Cell tumors are and they look very much the same. Both are pretty common in young dogs. 

I have one girl here who had a Histiocytoma removed, biopsy confirmed that it was a Histiocytoma. If she were to get another lump like that I would just aspirate it since she's already had one and remove it if it were a bother to her or the aspiration didn't confirm Histiocytoma.

I would never leave it there just to save a little bit of money. Hopefully it is just a HC but there is always a chance it isn't. At the very least I'd do an aspiration.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

My dog has grade two Mastocytoma that we originally thought was Histiocytoma.

Id go back immediately for the more aggressive options. If its mastocytoma you DON'T want to wait untill grade one progresses to grade two or three...


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## railNtrailcowgrl (Jul 24, 2008)

While I will agree that a more aggressive option is the best choice, right now it just really isn't a possibility if there is no emergency 'need' for it. Times are tough for everyone, I know this, but I don't have the extra cash lying around to send something (that was already confirmed a histiocytoma by skin scrape, stain, and observation by microscope through my vet). I've was laid off for 3 weeks at Christmas and due to my school schedule things aren't looking much better (worked 2 days this week) I already am visiting the vet once a month for a check up of her chlomicalm and to pick up her meds. It takes nearly a week and a half's worth of paycheck just to pay for that. 

I can't afford another $200 for something that has been 99% confirmed. I did that with a full panel blood chem test (suspected thyroid and other problems) less than a month ago and I received is every thing looks great! She's healthy as a horse, wonderful for a piece of mind but I had to skimp on things that should not have been skimped (medications for myself and some other personal things) in order to do that.

From the research that I have been doing since I posted last night I really think that it is a histiocytoma. She is a young dog 3yrs old, most MCT occur in older dogs 8-9, while I know there are always exceptions to the rule, from what I observe it does not look like or act like a mast cell tumor, nor did my vet even mention that possibility. If it were that serious or suspicious I really think he would have pushed for the biopsy (like he did for the super chem panel). 

I also suspect that my mother's JRT had one of these two years ago on the end of her ear. Same look, acted the same, did not bother her in any way. It appeared over night and about 3 month later it just fell off, no real complications to speak of, nor has another returned.

I may get flamed for saying this but in the end she is a dog, a dog that I love very much as a family member, but still not a human. I am not putting myself in the poor house over this. It clearly is not causing her pain or any difficulties and after a month I think it would be doing that. I'm waiting on a second 'opinion' from my cousin who is an anesthesiologist vet tech for the Ohio State University Vet Hospital. She always is very honest in what should be done and if it is something that needs dire medical attention she will tell me go get it removed!

Thank you to every one who shared their experience of histiocytoma's with me.


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## Moonshadow (Nov 9, 2008)

railNtrailcowgrl said:


> I may get flamed for saying this but in the end she is a dog, a dog that I love very much as a family member, but still not a human. I am not putting myself in the poor house over this.


Well then hopefully for her it's only a Histiocytoma! 

Can't say I agree with your attitude but she's your dog.


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## railNtrailcowgrl (Jul 24, 2008)

Just a little update, I called my cousin and she said that she would do the same thing as I am doing now, watch and wait. Especially since she has been improving so much with her SA. She said that it could set her off to be dropped off, left alone in a crate all day, and have the lump removed, and that she wouldn't chance it while we're in the weaning stage of the chlomicalm. Even something a simple as an outpatient "surgery" could set her back. She did say however, that if it looks like it is growing or getting larger at all, take her in and get it taken off. This is due to the fact that it is on her leg and there won't be much skin there to help close up the wound. 

However, we are on 4 days past the prednisolone injection and day 4 (2x's daily) of the topical antibiotic. The lump is decreasing in thickness and the ulceration is also improving. The whole thing is a pinkish color instead of inflamed and bright red. So I'm going to continue the topical antibiotic and observation until our next appointment, unless I see a drastic decline in her condition.


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