histiocytomas

[BelleJet]

Hello,

I have read a few of the posts regarding histiocytomas. My 8 month old puppy just got back from the vet and they said she had one. They gave her a topical spray, twice a day for 7 days, to rule out any other issue. They said if it does not go away then its definitely a histo and that it should be removed (costing over $300).

Well, I guess im just confused. Some people posted that it will eventually go away. My vet did say that its mostly cosmetic but that it can irritate and be uncomfortable for her (its on her leg).

Should I have the surgery? Should I wait? How long is too long to wait for her? My concern is not treating it, and then her developing something horrifying.

Any help would greatly be appreciated! thanks

[CanyonLabradors]

Maddy had one on her foot and I waited a few weeks before I went in, and they said that if it didn't go away in a few more weeks, they could remove it if I wanted to. But they said that unless she was bothering it (she wasn't), there was no reason to mess with it.

It was gone in a week after that, almost disappeared overnight.

If it were my dog, and the spot wasn't in a place that rubbed and got sore, she's not biting at it so that it gets raw and infected, I would just ignore it. It WILL go away.

I know what you mean about worrying that it will develop into something bad. Jed's feet were really bad about a month ago from grass burrs and I brought him to a new vet for a second opinion, and she said to leave it, just soak his feet. I told her I was worried since he had open sores between his toes...but she assured me it would be fine. And it was.

[NancyO]

Charlie had one too. It was on his ear. The vet said it would go away in a few months. I think Charlie's fell off after six weeks. My vet said surgery wasn't necessary unless Charlie was having problems with it. If it were me, I would just wait, but I did have the vet do a biopsy to make sure it is a histiocytoma because histiocytomas look a lot like mast cell tumors. However, your dog is very young so the possibility of that is small.

Nancy

[zoezoe]

My big yellow boy, Dutch, had one on his ear when I adopted him. He was around 9 months. It went away on it's on in a few months. A year or two later he developed one on his foot that also went away on it's own.

[BelleJet]

Thank you all for your advice, I think I will wait it out and see how she does. Right now she is still her normal, monster, self

[Annette47]

Originally Posted by NancyO

Charlie had one too. It was on his ear. The vet said it would go away in a few months. I think Charlie's fell off after six weeks. My vet said surgery wasn't necessary unless Charlie was having problems with it. If it were me, I would just wait, but I did have the vet do a biopsy to make sure it is a histiocytoma because histiocytomas look a lot like mast cell tumors. However, your dog is very young so the possibility of that is small.

Nancy

With a young dog, if they are sure it is a histiocytoma I would just let it be unless it was actively bothering him. Scully had one removed at age 11 because we and the vet thought it looked like a mast cell tumor so he took the whole thing off and sent it in for biopsy. We were surprised and grateful it was just a histiocytoma (which are much more common in younger dogs.