Dr. A. took x-rays of Stella's right arm and there was some noticeable arthritic changes in her elbow. Also, during the exam, our vet noticed the skin around the scar where the first MCT (same arm) was removed was slightly raised. We had noticed this too. The skin and hair growth were somewhat puckered as her MCT scar had healed. Dr. A. seemed to think it was more than that. She could feel "something" in the skin. We felt this too that day but it seemed like just fatty skin to us. Dr. A. was certain it was more than that so she aspirated the area and sent the slides to a pathologist. In the meantime she gave us meds for the arthritis. Whatever this "something" was, it was not the cause of her limping.
After 2 weeks, again, Stella was no better and was getting slightly worse. Dr. A. referred us to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. G., at a specialty facility. Dr. G. examined Stella and reviewed the x-rays. He manipulated her limbs, felt her spine, and watched her walk. He stated that Stella appeared to have tendinitis, a sort of "tennis elbow" - uh-oh no more tennis for her! He gave her a cortisone injection into the tendon and said we could take her off the arthritis meds. He said we should see slight improvement within 24 hours and that Stella should be back to normal within 10 days. We were not to walk her or let her jump on furniture.
The first few days it seemed Stella was improving then the limp came back full force and was even worse. We called Dr. G. and he said for us to bring her back in and that, this time, he would give her an injection directly into the joint as opposed to the tendon - this would probably do the trick. Having had many pets who have gone to a specialist we knew enough to not feed her that day "just in case". This way we would not have to make a second trip if there were tests to be done under anesthesia. Good thinking on our part because when we brought her back Dr. G. had changed his game plan. He started with an ultrasound of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints to determine if there was any fluid build-up (this did not require anesthesia). After this ultrasound turned up completely negative he stated he wanted to give her anesthesia to knock her out completely so that he could really manipulate her limbs and feel her joint movements. As you know, dogs are not cooperative with this kind of thing so the best thing to do is to knock them out. We pointed out the area that our vet seemed to think may be another MCT and he said even if it was he did not believe it was the cause of her limping. We consented to the anesthesia and was told he would call us later that day with results. 5 minutes after we left my cell phone rings. It was our regular vet, Dr. A., calling with the results of the aspiration. Positive for Mast Cell Tumor. Because Dr. G. was already going to give Stella anesthesia, Dr. A. called him immediately to tell him to remove the tumor.
A few hours later Dr. G. called to say that under more precise examination, under the anesthesia, he found a mass deep in Stella's right armpit. He stated that because the lower portion of that limb had yet another MCT he now believed that this mass was also a MCT and that it was likely the root of her limping. We asked him if he would be able to remove both tumors and he stated he would need to do an MRI first to see if the armpit mass had infiltrated into the nerves. He said if it had infiltrated he would not be able to remove it. We asked what course of action we would take then and he responded "I would need to remove her entire arm and shoulder". Holy c***!
I need to tell you a little back story about another Pug we had that died of bone cancer 6 years prior to this. Under MRI it was discovered that "Mugsy" had bone cancer. He had already started to lose mobility in his back legs and we were told by the orthopedic surgeon (not Dr. G.) that he would be completely paralyzed within two weeks. Mugsy would not be in any pain but the cancer was so wide spread that he would not live more than a few weeks. Because the surgeon had called me as soon as the MRI was completed I asked if he could "let Mugsy go" or at least keep him under the anesthesia until we could get there, in about an hour, and then we could let him go. We were not going to bring Mugsy home to watch him become rapidly incapacitated and then bring him back to be euthanized, that would be cruel. The surgeon said to me that they had already woken Mugsy up and that we could come say goodbye first if we wanted. I cannot express how distraught (and disgusted) we were upon hearing this. The surgeon KNEW our dog could not be saved and he did not give us the option of having him euthanized while still under anesthesia. He had Mugsy woken up and then called with the news. It was unbelievable. We got to the hospital and there was Mugsy acting like his usual self; excited to see us, hungry as ever, just not able to use his back limbs. When they euthanized him he fought the whole time - words can't describe how agonizing this was for us, how painful it was for Mugsy as he screeched and cried and looked to us for help. The terror in his eyes will never leave us and we swore we would NEVER allow a situation like that to happen ever again.
When Dr. G. told us he needed to do an MRI on Stella I relayed Mugsy's story to him and insisted that he not wake Stella up in the event he found something catastrophic where he knew she could not be saved. I was adamant that he call us before she would be woken up. He absolutely agreed and assured me he would call us while she was still under anesthesia no matter what the outcome.
An hour later Dr. G. called to say the mass in Stella's armpit was a fatty tumor - not a big deal, didn't need to be removed, and was not causing the limp. He did however find that Stella had herniated disks in her neck that were pressing on her spinal cord. He was shocked at this discovery as he said that Stella should have been "complaining". He said she should have cried out when she jumped or when he examined her. He was surprised that she could still walk around with this herniation. Dr. G. told us the the herniation was in a tricky and difficult spot to operate on but that he was confident that he could do this. So now the plan was for him to fix her disks and remove the MCT from her arm.
More hours of waiting then Dr. G. called to say the surgery was successful. Stella was awake at that point and was alert and acknowledging voices. He was able to remove the MCT from her arm and, according to him, took "extra wide margins because there was excess skin to take".
The next day he called and said Stella was ready to go home and that as far as her neck is concerned, it is "as good as gold". The only thing left was to wait for the results of this second MCT......
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