What Does The Spleen Do In Dogs – Spleen tumors are very common in dogs, especially as they get older. In dogs, the spleen plays a role in the immune system; It helps the body fight infection and produce certain types of white blood cells. It also stores and produces new red blood cells and removes old, worn-out blood cells.

Benign tumors are most commonly splenic hematomas, while malignant tumors are hemangiosarcoma. Malignant hemangiosarcoma is a common tumor that usually occurs in older large breed dogs such as German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, and Labradors.

What Does The Spleen Do In Dogs

The tumor consists of cells that form blood vessels, and therefore the tumor is often filled with large blood pockets. It can be very delicate and tear easily due to an impact/trauma or simply from growth and stretching. If the tumor ruptures, it will cause internal bleeding, which can be a very serious emergency. Up to 2/3 of dogs with spleen masses have malignant tumors.

She Got Diagnosed With Cancer On The Spleen Need Advise

Suspicion of a splenic mass may arise during a routine support appointment as your vet will palpate/feel your dog’s abdomen and may feel that the spleen is enlarged. If you are visiting your veterinarian because you are concerned about your pet, the history and clinical examination will alert your veterinarian to the potential for a spleen tumor. Following suspicion of a tumor, your veterinarian will recommend an abdominal ultrasound to check for changes in the spleen as well as free fluid in the abdomen; this may suggest internal bleeding. They may also recommend blood tests, coagulation tests, and take an abdominal fluid sample.

Malignant tumors of the spleen can spread to the heart, so echocardiography (heart ultrasound) may be done to check for a tumor there and x-rays may be taken to screen for spread to other parts of the body.

The primary treatment method for dogs with spleen masses is surgery. The surgery involves removing the spleen, then a sample of the mass is sent for histopathology to determine whether it is malignant (aggressive) or benign.

Patients must be stabilized with intravenous fluids and medications before surgery and will likely require intensive care after surgery. If the spleen is actively bleeding, surgery is a true emergency and the prognosis depends on the severity of the bleeding. Some dogs require a blood transfusion to replace lost blood. Post-surgical complications may include: bleeding, irregular heart rhythm, and pancreatitis. Surgery can be high risk.

Pete The Vet: I Witnessed The Death Of A Golden Retriever With A Malignant Tumour

Surgery to remove benign masses can be curative, but if the mass is malignant it will likely have spread. Surgery can slow progression in these cases, but the cancer is likely to be fatal and the chance of surviving one year is less than 10%. When the tumor is malignant, average survival times after surgery are 2-3 months or less. Chemotherapy can increase survival by up to 6-8 months.

If you think your pet isn’t looking right or is just ‘getting a little old’ it may be worth having their spleen checked for a mass, especially if they are a larger breed. If you are concerned, contact the practice on 01626 835002 to book an appointment.

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Splenic Hemangiosarcoma Case Study: Sam

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So, Your Dog Has A Splenic Mass… • Mspca Angell

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Understanding How To Keep Yourself Safe Without A Spleen

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This diagram shows the stomach’s close relationship with the spleen. This is important from a surgical perspective. It is important to protect the large vessels that feed the stomach during spleen removal. In dogs, the spleen is a non-essential organ and can be removed. It acts as a blood filter, removing dead or diseased cells as well as parasites from the blood. Therefore, although removing the spleen is not necessary, it can make the pet susceptible to some diseases. If there is potential cancer in the spleen, removal of the spleen or splenectomy may be performed. The most common spleen cancer is hemangiosarcoma (blood vessel wall tumor). Hemangiosarcoma is common in older large breed dogs (e.g. German shepherds and Golden Retrievers). The dog often presents with acute profound weakness and loss of appetite, which can be attributed to blood loss from the tumor in the spleen.

Another reason for spleen removal is “bloating”. In large breed dogs, bloating occurs as the stomach turns and fills with gas. Gaseous bloating can occur within minutes and can be severe enough to cause rapid death. This rotation of the stomach can cause reduced blood flow to the spleen and may require removal of the bulge during emergency surgery.

Please label the arrows. Give two reasons why this anatomy is important. What are two diseases that may cause spleen removal? Splenectomy is most often performed to treat splenic neoplasia, rupture, or torsion in dogs and cats. Less commonly, it is performed in selected patients with massive splenomegaly due to abscess or systemic mastocytosis (cats) or lymphoma or leukemia. Partial splenectomy (splenorrhaphy) or removal of part of the spleen and repair of isolated parenchymal lacerations with sutures can be performed successfully; However, total splenectomy provides more reliable control of bleeding.

Dog Spleens Are Wildly Different From Human Spleens

Splenectomy is generally contraindicated in patients with immune-mediated hematological disorders, except when appropriate medical therapy has failed. In patients with bone marrow aplasia or hypoplasia, the spleen is avoided whenever possible, as it may be the most important hematopoietic organ in these patients.

Although the splenectomy technique is simple, the condition of affected patients is often critical. Appropriate fluid therapy, including supplemental colloids and blood products if necessary, should be administered to ensure hemodynamic stability before surgery. Cardiac arrhythmias are common in dogs with surgical diseases of the spleen and should be taken into account when formulating an anesthetic plan and during postoperative monitoring.

The 3 to 5 long, highly consistent primary blood vessel segments of the splenic artery are the most important vascular structures to know before considering splenectomy (Figure 1). The most common textbook definition for splenectomy involves ligation of the short branches of the splenic artery and vein separately, preserving the left gastroepiploic artery and short gastric arteries to maintain adequate gastric perfusion. In an experiment conducted by Hosgood using healthy mongrel dogs, ligation of the spleen and short gastric artery during splenectomy did not compromise blood flow or the integrity of the stomach wall. Therefore, most surgeons do not worry about this.

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