Old unspayed dog with breast lumps: Is surgery safe or second opinion?

Question

I have a female mix breed dog 11-13 years old (rescued as an adult 10 years ago, so age is approximate). She's small, 15-17 lbs, and is NOT spayed. She has some lumps in her mammary glands and I'm confused about what to do. I'm scared of surgery because of her age. The doctor told me that breast cancer does not methastazise in dogs and that there was no hurry to sx. I now read that this is not true. The dr didnt do X_Rays. Should I get a second opinion, or should I go ahead with sx? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 17 lbs

Jessica Keay, DVM · Accepted Answer

Unfortunately a second opinion might be warranted, unless the vet did a needle aspirate of the mass and determined it is a benign type of tumor (there are different tumor types in the mammary glands of dogs, some are benign and don't spread while others are more aggressive and can spread). If your vet did an aspirate and determined the tumors are benign, then I would follow his recommendations. If your vet did no testing,however, I would request a needle aspirate and depending on the results x-rays of the chest. If your vet isn't interested, consider a second opinion. Here is an article with a little more info on this disease in dogs FYI: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1350

Old unspayed dog with breast lumps: Is surgery safe or second opinion?

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