What are anesthesia risks for senior dog with cancer, heart issues?

Question

I have a 12yr old yorkie bitch, unspayed,with breast cancer,after a x-ray, found out she has a enlarged heart,she's very fit &active,never changed since I got her at 5month old,lumps are awful although not affecting her..do I go ahead with her op with risks of aneshetic due to her heart condition ?shes neen on heart tablets for month now,and has had no tense panting episodes which she had every now and then before,she had a good regular beat now and good pulse in legs after app at vet today. Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Female | unspayed | 12 years and 2 months old

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

Your veterinarian will have the best information about the safety of anesthesia given her condition. I would ask them how much the heart condition will increase the risk of anesthesia and what is the expected benefit of the surgery given the stage of the cancer? If the cancer is stage 4, then the prognosis may be very bad (makes the surgery less necessary); compared with a stage 1 (where it would be very beneficial to remove the tumors, before they spread). It comes down to ensuring that you are well-informed of the risks and expected benefits. Without knowing all of the details it's really difficult for me to say. Generally, heart conditions tend to not be that scary under anesthesia and may actually reduce the stress on the heart during anesthesia. I've anesthetized many heart patients and have found that the anesthesia tends to go very smoothly. However, we do tend to use select drugs and have an increased alertness to the activity of the heart when we anesthetize them. Sorry to see that Chica is having these problems. I'm sure this has been very difficult for you. I hope I was able to help answer your questions.

What are anesthesia risks for senior dog with cancer, heart issues?

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