QUESTION

I did as was suggested on your website and read about something regarding cysts. However I just found a cyst on my dog just below the rib cage, so I took him to the vet and the vet told me the only way to know what it is, is to remove it surgically. I took my baby to the vet the next morning and they did the surgery and removed the cyst but said nothing else to me about it. I told the vet to send it off to the lab to have it analyzed for my own peace of mind. I am worried about my dog. The cyst did not appear to be attached to anything which I would take as a good sign but I just need to know what could have caused a cyst to form below the rib cage and is it normal for a dog to get these cysts and can he live a normal life if he continues to get them? Please let me know. I do not have children but my dogs are my world and I would do anything just to know that they feel loved and safe. Right now I feel terrible and scared. Please tell me something that will ease my mind.

Natalie

ANSWER

Dear Natalie,
If the vet has called it a cyst then it should not be cancerous at all. I would not be too concerned at this point and if you have asked for histopathology to be done which is the correct way forward then you should have a definite answer within days. Write again once the histopath comes back if you are still worried at all by the results and I will try to interpret them in a way that makes sense. Cyst are dysfunctional sweat glands etc that are blocked and dialted and then produce secretions that are usually too thick to express and surgical removal is curative.

Paul Wilson