I took my 6 year old saluki lurcher to a drop in clinic today as I had noticed a small raised lump which suddenly appeared next to her vulva. Upon brief examination, the vet suspected a histiocytoma and said that because of the area it was located should be removed as soon as possible. She was spayed in 2013 but has since continued to come on full heat with bleeding and he said that at the same time as she is having the histiocytoma removed, he would like to “open her up” and check to see if part of her uterus has been left in. I am concerned because the last vet that I consulted about this said there could be such a small amount of tissue left in there that it would be impossible to see/remove with surgery and that, provided she was healthy it would be best just to leave alone. I want to do the best for my dogs health but do not want her to undergo unnecessary and potentially dangerous surgery. It will surely be bad enough for her having surgery to remove the lump so close to her vulva without undergoing a spaying operation for the second time, especially now she is getting older? If anyone has any opinion or advice, I would appreciate it very much. Thank you.
Ok I do not agree with either vet entirely. She should be spayed again and it should be done when she comes into heat. It is a remnant of ovary not necessarily uterus, although there is some uterus left to get bleeding.
Not having her spayed she is at a higher chance of breast cancer and can also get an infection in the uteral stump.
Good Luck
Dr Dawn
Thank you for your reply. I feel reassured that it is in her best interest to get her spayed again. Why should she be spayed when she comes into heat? The vet asked me when she was last on heat, which was almost two months ago, and wanted to go ahead with surgery on Wednesday.