a99kitten's Musings

So Storm is going in for surgery tomorrow. I am taking him at 7:45am. I met with the surgeon this afternoon and he was really nice and knowledgeable and answered all of my questions. He also has a husky mix and really liked Stormy :)

He described how, based on the ultrasound that he reviewed along with the oncologist, the tumor looks like a single focalized mass. He said they go in and try to get the entire mass along with a layer of healthy liver tissue from around it to ensure they get any non-focalized cells. Storm’s tumor is near his gallbladder. So he said if they feel they cannot get the tumor along with a layer of healthy tissue without compromising the gallbladder, they will just take the gallbladder out too. Wha?

He said dogs (and people) can live without it and can even live without up to 75% of their liver. Crazy. So he will see tomorrow. He said besides opening him up and seeing tumors elsewhere, he expected no surprises and it’s quite a cut and dry surgery.

They will need to send it to pathology once it’s out to determine if benign or cancerous. He said that even if it is cancerous, there is great chance that we can just remove it and Storm should be fine and we would just monitor him with blood tests every 6 months for any future tumor growth. He said he sees a dog who every 1.5 years or so has to have a tumor removed but other than that, is totally fine and healthy. He has had 3 removed so far.

The best thing would be if it was benign. Then it just comes out and yay. Storm will have to have tests every 6 months anyway for his Cushings so we will just make sure his enzyme levels are always tested too.

His surgery is around 10am (he is 2nd in the AM lineup) and it should take about 1.5 hours with no complications. They will staple his liver using titanium staples (between that and knee he will set off metal detectors!) and they stay inside him forever. They staple (not stitch) his incisions. Because of his Cushing’s, they want to keep his staples in for 21 days (they can heal slower.) He will need to wear THE CONE if he tries to lick these. Great. He will love that. So it will be a tiring 2-3 weeks for Mom but I am hoping it is as simple and fixable as they describe. Obviously it can change if they open him up and see tumors elsewhere. But this will not happen. We will not allow that.

So, speaking with the surgeon calmed me down a little. Which is good bed-side manner on the surgeon’s part. He loved Storm and was also a 49ers and football fan so that was good :)

I will go back to being stressed tomorrow when I drop him off. And then will stay so until I pick him up Wednesday. And then until I hear back from pathology. But fingers and toes (and paws) are crossed for an easy surgery for Storm and a benign tumor to make it all easier.

Poor Angelus also gets stressed when the kid isn’t around. He didn’t eat his breakfast today and only ate some sliced turkey I gave him this afternoon. But once I picked Storm up, he felt better and ate his dinner no problem (and also requested some more chicken nuggets.) So he will be stressed tomorrow too. Especially at night when Storm isn’t home :(

Storm will be most annoyed and upset by the fact that he has to wake up for a 2nd morning in a row and miss breakfast…wth? he says….

I need more McNuggets...

Stormy is watching the 49ers play Monday Night Football with me after eating the chicken nuggets I bought him on the way home :)