Just a couple of weeks ago, the team at our Narre Warren Vet Clinic met Jaffa, the loveable, almost 12 year old Staffy mix. Her owners were very concerned, as for the past 24 hours she hadn’t wanted to eat or drink, which was extremely unusual for Jaffa. Dr. Jon and Dr. Megan were concerned that Jaffa needed an immediate workup and her owners opted to start the investigative process at the clinic straight away. After radiographs were performed, it was clear that there was a potentially malignant mass on Jaffa’s spleen, liver or pancreas. Without an ultrasound and surgery, it was almost impossible to pinpoint the exact location of the mass nor determine how much it had spread, if at all. Jaffa’s owners were called with the results and had a lengthy discussion with Dr. Jon as to the best course of action. It was suggested that based on Jaffa’s general health and results otherwise, and the fact that her owners had acted quickly, that she was a good candidate for surgery. This was the best chance to possibly allow Jaffa more time with them, depending on what they found once inside.
Jaffa returned home that evening with some strong pain relief and strict bed rest, and represented the next morning for an explorative laparotomy. Dr. Susi was called in for the lengthy and difficult surgery, hoping that she could get some more answers and a positive result for Jaffa and her owners. Upon further investigation once in surgery, Dr. Susi could see the mass that was spotted on the radiograph, and that thankfully it was only attached to Jaffa’s spleen and no other organ. This meant that Jaffa’s spleen and the mass could be successfully removed, and that there was a good chance she would make a solid recovery from the surgery. The mass was sent to the laboratory for further testing, a crucial part of the procedure to gain further answers about Jaffa’s future wellbeing.
The best news of all came about a week later when her pathology results came back as benign, meaning that very likely, Jaffa’s mass had not metastasised and that she was cancer free. In a dog of Jaffa’s age, this was excellent and unexpected news! Regardless of the type of mass that was ravaging her spleen, Jaffa would still have had life threatening complications had she not received immediate treatment and surgery. Her owners acted extremely quickly based on her symptoms and how well they knew her, and essentially, saved her life.
We are delighted to report that Jaffa is very happy to be back home after an overnight stay in emergency and is now running around like a new dog, minus one spleen! Well done old girl!