Earlier this year, 10-year-old labrador, Juno, was taken to his local practice for inspection of a mass that had been growing on the lateral aspect of his left stifle region.

The wonderful team at Juno’s primary care practice had already performed extensive investigations ahead of contacting us for our help, including fine-needle-aspirates (FNA) which had led his referring vet to a diagnosis of a mast cell tumour. Although of low grade on FNA, this could not be confirmed without histopathology, nor could the team be sure whether any spread had occurred to other parts of Juno’s body.

It was for this reason that steps were taken to assess for metastatic spead; starting off with ultrasound-guided biopsies of Juno’s liver and spleen. Abdominal organ examination was unremarkable at this stage, and cytology results did not support that there had been any metastasis, so this was a huge relief for Juno’s family. Next up however, it was time for sentinel lymph node mapping, a technique used to assess the impact of a tumour on the lymphatic system. Juno was admitted for an anaesthetic which facilitated introduction of a contrast media around his mass, ahead of obtaining radiographs to analyse which lymph nodes were involved in his tumour growth. Again, to everyone’s relief, results from this approach were positive, not highlighting any metastasis to these areas, although similarly to the earlier FNA results, these findings could not be deemed 100% reliable.
Further to a thorough review of history by ProVetSurg soft tissue surgeon Sam, it was decided that mass removal with a reconstructive skin flap was in Juno’s best interests

Sam approached the mass with wide margins, (removing the popliteal lymph node also), before employing an inguinal fold subdermal plexus flap to close the skin deficit. Juno took surgery in his stride, returning home later that day where he was cared for by his devoted Mum. Recovery was steady in the early days as Juno developed a small seroma under his wound, a highlighted possibility with such surgery, although this didn’t stop his mood from being bright, a quality he holds to this day.
Days after surgery, histopathology results returned confirming earlier suspicions of mast cell tumour which had in fact metastasised to the popliteal lymph node, highlighting the worth of removing this too. Sam and the practice continued to stay in touch about lovely Juno’s recovery, leading us to receive wonderful news just over 3 weeks post- surgery

“The fabulous, wonderful, handsomest Juno has recovered well, and the flap is all covered by new hair growth. His mum is ever so pleased, and he is back to being a menace. I cannot thank Sam enough for all her wisdom, time and teaching. I really got a lot from scrubbing with her into the surgery and Juno is a very well-beloved dog at the practice (he can do no wrong in my eyes).” Agata – Small World Vets.

It has been a pleasure to work alongside Agata and her team at Small World Vets who have delivered exceptional care to Juno throughout his treatment journey, for which we are sure he is very grateful!