Boston Herald

Dog’s throat mass is concerning

- By Dr. John De Jong Dr. John de Jong owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic.He can be reached at 781-899-9994.

Dear Dr. John,

My dog, a rescue mutt now about age 14, recently has a loss of energy, loud breathing, gagging on food, weight loss, and no barking. We took him to our vet last week, and an x-ray revealed a growth in his throat, maybe on his epiglottis. No informatio­n has been given yet as to whether it is malignant and what treatment, if any, they might recommend.

My question is whether throat surgery on a dog is realistic, is it ever done, the outcome odds, how does a dog eat while healing, etc.? He is otherwise quite healthy, doesn’t appear to be in pain (except the gagging), and plays around the same as always. Would chemo or radiation be helpful, depending on what the growth is? I just don’t like the idea of sitting around watching while his throat slowly closes up. J.B.

Dear J.B.,

All of the clinical signs that you describe are consistent with epiglottal masses. The epiglottis is the door that closes when one swallows preventing anything from going into the trachea or windpipe. Tumors originatin­g on the epiglottis itself are quite rare and are often cartilagin­ous tumors called chondrosar­comas, and they are usually malignant. There are also other types of tumors in that area, and some can be benign. Epiglottal cysts are not that uncommon and are also usually benign. The cysts are more commonly found in younger dogs and given your dog’s age, it may more likely be a malignancy but without a biopsy no one can say for sure.

The next step would be to anesthetiz­e the dog allowing for full visualizat­ion of the mass, obtaining a biopsy sample, and while there probably remove the mass if possible or debulk it, allowing for a reduction of the associated signs. Yes, throat surgery is done, is realistic, and the outcomes differ depending on type of tumor and the extent of its invasion into local tissues. I would defer to a veterinary oncologist as to whether chemothera­py or radiation would be worthwhile. The positive news is that he is still acting healthy. The sooner you address this the better off your dog might be. Good luck.

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