Small eyelid cyst on 13-year-old.....difficult surgery decision

[TooTooMommy]

Hi everybully....I would appreciate your thoughts on this. Hubbs and I have NO experience with eldery doggies, nor have we ever been through the heartbreak of euthanasia. Our precious guy Professor adopted us
8 months ago---we adore him sooo much (do I even need to say that? LOL!) Our rescue president says he is around 12, possibully 13. He has a growth (NOT entropion!) under his eyelid that's just a tad larger than a pencil eraser. The vet RX'd artificial tears 1-3 times per day.


It never seems to bother him until very recently. He rubs himz eye on a blanket, or the couch, but NOT
that often. Just the other night, for the first time in 8 months---it did bleed a bit, but he did not
seem bothered at all. We irrigated it with saline for a while, gently patted it dry, and he was totally calm throughout! It has not bled since---just that one time. It was great how CALM he was, because when we put his artifical tears in, he runs and acts like we're torturing him. He obviously LIKED the way
the saline felt ?

Our wonderbull vet knows that we are VERY reluctant to put such an elderly bulldog under general anesthesia;
however, he assured us that pre-operatively, he would do chest x-rays, bloodwork, etc. to assure that Professor
is healthy enough to survive okay. And just FYI---we trust this vet implicitly since our Archimedes (Meaty) was a pupp 8 years ago--he is NOT a vet that's just trying to make money.


Our wonderbull rescue group gave us good input--MOST think that if it doesn't seem to affect himz quality of life that much; it is NOT worth the anesthesia, and we MOSTLY agree. Another negative POSSIBILITY that we hadn't considered is the higher risk of pneumonia post-op. The thought of putting him through all of that, PLUS
pneumonia or other post-op issues ending his life too soon helped our decision. A few people feel that it's more of a quality of life
issue and that the risk of surgery IS worth it.

Ugh....we were so torn, and decided NOT to persue surgery. Even so, it is always nice to hear from others
who've been there/ done that. I'd love to know if anybully's been through this and/ or if it was your
elderly guy....what would YOU do?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, and (( Hugs )) to all of your precious doggies


P.S....if you're up to reading a novel---hee hee---I will also add that as far as general health---for a 12/13
year old, he does pretty well. He has arthritis in his back legs, and just started on Vetprofen, 75 mg
tab, every 12 hours, and we massage him almost every evening. He does wheeze sometimes; but not that often. Every once in a while, when he gets excited, he sounds like he used to smoke a few packs of ciggies per day.
He definitely has mild s/s of dementia, but still loves to play, eats, drinks, and potties without issues.

 

[2BullyMama]

Tough one, but unless it was a severe issue... i would not do surgery. Continue to maintain unless it becomes life threatening


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[TyTysmom]

Agree with Christine, if it were me, I would only do surgery if it was life threatening, or really really a huge bother to him. If he seems un-bothered by it, and you are able to maintain it, I would keep on that track.

 

[oscarmayer]

If that small cyst can be managed then don't do it.

 

[Manydogs]

If that small cyst can be managed then don't do it.

I second that!

 

[Davidh]

I agree with the others, since it doesn't bother him that much, I would not chance the surgery. But if you wait until it does start to bother him, he will be older then, and it will be worse. Definitely a tough decision to make.

 

[TooTooMommy]

Awww....thank you, everybully !!!
It still has only bled that ONE time, 5 days ago....we're just keeping a close EYE on it, of course....
We're still gently irrigating with saline to keep it nice and clear, instilling himz artificial tears 1-2 times a day.

 

[aprilemari]

i am in the same boat! we adopted an 8yr old with a small eyelid tumor that we either live with or operate on. Its on the outside of her eye, and once upon a time the swelling could be reduced with a cold compress, but now stays out. Foxie can close her eyes, and it doesnt seem to cause discomfort. Our surgical options were to clip the outside portion off during a normal vet visit, with the risk that the tumor cells would grow back with a vengeance OR general anesthesia to remove the tumor and its root which is not outside of the eye. I eye-drop in some antibiotics everyday, but her tear production is normal. I'm going to let it ride until it bothers her enough to justify the risk of being under anesthesia.

 

[Manydogs]

This is supposed to remove skin tags and moles. Wonder if it would help?