Canine Cutaneous Histiocytoma

One of the benefits of being a pet owner is that you get to learn a lot of big new words.  Today’s word is “histiocytoma”, which is what Dante has growing on his ear.  A growth sprung up seemingly overnight about two weeks ago, and although I’ve kept an eye on it ever since, it never changes size or colour.  At first it almost looked like a blister, but when I pressed on it I could tell that it was definitely solid.  Because I’d hate to disappoint, here’s a photo I took of it, with my hand as a size reference.  Please note that while Dante’s ears look dirty, they’re actually spotless—he has odd allergic reactions on his ear flaps and because of that they’ve got some discoloured spots:

image

I made a preliminary diagnosis of histiocytoma after doing some Internet research to reassure myself before Dante’s actual visit to the vet.  I just wanted to see if I could get a general idea as to whether this was a “bad” lump, but I was lucky enough to find quite a few websites with great photos which exactly matched Dante’s problem.  Dante also matched all the symptoms I’d read, in that a histiocytoma tends to spring up very suddenly, it doesn’t tend to be painful, etc.  So, that helped me feel better about his prognosis when we did go to see the vet this morning.  I think our vet might think I’m a bit nutty, because when she asked why we’d brought Dante in for an appointment, I didn’t know what to say except, “I think he’s got a histiocytoma on his right ear”.  I mean, I could have just said he had a “lump”, but then I figured I’d be wasting the vet’s time as she explained stuff to me about how the lump is treated.  I always manage to waste her time anyway by tossing out odd hypotheticals and asking every possible question one could ask about a situation, anyway, so I hope I helped save her a few seconds.  The vet said she could do a needle aspiration of the lump, but she worried that the sample might not be very good, and that the ear could end up bleeding uncontrollably.  So, Dante is going in on Thursday morning to have his lump removed from his ear, and then the sample will be sent to the lab to confirm that it isn’t some sort of malignancy.  While he’s under anaesthesia, the vet is also going to “cap” Dante’s broken right canine tooth, because it’s never properly healed over since he first broke in back in January.  It should have healed within a couple of weeks, but the pulp of the tooth has always remained pink.  It doesn’t seem to bother him at all (we wouldn’t even know he had a broken tooth except we noticed it in a moment of boredom while waiting in the vet’s exam room with Dante 10 months ago), but it’s best to have it fixed so we can try to avoid infection.  We don’t need no stinkin’ infections.

Histiocytomas are quite common on the inside flap of the ear (the pinna), on the head and neck, and on the top of the foot.  I found some great websites about these types of round skin tumors while I was researching, and I definitely appreciate how reassuring they were.  If you have interest in finding out more about this, here are the sites I checked out:

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 10/03 at 07:32 PM

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  1. Good luck to Dante on Thursday!  smile

    Posted by Expat  on  10/04  at  12:31 PM

  2. Hi Leigh-Ann,
    I hope Dante did well with his surgery.  I wish I had read your post (and comment to my blog) earlier.  I am worried about his tooth.  If the pulp is exposed, even if it is not dead yet, there is 100% chance it is infected.  The mouth is just full of opportunistic bacteria.  Capping the tooth will not cure the problem, and the pulp will die and the root will abcess later.  If the pulp is not exposed and it is just dentin that is exposed, capping the tooth is absolutely the right thing for Dante.  However, if the pulp is exposed and you want to save the tooth, a root canal is indicated.  This is a procedure that needs to be done by a veterinarian with advanced training in dentistry.

    Please write to me and tell me how Dante is doing, and also let me know if the pulp was definitely exposed.

    Posted by vetmommy  on  10/06  at  11:45 AM

  3. Thanks for the good wishes, “vetmommy” wink What I know about Dante’s tooth is that the top half of his right canine tooth broke off cleanly, but on an angle, many months ago.  The center of the exposed tooth area was pink—just a small pink dot.  The gum and all the area around the tooth looked healthy.  It didn’t bother Dante at all, and he still happily ate rawhide, kibble, etc.  I don’t even know how long it was broken before we noticed it, even though we’re pretty good at noticing these kinds of changes.

    The vet told us back in January that the center of the tooth would turn black, but it never did.  It just never changed at all, the gum never seemed irritated, it didn’t affect Dante’s eating or attitude, etc.  It actually pained me a bit to look at, as I had a ton of dental work done a few years ago and I remember how sensitive my teeth were.

    So, when we had Dante in to have his ear looked at, I mentioned the tooth again.  I have to admit that our vet looked puzzled, but she looked at his mouth quite thoroughly and didn’t see any signs of anything amiss.  I realize infection can be invisible, but everything looked good (I guess), and she didn’t even want to do a dental on him while he was under as his teeth were in such good shape.  She was only going to seal the broken canine.

    We’re on our way in to pick him up now, so I’ll post again if I find out more.  Our vet did mention the root canal option, and that would definitely be my choice (over extraction), but I don’t think there is a veterinary dentist here in Vegas.  We’ve got an opthalmologist, thank goodness, and a dermatologist, but even the orthopedic surgeon has to fly in from California when he’s needed.  Do you want to take a vacation to Vegas and do a little dental work on the side?!

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  10/06  at  01:31 PM

  4. So - what was the prognosis after they took out the histiocytoma?  Was it malignant or benign?
    I have one on my Pug, and I’m wondering if I should wait or go see the vet. 

    Best regards,

    Tom

    Posted by Tom  on  02/11  at  03:08 PM

  5. I think by definition, a cutaneous histiocytoma is always benign, which was the situation with Dante.  Has the growth on your pug been aspirated and confirmed to be a cutaneous histiocytoma?  Things like mast cell tumors and other histiocytotic growths can be much more problematic, so I’d definitely recommend a professional opinion to nip the problem in the bud.  Even if benign, the growths can be itchy and irritating, so can cause discomfort. 

    Dante actually developed a second histiocytoma on his paw about two years after I wrote this entry.  We were able to control it with oral steroids and antihistimines, but then it would just come back again.  It often bled because Dante licked it, so we also had it removed.  Here’s a link to a few entries I wrote about it:

    http://www.theblogpound.com/index.php/weblog/comments/my_poor_wee_puppy/

    http://www.theblogpound.com/index.php/weblog/comments/clean_paw_of_health/

    And, here’s a photo of Dante, and if you look on his front left paw you can just see the red lump between his toes, prior to surgery:
    http://flickr.com/photos/mudpuppy/146775412/sizes/o/in/set-72157594224816634/

    Anyway, perhaps more information than you wanted to know, but I hope it will help you figure out what’s going on with your dog.  I’m always one to suggest you take your pet to a vet if you suspect a problem… I don’t say that to be politically correct, but because I think it’s best to err on the side of caution when loved ones are involved.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  02/12  at  03:14 AM
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