Good news on Misty, my akita, at vet!

My 9 y/o akita Misty went to the vet today to have surgery to remove a cyst. About a month ago, the vet drained fluid from the cyst, and said if it comes back, he would surgically remove it. At the time, it was too large to be removed.

Well, when it started to come back, it grew pretty quick. So I scheduled her to have to surgery this morning. Last Thursday, I drained the cyst myself. Since I am a nurse, and had the supplies left from treatments we did on our horse last summer, I felt very comfortable doing this.

Well, I dropped Misty off this morning, before the vet was in the office. He just called back, to say he prefers a more conservative approach than surgical removal of the lump. He will lance it, place a Penrose drain in, and allow it to heal from the inside out. The drain will need to stay in place for 72 hours, and I'll have to clean it with peroxide, etc. Since it is up on her neck, below her ear, I think she will leave it alone and let it heal.

I am so excited! She will just have a local sedative, rather than being put all the way out!

That is great news that she won't be gong under!

Well, she is home! She is doing well, although having a tube sticking out of a bald spot on her neck is rather ugly! I just have to clean it twice a day, and it comes out Saturday. They drew a senior panel on her, so in a few days I'll have info about how she is doing over all.

When I find my digital camera, I'll snap a pic.

Here she is! Drain and all!


Warning...kind of ugly...


I warned you!



I'll take the harness off at bedtime. In this pic, she was bending towards the harness, it is actually a little ways away from the site. Usually she wears a collar, but the harness should help keep any pressure off the site when we walk her.

Ewww...the edges of the drain got kind of crusty last night! I guess it shows that there is some drainage, which is what we want so it can heal properly. I am so glad she is such a good dog. She let me scrub with peroxide until it was clean. None of my cats would have allowed that...I would have had to have someone hold them down! LOL!

And she is taking her antibiotics like a trouper...hidden in dog treats with peanut butter added to stick the pill in place. Again...much easier to trick a dog than a cat!

Originally Posted by Beckiboo

And she is taking her antibiotics like a trouper...hidden in dog treats with peanut butter added to stick the pill in place. Again...much easier to trick a dog than a cat!

Click to expand...

dogs trust us too much sometimes

I'm glad she's cooperating

I'm so glad the cyst turned out to be so treatable. How handy that you're a nurse! Sounds like Misty is in good hands with you and will heal up in no time.

Only one more time to clean it, and I can remove the drain tomorrow, so she can finish healing. She is a fluffy dog, and blowing her coat, so looks pretty raggedy right now. I can't wait until she heals up, finishes this awful shedding of CHUNKS, and is beautiful again!

Last night I had to have dh help hold her while I cleaned the area...she is definitely losing her patience with me! Poor girl, I'm sure she will be glad to be done with all this mess, too!

She's a beautiful dog! I love Akitas!