Kiah's Surgery

Last fall Kiah started gaining weight and even though on a diet I couldn't get it off of her, so off to the vet we go to get her thyroid blood work done and sent to Michigan.  Michigan's results, everything in normal range which I found hard to believe since she has all the symptoms of thyroid issues.  My vet and I decide to have her rechecked in 3 months and I will keep her on a diet to see if I can't get the weight off and to see if the other symptoms go away.

Three months later I find a lump in her neck on her thyroid so back to the vet again.  Needle aspiration is inconclusive to cancer but it is a tumor.  The next step is to have x-rays of her lungs to see if there are any signs of cancer since lungs are the first place cancer will metastasize.  Thank goodness her lungs are clear of any lesions so we set a date for the specialist to come in to do the surgery.  My vet will not do it since it is such a tricky surgery with the larynx and major blood vessels right there.

The day of the surgery the specialist calls me and says that since the tumor was caught right away and is moveable (not attached to blood vessels or larynx) she is optimistic that she will be able to remove the whole tumor.  When Kiah is waking up she calls me to say all went well and the tumor will go out to check for cancer.  It was cancer as expected.

I go back in to see the vet 10 days later to have Kiah's stitches removed and discuss what we do next.  It ends up the tumor was small, 16cm plus it was totally removed so no chemo or radiation is recommended.  If the tumor was 24cm or over it would have been different, radiation is recommended.  I am ecstatic that Kiah will not have to go through radiation.  Life expectancy barring any other non related health issues is 3-4+ years which will make Kiah almost 12-13+ years old.  A good life expectancy for a Boxer.

It has been almost 5 weeks now since the surgery and Kiah has not been able to shed the weight so she is now on thyroid meds.  The vet said that they do recommend medication after surgery even though blood work does not indicate the need as the remaining thyroid needs that support.

I can't tell you how pleased I am with the specialist, she was kind, compassionate and an excellent surgeon.  I have heard that she travels all over the U.S.A. doing these kinds of surgeries, she is that good.  I have included some photos of Kiah the day after her surgery and 3 weeks after her surgery.

 Day after surgery

3 weeks after her surgery