Zymbals Gland tumors - Sadie's final vet vist :*(

[lilspaz68]

THIS is an auricular polyp

I put her on dexamethasone (steroid) and baytril and it shrunk it right back down into the ear.

But then this popped up, so I had her pts.

 

[Debbie]

Awe, poor girl :sad3: What is auricular polyp? Is there a chance it was a sqamous cell carsinoma of the ZG too? And maybe you were able to shrink it with the steroids for a while? I'm just curious. And probably grasping at straws that Sadie could have anything other than a ZG tumor.

I can see whatever it is, down in her ear canal. It's not dark like the pic you posted. It's actually light in color (like that of abscess gunk, but not), that's why I keep sniffing her ear. But I smell nothing.

I'm worried we might soon see what happen to Hawk :sad3: Sadie's is right in the same spot.

Even if Sadie's story ends up with a sad ending, I hope we might use this thread to help others identify the lumps of the face, with our comments and pics here.

 

[lilspaz68]

Auricular polyps are nothing like ZG

http://ratguide.com/health/figures/auri ... gure_1.php

 

[jorats]

Oh man, it's growing fast.

 

[Debbie]

Auricular polyps are nothing like ZG

http://ratguide.com/health/figures/auri ... gure_1.php

Thanks for the link. I always forget the ratguide :doh:

I have actually had a couple of ratties with these. At the time we though they were tumors though. This was a few years ago.

 

[ratlets]

My boy Kerfuffle had one of these... the vet removed it, but less than a month later it reappeared and invaded his ear canal. It presented like a bloody abcess... blood coming out of the spot on his face and out of his ear. Nothing could be done for him except to keep him comfy.

Best of luck.

Before surgery:

After his surgery... to show the location:

Oh- he started out with smelly ears, too... yeast infection.

 

[lilspaz68]

Yep, Kerfuffle has the classic placement of ZG...he was a lovely boy.

 

[ratlets]

Thanks, Shelagh! I just wish I had realized what it was before it came back to torture him! I made sure to give my vet the info packet from ratguide as well as some other research papers I had found after I figured out that that was what Kerfuffle had.

 

[Debbie]

Ok, well I'm starting to flim flam now. Sadie's lump keeps growing at a rapid speed. At this rate, she'll definitely be critical in a very short amount of time. I look at that sweet adorable face and can't help but think I should be doing SOMEthing.

So, we have an appt for Sadie tomorrow with our vet. I'm going to have her look that lump over very well, and we'll probably do an xray to see if we can tell how invasive it is. Although it's growing, at this point, it still seems very close to the surface of her face. If our surgeon hadn't given little Arden another six months after her ZG surgery, I might not even try. But I'm thinking if I don't do something, Sadie is a gonner very soon. If our Dr. B can give her a chance at even a few more months, it might be worth it.

Sadie was out in the play area last night with her new pal Rudy (who has one more week and can move in with her, Elsa and Noelle). Everytime they see each other, they immediately play chase, wrestle and then just hang out together. I would think if she were in too much pain, or feeling horrible at this point, she would not be so happy to see Rudy. So, I just don't know. I feel like, if there's a chance to give her a bit more time, I should go for it.

So, call me stupid, but we'll see how her appt goes tomorrow. If the vet thinks it's worth a shot, Sadie's surgery will be Tuesday. I'm going to be sure to document this experience, however it turns out...so others can have something to go on for these horrid tumors. :sad3:

 

[jorats]

If you're stupid for going for it, then I'd be considered stupid as well. If she were mine and my vet was more than willing to give it a shot, I'd be right there with Sadie too.
Praying real hard that she can get it out and to keep out for a few months.

BTW, I'm the girl who had a huge tumor removed from a 37 month old rat. He lived another 2 months... but it was tumor free and sooooooo worth it.

 

[Godmother]

Go for it, Debbie, if you can. Your sweetie sounds like she has lots of enthusiasm for life.

 

[mamarat]

Good luck with your sweetie. I hope she has many more months with you and her new pal Rudy. :hugs:

 

[Debbie]

Thanks for all the kind words, and for sharing all your pics and stories too. :hugs:

I'll let you know how it goes at the vet today.

 

[Debbie]

Well, we're back from the vet and the news wasn't good. :sad3: Not that I had any hope it would be, I had hoped that maybe surgery could possibly give Sadie a little more time. We did an xray.....and we knew that surgery wasn't even an option. :cry4:

My poor baby girl is in bad shape. Not only has the tumor gone into her ear drum and sorrounding area, it's most likely even eating into bone. :cry3: It's shoved her jaw off to the side, so we had to trim her teeth. If that wasn't bad enough, this has metastisized into her lungs. You can see little tumors everywhere. She also has lost half of one of her lungs to this as well. My vet took one look at the xray and said "oh I'm so sorry Debbie". I've seen enough xrays, that I knew before she said that.

The tumor is also starting to cause a bit of bleeding. Not much just yet, but you can see it in her ear canal.

So, it's hospice time. :sad3: :sad3: We will hit her with Metacam and Tramadol and keep her comfy for how ever many days she has left. I've already called all our vets (we have back ups) to be sure who was on every day this week. We'll go day by day....but at the rate this is growing....I don't think it will be much longer. :cry3:

If she wasn't otherwise happy, eating and energetic, I might have considered letting her go today. But she's not ready yet..she's just not ready.

She'll eat rattie caviar (whatever she wants) and be spoiled every second, for as long as she decides to bless us with her presence. :sad3:

 

[Godmother]

Oh, that is devastating news. I'm so sorry.

I don't know how rats can look so good when their health is so precarious, but that is good for her. May she have some good quality time with you as you spoil her and love her.

 

[Debbie]

Yeah....Sadie sure doesn't know how grave her condition is :sad3:

As I type this, she's racing around with her pal Elsa and buddy Rudy. She was the first one to the dinner bowl, and the last one to leave. She's still eating and playing. So it's all good for now. Maybe it's better that she doesn't have a worry in the world.....because her momma is worried enough for everyone. :sad3:

 

[mamarat]

:hugs:

 

[Moon]

Awww, I'm so sorry

 

[jorats]

I'm so sorry Debbie... it's so hard.

Hawkeye's has decided to crack open and bleed out. There's a whole lot of blood but he's hanging in there... He's being pts tomorrow. :sad3:

 

[Debbie]

Oh Jo, I'm so sorry about Hawk! :sad3: :sad3:

Those blasted ZG's have a habit of building up behind their eyes too. My friend had this happen with her girl too. Her little eye began to bulge, then dry out because it could no longer blink.

I"m so so sorry about Hawk. I don't know how much more time Sadie has, but I'll be sure to tell her to look for him at the bridge. :cry3: