A dog question for a Vet. This one's sorta strange...

[URY914]

We have a 11 year old full bred Pug that is about 19 pounds. He’s healthy, happy and a very low maintenance dog. A few weeks ago he woke us up and he seemed to be having trouble breathing, he threw up and was not himself. We took him to the ER Vet and they took an x-ray and said he has a mass in his bladder area. They gave us a copy of the x-ray and told us he needed to have further tests to determine the status of the mass. Last week we had an abdominal ultrasound performed and a golf ball size mass was found in the bladder. We thought this was going to be cancer and his days were numbered. But when the lab report came back last Friday, the mass was found to be skin cells not cancer cells. The Vet that performed the ultrasound and lab work was shocked to find a mass of skin cells in his bladder. They told us they even thought they had mixed up the results because they had never seen this sort of thing. They think that he has had this since birth and now that he has grown older it is now effecting his bladder. He has been needing to pee much more frequently which is his only real symptom of the problem. We are currently considering having the mass removed by our Vet or the office that performed the ultrasound. They are both very eager to learn what is really going on here.

So my question is has anyone ever heard of such a thing and if so what can you tell us? Is this some sort of misdiagnosis or just a freak of nature? We just don’t want anything further to happen to him without us having a clear understanding of the problem.

[URY914]

Here is Max...

[ddbach]

Normal tissue in an abnormal location = hamartoma

These may cause little to no problem or cause significant dysfunction based on the type of tissue it is and where it is misplaced. It sounds as though it may be a volumetric issue so perhaps the mass has slowly enlarged during his life. If he is otherwise healthy I would expect him to do very well. Would they remove it using a cystoscope?

Developmentally the bladder forms by closing along the edges of an invagination rather than forming a lumen in a solid mass. This is the stage where some cells that were "programmed" to be skin were in the wrong place. Considering how many changes occur during the development of a living organism it is amazing how we, our pets and other things turn out easily recognisable.

Disclaimer: not a vet

[URY914]

Thank you. Did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

[aigel]

Sounds like his issues were unrelated to this bladder condition. I would wait and just have him go to the bathroom whenever he needs it (doggy door). Sounds like they are all curious, but you are the one footing the bill and taking a risk with your dog. We all like things fixed but sometimes IMHO it is better to wait and see, especially if the pet is getting up there in years ...

George