Meet Maddie

Maddie, a 14 year old Cocker Spaniel, has had an interesting turn of events in the past few weeks. Being older with impaired vision and hearing, she likes to enjoy her sleeps and her owners company for a cuddle.

Maddie came in recently for a routine check up with Dr Lisa. She was overall well and her owners didn't have any concerns. Dr Lisa was going through the routine physical check up when she noticed a firmness in the belly. Lo and behold, after abdominal radiographs and an ultrasound, it was diagnosed that Maddie had a large mass in the abdomen attached to the spleen. You can see in the radiograph, that the mass takes up most of the abdomen.

Her owners made the decision to go to surgery and after a teary farewell, Maddie was brought in for surgery the following week. The surgery was tricky given that the mass was almost 1kg in weight! But Maddie did extremely well and sailed through the anaesthetic. She is recovering well and excited to get back to her owners and the favourite sleeping spot at home.

Splenic masses can range from being benign to life threatening and can grow to great sizes. It was lucky for Maddie this mass was diagnosed and removed. Just goes to show how important a routine check up can be!