A growing lump on your cat's body is one of the most common of cat cancer symptoms. Cat surgery can cure cat cancer symptoms. A feline tumor is often associated with cat skin cancer and in these cases, cat surgery usually results in a very low rate of recurrence. Many feline tumors are benign and can be completely removed in cat surgery. Other tumors may be more dangerous or difficult to remove such as malignant tumors and tumors that have broken apart and spread to other areas of the body. A veterinary surgeon will explore the feline lymphoma symptoms, the location of the feline tumor, and the type and grade of the tumor.
Cat Skin Cancer
Cat surgery is the most effective in the treatment of cat skin cancer. Early removal of a small tumor greatly increases the likelihood of a positive prognosis as it stops the tumor from spreading to other parts of the body. A feline tumor associated with cat skin cancer is called a mast cell tumor of the skin. These tumors are much easier to remove than tumors that are in the spleen or gastrointestinal tract.
Assessment Before Cat Surgery
There are different types of tests to gain more information about the tumor. In an incisional biopsy, one or more small pieces of the tumor tissue are cut off for examination and testing. In an excisional biopsy, the entire tumor is taken out for examination with or without a border of normal skin. This is done only if the vet believes that the tumor is benign or very small.
Cat Surgery To Remove Mast Cell Tumors Of The Skin
The feline tumor has an excellent prognosis with cat surgery. Often, only a small amount of normal skin around the tumor needs to be removed from the mass. The surgeon chooses which surgery to perform based on how much margin needs to be removed to cure the cancer and reduce any cat cancer symptoms.
Intracapsular Resection
This type of surgery may also be called debulking or cyto-reductive surgery. In this cat surgery, only part of the tumor is removed. This would be the choice if the tumor is on or near vital organs that should not be damaged. The vet often recommends radiation therapy before or after the cat surgery for best results.
Marginal Resection and Wide Resection
This is the most common type of cat surgery for cat skin cancer. The tumor is removed but only just outside the visible part of the tumor. This often leaves a microscopic portion of the tumor behind. Radiation and additional treatment is often necessary as a result. In a wide resection cat surgery, a specific margin of visibly normal tissue is removed along with the entire tumor. This minimizes the risk of leaving behind any of the feline tumor itself. If the cancer type is of low or intermediate grade, this surgery is often completely successful. A wide resection often results in wound reconstruction to help return the tumor site to normal functioning.
Radical Resection
This is commonly used when the feline tumor is in the extremities. The surgeon removes the entire physically structure where the tumor is growing such as a leg. It is harder to safely do a radical resection in other areas of the cat's body.
This is commonly the case when amputation is an option, but harder to do on other locations than extremities.