A dog presenting for acute illness associated with a splenic mass is commonplace in small animal practice. The typical scenario is that of an older, large breed dog that has become acutely weak or may have had chronic, non-specific signs of illness culminating in an emergent situation. These dogs often have bleeding into the abdomen associated with the rupture of the mass. Surgery is commonly indicated to remove the diseased spleen (splenectomy), and this decision to proceed to surgery usually needs to be made quickly. The challenge for veterinarians and for pet owners in this situation is trying to determine whether the dog may have a malignant splenic tumor or a benign mass.

An online decision-support calculator (T-STAT) has been developed to assist veterinarians and pet owners in determining the probability of splenic mass malignancy for an individual dog. In this segment, Dr. John Berg, DVM, MS, DACVS - a board certified veterinary surgeon - discusses details about this online tool that can help veterinarians and pet owners in trying to distinguish splenic masses from benign versus malignant as part of a preoperative assessment.

Running time: 16 mins 

*No longer eligible for CE credit*