# Mast cell tumor, histiocytoma, or skin infection?



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

IF it is a mast cell tumor, you do not want to do a FNA without a big dose of benadryl so it doesn't go crazy...


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## MitchP (Oct 29, 2017)

First off, I'm not a vet....but went through a lot of researching a few years back with my friend whose dog had some similar (but different) stuff going on.

A few thoughts....

Is the area actually raised or is the skin just discolored? In the first pic I can't tell if it looks like his lower lip is discolored a bit too? If yes, then there are actually some immune-mediated diseases that can do that. Lupus and pemphigus are examples. Be careful looking those up...some are scary to read about but others are pretty easy to treat and get under control...so please don't freak yourself out by reading the worst-case scenario ones!! Also look up muco-cutaneous (I think it's called?) pyoderma

As far as contact irritation...any new toys or dishes or anything he could be snooting around with his nose? Plastic is supposed to be a big offender for contact allergies in dogs. So make sure he is eating out of stainless steel (or glass) dishes for now. Any newish toys or anything I would take away for now. 

Keep up with antibiotic, it could be just an infection like the vet said and it will clear up and he'll be good as new! 

What did the vet say about the spot on his foot? I would think they could do an aspirate of that without sedating him if needed?

Best of luck with your boy and hope it's nothing to worry about!


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## Kek (Apr 7, 2018)

I'm not a vet at all either. The area around his nose, does it feel like a hard growth in any way? From my limited experience a Mast Cell is usually a hard but round formed growth, I've heard they can have other appearances but just from the photos I would suspect it looks more like a skin irritation. 
The growth on his paw looks a lot like the Histiocytomas a Boston Terrier I know had once. They heal way on their own, but they can also look very similar to a Mast Cell Tumor. I think you should really get a fine needle aspirate on that one to be sure.
Best of luck, hopefully the vet can tell you more soon, I hope it's all ok!


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

our golden retriever, Honey had a strange looking place on her leg. It looked like a balloon of about 2 layers of skin, about the size of a pencil eraser, with a little liquid in it. Took her to the vet and he didn't think it was anything to worry about, but decided to remove it. To be safe, he sent it out and report came back, Grade 2 Mast Cell Tumor, no clean edges. So he had to operate and cut out a larger section of her leg. This time, report came back clean edges. She was about 8 at this time. And we had her 5 more years. The tumor never returned. Oh, we had adopted her fully grown and heart worm positive and had her just shy of 12 years.


She managed to bust open the center of the incision ...the ends had healed. And my vet didn't' want to restitch it. So it was left open to heal from inside out. I had to clean it out every day using the water hose to spray. She hated baths, but loved this becaue I assume it itched as it healed and having that water sprayed against the wound felt good. Her leg had healed quite a bit when I thought to take this picture. In a year's time we couldn't even find a scar.


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## Katie2 (Apr 6, 2018)

Hi all,

Thank you all so much for sharing your knowledge and advice!

The area on his face seems to just be discolored skin--I've felt it and the vet felt it, and it isn't hardened at all. He eats and drinks out of stainless steel bowls, so I'm not too worried about that--he did get a couple new toys on March 22nd, so I'm taking those out of rotation for now, just in case (thank you for that tip, I wouldn't have thought of the toys causing this sort of thing).

I will see if a needle aspiration can be done on his paw without sedation--he gets so excited, anxious, and jumpy at the vet that it can be difficult to even get him to be still for his blood to be drawn.

I just got his blood test results via email--the only abnormal results were that his amylase is elevated at 1172 (normal range 290-1125) and his PrecisionPSL is elevated at 389 (normal range 24-140). I'm not sure if those levels are high enough to indicate pancreatitis, or if they might be a sign of some other issue. There was also clotting in the sample--I'm thinking perhaps because it took a long time to get the sample. The vet mentioned that it was taking her a long time to get enough because his blood pressure must have been quite high from his excited state. So his platelet count was 27, well below the normal range of 170-400, but the results noted that that may be because of the micro-clotting in the sample. I'm still worried about that number though, so I will be calling today--the results noted that a blood smear was reviewed, so I'm guessing that might provide some more information. For now, the area on his mouth seems to be getting more pale with the Benadryl/Rimadyl/antibiotic regiment but not going away--I'm still hopeful that it might go away, but I'm writing down a list of questions for the vet to figure this thing out in case it doesn't.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

How's your boy doing?


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## Katie2 (Apr 6, 2018)

I've been meaning to update, so sorry for the delay! I hope my experience might be helpful to someone else dealing with one of these medical mysteries--It took a while to clear up, but after two weeks of Benadryl, rimadyl, and antibiotics, the issue on his face is gone. I'm hoping it stays that way, but I'm keeping an eye on his muzzle area--he has had some pink/red come back, but in a much more muted way that the vet thinks looks like allergies. He still has some pink spots on his paws, which the vet also thinks is allergies--so we're trying 75 mg of Benadryl twice a day to see if that helps. 

Thank you all for all your help!


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

I'm glad it was nothing really serious. Thanks for the update.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Thanks for the update, hope he continues to improve.


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