Monday, October 20, 2014

Shannon's Benign Growth -- Fibroadnexal Hamartoma

I'm writing this post in the hopes that it helps someone else who has a dog with the same problem. One of my dogs (Shannon) has had a spot on her shoulder where the skin is thickened. The spot has been getting bigger and bigger. I have pointed it out to my vet every year at her annual exam. At first, the vet said that it felt like scar tissue, which is true. However, I told her that Shannon hasn't had any trauma in that area that would give her scars like that. In subsequent annual visits, the vet still didn't think anything of it. But this year I made a bigger deal out of it and reminded my vet that it is getting bigger every year. My vet agreed that it is worrisome and we arranged for a biopsy. Here's a picture of the shaved area. You can see the green stitches where the three biopsies were taken. This was my first good look at it without the fur in the way. It was quite a surprise to see how big it is. I think my vet and I both missed the boat on this one. Note to self: be more firm when advocating for my dogs...


I got the biopsy results back and it is fibroadnexal hamartoma (fibro adnexal hamartoma). My vet explained that it's a benign tumor involving hair follicles and gland structures. I Googled it and didn't come up with any images that look like that. So, I'm going to chronicle her treatment in this new blog to add to the little bit of information that's available on this -- to maybe help somebody else. I'm going to contact my vet to get a referral to the Oncologist in Richmond, Va. From what I could find, it will have to be surgically removed. I hope there's enough skin to cover the wound that is left. They always cut out extra in order to get "good margins" so I'm sure that a pretty good chunk is going to be removed.

Here's a couple of pictures of my girls (l-r Sky, Shannon, Daisy). Sky and Shannon are Shelties (Shetland Sheepdogs) and Daisy is a Belgian Malinois mix:

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14 comments:

  1. Luke MaistrovichMay 20, 2015 at 3:26 PM

    Hi, I have been scouring the internet myself for this and this is the most relevant/comparable incidence I could find. So, thanks for posting!

    My 2 year old Jack Russell mix has had small patches with missing hair on her forehead since at least 2 months old. Like with your dog, the vet (and I) assumed they were scars (she's a rescue), but they have continued to grow.

    After going back and forth with our vet for 1.5 years on why they're getting larger or how to treat them, etc, we just brought her into a surgical specialist today and they are quite confident that they are fibroadnexal hamartomas...at least, confident enough to not require a biopsy.

    Anyways, once we get some quotes on the surgery back, we will be scheduling it probably for next week. I am wondering if there have been any developments with your dog. Have you had the surgery? If so, how did it go and how did the dog respond?

    One of the lumps on my dog's head is actually quite large (like yours) and I too am concerned about how easy it will be stitch up. The specialist today said a graft wouldn't be necessary, but seems difficult to believe...it would require a pretty large skin flap which would stretch her skin pretty tight.

    Thanks again for posting and hope to hear back!

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    1. chris7May 26, 2015 at 7:27 PM

      Hi Luke! I just saw our comment today. I'm glad that my post is helpful. Your dog does seem to have similar symptoms. The good news is that we are through the surgery and recovery. Shannon's hair has almost grown back to the full length. You must have not noticed that there were newer posts. If you go to this page, you should see all of the entries: http://chris7dogs.blogspot.com/ Start at the bottom and work your way up so you'll be reading from the beginning to the most recent post. Good luck with your dog! Please let me know how it goes.

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  2. Luke MaistrovichMay 27, 2015 at 7:00 AM

    That's great! I was surprised to see the size of the incision based on your previous picture where the lumps appeared to be relatively small in surface area next to your hand. Was this just as a precaution?

    And yeah, I must have clicked a link to your "October 2014" posts only and didn't notice the "Blog Archive" sidebar.

    Anyways, our surgery is officially scheduled for next Friday, so wish us luck! :)

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    1. chris7May 28, 2015 at 9:17 PM

      You think you were surprised! I knew they wanted to get good margins, but geeze... They wanted to make sure that they got it all and she had a big handful of extra skin to play with. Plus, they don't cut out a circle. If they did there would be a lot of puckering when they bring the edges together. Instead, they make an eye shape then bring the two sides together, with minimal puckering at the corners of the eye shape. How about the microchip being in the center of the mass! That was another surprise... I most certainly wish you luck and would like to hear back after surgery. Are you taking pictures?

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  3. Luke MaistrovichMay 29, 2015 at 9:18 AM

    Yeah, that's crazy. If they take the same approach on my dog, her head will just be one big blanket of stitches. They have told me they aren't concerned about getting margins though, so it isn't likely that will be the case. She does have 1 larger patch of lumps on her head right above her left eye which will require a skin flap, so really not sure how that will play out.

    I intend to take before and after pictures next week, but I don't think I can post them to the comments. If you give me an email address, I could send them to you if you were interested.

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  4. chris7May 29, 2015 at 4:56 PM

    Yes, please send pictures. My email address is mschris7100@gmail.com. Would you mind if I did a blog entry on here and include your comments and pictures?

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  5. Luke MaistrovichJune 1, 2015 at 7:40 AM

    Not at all. :)

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    1. chris7July 12, 2015 at 8:28 PM

      Luke, I haven't heard from you in a while. I hope everything went well.

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    2. Luke MaistrovichAugust 13, 2015 at 10:32 PM

      Aaaghhh! I'm SO sorry! I can't believe how busy life has been the past few months! It actually went very well and Georgia is doing great. I have several before and after pictures which I WILL post. Sorry to keep you wondering. I'm sure you probably thought it didn't go well. Anyways, I promise you an update soon now that things have slowed down a little bit. Take care.

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    3. chris7August 21, 2015 at 8:10 PM

      Yes, I was scared that things didn't go well. I'm relieved to hear that it went well... Post a link when you get pictures posted!

      I'm actually back to the dog blog tonight to talk about my other Sheltie, Sky. She just got diagnosed with Mast Cell Tumors. Which is a malignant cancer... Not sure how long it's going to take for me to put together the first post because a lot has happened already...

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  6. UnknownMarch 16, 2016 at 11:45 AM

    I just got the diagnosis for my golden doodle today. She had the biopsies and then they surgically removed 4 of them. My dog, Hemi, did not have anything as large as the photo above. I was told they can rupture and excrete a cottage cheese like substance. Cause is often unknown and that surgical removal is the cure. However, my dog has nearly 30 small lumps we found. We are consulting with dermatolgists to determine how to proceed.

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  7. UnknownMarch 16, 2016 at 11:49 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Bobby's HumanOctober 3, 2016 at 3:03 PM

    Thanks for sharing. I'm so glad that I insisted it be removed from my dog's paw before it got bigger or spread.

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  9. Bobby's HumanOctober 3, 2016 at 3:03 PM

    Thanks for sharing. I'm so glad that I insisted it be removed from my dog's paw before it got bigger or spread.

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