Hi

Towards the end of November we noticed a small lump on our dog so took her into the vets. They sent a sample off which came back as a carcinoma. We agreed with the vet for him to remove it and at the same time to spay her. We had always thought that she had silent heats as she would swell etc during various times in the year like a normal bitch.

During the spay the vet found a big mass connected to her cervix. Her ovaries were normal left and right with the cervix in the centre then this big sac filled with a black tar like substance. The vet said her cervix was closed and had no opening. After he removed it all and removed the lump that we had found he stictched her up and we discussed a preventative for the other teats incase any lumps appear in the future.

Skip ahead 5 weeks later to today and over the past 4 days she has begun being very constipated so we took her back to the vets.

She felt her and gave her an internal finding a mass that is pressing against her colon blocking her pooing. He gave her an x-ray and found a mass on the xray. Our vet said he is puzzled as in all his 25yrs he has never seen anything like her ovaries and cervix and then now this mass that has appeared in 5 weeks. He is unsure of what steps to go into next.

Has anybody heard of a bitch having an abnormality with her cervix and then having it removed?

Really confused as our vet has said he may have to refer us and referrals costs thousands he said.

Our insurance only covers £1k annually so worried about what we are going to do.

Thanks

This is why you need a good insurance which covers you at least up to something like £5K.  £1K is nothing... An MRI alone (should your dog ever need one) alone is about £2000, I kid you not.

I'm not a vet and I am making wild uneducated guesses, but if your bitch has been swelling without bleeding during heat cycles and your vet has found that she has a closed cervix, the blood would have no way of exiting her body.  So it makes sense to me that this 'black tar like substance' was old blood which has built up over several cycles.  Any good vet would have done an analysis on that - so you should have a result on what it was?? 

As for the mass blocking her colon, that sounds very much like an adhesion to me.  Adhesions can be caused by scar tissue from surgery and if her spay surgery was a non-routine procedure whereby your vet had to wing it a bit and do things to tissue that he doesn't usually do, it is quite likely that he has caused adhesions.  That, and/or the blood has also gone into her body cavity in the past and predisposed her to adhesions. 

I know quite a bit about endometriosis in women, and that involves tissue bleeding into the body cavity of women during their monthly cycle, instead of being able to exit the body in the normal way.  This results in adhesions whereby body organs get 'stuck' to other body organs or the wall.  Surgeries themselves for endo can cause further adhesions... Adhesions frequently cause colon blockages and gastro issues.  Google endometriosis and adhesions and colon and combinations thereof for more info...

Anyway, that is just my guess based on what I know of humans.  I think you need to get an urgent referral to a specialist.

A consultation with a specialist is not going to cost you thousands in itself - it is just a consultation - and you can get their opinion on the findings so far and find out the costs of what they are recommending and take things from there.  Make sure the specialists have all the test results and imaging done so far, to avoid having to repeat that and give them the most info to go on.

Being referred won't cost thousands, its like a normal vets appointment but with a specialist vet and usually lasts longer. They will get the X-rays from your vets so have something to go on initially.
I pay about £220 for a first consultation so if you can afford this without using your insurance then do it and if they suggest further surgery  or scans then use your insurance.
Scan costs range dependent on type but yes a CT or MRI can be anything £1200 upwards (my dog has had a few!) These are better than X-rays as if its a tumour they get a much better view of the extent etc.

Adhesions cause pain thats for sure but if this has grown and looks like a mass on X-ray then it certainly needs investigating further. Not sure adhesions will be seen on X-ray.

How about 2nd opinion from another vet? but if she's not able to go to the toilet then she obviously needs seeing quickly.
Also check if your vet charges a referral fee, sound ridiculous as they can't treat the dog anymore so you have no choice, my vets charged me £45 to do the referral. I know it takes time for someone to send all the info but when you have no choice as your vet can't treat anymore to me this is steep. You cannot be seen at the specialists without the referral from your vet.

good luck.

Good point about adhesions not showing on x-rays, Lorripop - they will only show if they are pulling internal organs around and you can see that stuff is not where it should be...

So maybe not an adhesion then!