Squamous cell carcinoma

The squamous cell carcinoma or squamous cell cancer is a malignant skin neoplasia that affects dogs and cats.

The development of this tumor is associated with ultraviolet radiation (prolonged exposure to sunlight), and appears mostly in fair or depigmented skin (white animals or lightly pigmented mucosa).

In dogs the most common location is the face, ears, abdomen, scrotum and limbs. The races are more prone white Boxer, Poodle, Dogo Argentino, Dalmatian, Beagle and Bull Terrier white coat. In cats is more common in the plane nose, lip ears, eyelids and lips.

Early warning signs are the appearance of erythema (vermilion), hair loss in the region and rolled edges of the ear. This is a pre-tumor that can persist for months or years and progress slowly to an injury or mass that does not heal or respond to conservative treatments.

Later appear scaly lesions, granulomas (papillary masses of variable size, looking like a cauliflower), and crusts that bleed easily. Diagnosis is by history and by skin biopsy. Treatment relies on surgical excision and chemotherapy.

Early diagnosis has fundamental effect on prognosis. Prevention is key and owners of light-colored animals should be instructed to limit the maximum exposure to sunlight, restricting it to the early morning or late afternoon, especially in the summer and use high factor sunscreens.

Care before and after the surgical ovariohysterectomy (spaying)

It is a routine surgery, however, implies a general anesthesia inboth the cat and dog, which means it carries risks as any other anesthetic.

It is important that the female is subjected to a thorough clinical examination preferably with early clinical and ECG analysis.

The surgical procedure involves fasting for 12 hours to reduce the risk of vomiting during anesthesia. It implies that the animal is on a drip, which is made pre-medication for pain control and pre-and postoperatively, and the anesthetic protocol is done according to the age of the female, preferably with a volatile anesthetic. The animal must have monitoring respiratory rate and blood pressure and CO2 throughout the surgery. The animal may be discharged a few hours after waking from anesthesia. Some animals take longer to recover and can only return home when they are fully conscious.

It is important that the animal has the vaccines in the day before surgery, since the post-surgical stress can reduce the strength of the immune system to infectious diseases.

Nowadays, most surgeries are quite safe in animals, but the success of treatment and recovery also depend on the quality of care provided by the owners before and after surgery. Please check with your vet.

How to clean your pet's ears?

The ear has a rich environment in the growth of fungi and bacteria, so it's important to clean the ears regularly for prevention of otitis (inflammation and/or infection of the ear canal).

The most common symptoms of otitis are itching in the ears, shaking his head, lateralization of the head, pain on manipulation of auricular area, bad odor and dark secretions or cerumen in the ears.

The floppy-eared dogs like Cocker Spaniel, Basset Hound and Labrador Retriever have more ear problems because the conduct  is poorly ventilated and have humidity.

Also, long-haired animals are more prone to ear infections because they enter into the ear canal. To avoid this we must drawall the hairs that are in the inner ear.

The cleaning of the ears should be done weekly, with the help of cotton or gauze and otological products that help in the dissolution and removal of cerumen.

After applying the cleaner, you should gently massage the ear for a few seconds for the product to be distributed throughout the ear canal and then wipe with gauze.

Should leave the animal wiggle its ears to remove excess liquid and then wipe again with gauze, inserting a finger and removing as much dirt in order to leave the ear canal completely clean and dry.

For some animals the time of cleaning of the ears is not pleasant, you should always have a biscuit reward.

Check with your veterinarian and remember that cleaning the ears should be a preventive measure.

Helena Rios, DVM

Does your pet needs to brush his teeth?

The periodic oral hygiene of your dog or cat is essential for the prevention of dental and gingival diseases that lead to tooth loss and therefore decreases the life expectancy of your pet.
Most dental problems are irreversible once established and require the attention of the veterinarian and even aggressive treatment of scaling and removal of teeth, so prevention is key.
There are toothpastes specially designed for dogs and cats (enzymatic and veterinary use). You should accustom your pet, from puppy or kitten, to brushing and with calm, patience and time, you will habituate it, even if they never get to like brushing their teeth.
If you're unable to maintain this routine, either for total lack of cooperation of the animal, either by lack of availability of products, there are a variety of bars and cookies that replace the toothbrush and toothpaste.
The oral health is fundamental to the overall health of your pet.

Helena Rios, DVM