OK folks…let’s see how smart you are!  What do you think the bump is on this dog’s ear?

Here’s some background information.  The dog is a 4 year old Boxer cross.  The bump just appeared and doesn’t seem to bother her at all.

What do you think it is?  Leave a comment below!

I had a dog in today with a big lump on his toe.  We did something called a fine needle aspirate so I thought this would be a good topic to blog about today.

What is a fine needle aspirate?

This is a procedure where we use a very small needle (usually 22 gauge) and insert it into a lump.  The needle is usually attached to a large syringe.  Then, we pull back several times on the syringe to obtain some cells from the lump.  Sometimes instead of using the syringe we will simply stab the lump a few times with the needle instead.  Next, the needle is removed from the syringe, air is drawn into the syringe and the needle is put back on.  Then, we quickly depress the plunger on the syringe, causing whatever cells are in the hub of the needle to be expelled onto a glass slide.

We then smear the cells by using another glass slide.  Then, the slide is either stained in the clinic or sent to a pathologist to be examined under a microscope.

What is a biopsy?

A biopsy is a procedure where a piece of tissue is taken from a lump (or an area of abnormal skin).  This can sometimes be done with the help of a local anesthetic but some animals need to be under a general anesthetic to have this done.  The tissue is placed in a bottle of formalin and sent to a pathologist for examination.

Why do we do these tests?

There are a lot of things we can learn from a fine needle aspirate or a biopsy.  Here are some examples of what can be determined:

• Is this tissue likely to be cancerous?
• If it is cancer, what type is it?
• If it is cancer, do we need to make a very large around the lump to remove it?
• Is this lump likely to metastasize (spread) to other parts of the body?
• Does it look like there is infection in the area?

Which is better – FNA or biopsy?

There are pros and cons to each procedure.  While a fine needle aspirate can usually be done without any sedation, a biopsy almost always requires a local or general anesthetic.  A fine needle aspirate is also less expensive than a biopsy.  However, a biopsy is much more accurate as we are seeing a good chunk of tissue as opposed to a few cells.

I hope this information was helpful!  Is your dog or cat having a fine needle aspirate or biopsy done?  If you have questions about your pet’s condition you can ask an online vet question of Dr. Marie.

Do you have any experiences to share about fine needle aspirates or biopsies?  Feel free to leave a comment below!