Pet Biopsies in Melbourne
We understand how worrying it can be to discover a lump or unusual swelling on your pet.
What is a pet biopsy?
A small tissue sample is collected to determine if abnormal lumps or lesions are benign, inflammatory, or cancerous, guiding diagnosis and treatment.
Many pet biopsies can be done quickly with a fine-needle aspirate during a consult, while larger samples require sedation or anaesthesia for more detail.
Samples are examined in-house or sent to a lab for specialist analysis, providing valuable insight that cannot be determined by sight or touch alone.
This diagnosis directs care, from antibiotics for infections to surgery or monitoring for lumps and cancer.
Our services
Whether your pet has a small lump, a suspicious lesion, or an internal growth, our experienced team can perform the appropriate biopsy to provide valuable information for accurate diagnosis and treatment planning.
Fine needle aspirate biopsy
This is performed using a small needle, the same size as a needle used to administer an injection or vaccination. By inserting the needle into the lump, the inside of the needle fills with cells and an empty syringe may be used to apply some suction.
The contents gathered in the needle are then pushed onto a microscope slide, which is then dried, stained and dried again. Now it is ready for assessment under the microscope.
Most pets hardly notice this procedure, as it is typically performed during a regular consultation without sedation. However, if the lump is in a hard-to-reach area or is causing pain, we may recommend sedation.
When using this method to sample internal organs or growths, sedation will be necessary to ensure your pet’s comfort.
Surgical biopsy
In this procedure, a small piece of the lump or affected area is surgically removed using either a scalpel or a circular wedge tool. One or two sutures are then placed to close the skin and promote faster healing, with sutures typically removed after 10 to 14 days.
This type of biopsy requires sedation or general anesthesia and allows us to collect samples from both external and internal areas, such as the skin, muscle, bone, or internal organs.
The key benefit of this method is that it provides the pathologist with a larger, intact tissue sample, offering much more detailed information than a few cells alone. This leads to a more accurate diagnosis.
Results from these biopsies generally take about five days to return from the laboratory.
FAQs
Many pets tolerate needle sampling just as well as they do injections—usually with minimal stress. The procedure is quick and minimally invasive, so sedation or anesthesia is generally not required.
If your pet is not great with needles, or if the area we are sampling is in a difficult location such as near an eye or inside the mouth we may recommend sedation. The diagnosis will be more accurate and the test more worthwhile if we can be sure that we have sampled the lesion effectively.
If we need to take a larger biopsy, or if the area of concern is internal then we will use sedation or an anaesthetic.
We will be able to discuss this with you thoroughly in advance.
The sensation for your pet will be similar to when we give them an injection or vaccination. With correct gentle handling, and lots of treats if they’re keen, most pets don’t notice a thing.
Fine needle aspirate results may be available within the same consult. Pet biopsies sent to the lab will take 2-5 days to send us results.
We will call you to discuss the results when we receive them.
Our knowledgeable vets will be able to guide you through the diagnosis, treatment options and what it all means for your pet.
If the area of concern is operable, we can discuss the details of surgery with you - the procedure and recovery, costs involved, long term outlook for your pet.
Surgical removal of cancerous lumps can usually be performed here at Northside Vets with one of our experienced vets. If the lump is particularly large or in a difficult location we will discuss the option of referral to a specialist surgeon - there are several excellent specialists not too far away.
If inoperable, or if you elect not to operate, there may be medical options for us to discuss. Again, this may be something we are able to help with ourselves or we may discuss referral to a medicine or oncology veterinary specialist.
There are some occasions that we may decide a biopsy is not necessary. A new or changing lump is always best discussed during a veterinary consult, where one of our knowledgeable vets can make an assessment and discuss the options with you.
Noticed something?
If you've found a lump or bump on your pet we'll guide you through the process and support you and your pet every step of the way.
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