Valley Veterinary Centre HK

11/07/2025

27/06/2025

Spleen Tumours in Dogs- the silent cancer.

Today big "Max" (a 28kg, very healthy cross bred dog) came to see me as the owners had noticed a "lump" in the abdomen that was evident when Max was laying on his side and relaxed for a belly rub. Max was otherwise 100% well - bright and active.
Surgery was performed and his large spleen and associated mass (1.3kg) was removed. The tumour will be sent to the laboratory to determine Max's future prognosis. Max's astutue owners may have very well saved his life!

Masses can grow on the spleen and be totally unnoticed. Even a routine blood test will not show any clue that a tumour is there. Masses on the spleen may not be noticed by the owner and may not even be palpated on routine veterinary examination of a dog. Generally, splenic masses are often only diagnosed AFTER an episode of collapse. If a splenic tumour ruptures, the dog will have internal bleeding and may collapse, however since the blood is not actually lost from the dog’s body (as opposed to an external haemorrhage eg all over the road in a car accident) this blood that filled the abdominal cavity is slowly resorbed into the circulatory system. A dog that collapses with internal bleeding one evening may actually be up and walking by the next morning as long as the bleeding is not so severe.
The treatment is to remove the entire spleen (dogs can live absolutley fine with no spleen) and perform histopathological testing to determine if the tumour is benign or malignant. If benign (haemangioma) the prognosis is excellent. If it is malignant (haemangiosarcoma) unfortunately the prognosis is VERY poor as this cancer spreads VERY quickly through the organs.

25/06/2025

Heat stroke is completely preventable!

25/06/2025

Remember to do the right thing and be a responsible pet owner!

Hong Kong authorities fined 24 dog owners last year for failing to properly clean up their pets’ waste in public areas, as lawmakers push for updated cleanup guidelines—including the use of cleaning agents—to tackle lingering odors and stains.

15/06/2025

Happy Father's Day to all the human and dog dads out there!

06/06/2025

Just a gentle reminder........

03/06/2025

Heading in the right direction!

Explore how Hong Kong is relaxing public transport rules for pet owners.

30/05/2025

Happy Dragon-boating weekend!
We are open 10am-1pm Saturday May 31st.

22/05/2025

Dont let your dog fall victim to Tick Fever!
A yearly injection to prevent Ticks is available at Valley Veterinary Centre.
Convenient and effective- giving peace of mind!

16/05/2025

Ginger cats are truly special!

Researchers in Japan and US have unlocked the 60-year mystery of what gives cats their orange colour.

14/05/2025

If I could talk to the animals!
I am a sure cats would have very different things to say than dogs!

Chinese tech giant Baidu has filed a patent for an AI-powered system aimed at translating animal sounds, such as cat meows and dog barks, with hopes of bridging communication between humans and pets.

While still in the research phase, Baidu says the system could enable "deeper emotional communication" between species, though scientists remain far from fully decoding animal languages.

Baidu joins a growing list of organizations including the Earth Species Project and NatureLM, which are using AI to explore animal communication, from birdsong and dolphin whistles to whale vocalizations.