Gopher's nose resection!

Like most of us, Gopher had spent many years appreciating the glorious sunshine of Cape Town's summers. Sadly, as with humans, due to the ozone hole and high UV levels over Cape Town, skin cancer is prominent in our pets. Skin cancer (usually squamous cell carcinoma) is commonly seen on non-pigmented noses and eartips in cats and on the underside of pale skinned dogs. Fortunately this cancer rarely spreads to the internal organs, however it will invade the local tissues until spontaneous bleeding occurs - therefore resection as early as possible is essential.

Gopher had a deep cancer on her nose, however resection of her nose removed the entire cancer. Whilst resection of the nose sounds like a drastic measure, her family were very happy with the cosmetic outcome (picture shows Gopher 1 month post surgery) and Gopher continues to live a happy and normal life.