The principals of surgical oncology: surgery and multimodality therapy

Surgery to treat cancer is one of the most common procedures performed in small animal practice. Clinicians should identify potential intraoperative risk factors, such as blood loss and hypotension, and be prepared to address these complications. Of the surgical doses that can be used to resect tumors, wide resections are preferred, although marginal resection is acceptable if the tumor is sensitive to radiation and adjunctive radiation therapy is planned. Other types of surgical procedures used in oncology include preventive, palliative, and second-look procedures, as well as minimally invasive laparoscopy and thoracoscopy to assess treatment efficacy. Depending on the tumor type and metastatic potential and the completeness of excision, adjunctive radiation therapy and chemotherapy should also be considered.