Anyone have experience with Canine "Fatty Tumors"?

[wvdisluv2]

I was just wondering if any anyone else has had Lipoma removal surgery for their dog? Our almost 8 yr old wire-haired terrier mix Jake (aka, Puppy-Jake, Puppa-Jake, Puppa, the Jakester ) is scheduled Tuesday for his surgery.

This fatty tumor is located on his belly and has gone from grape-sized to lemon-sized in the last two years It doesn't seem to bother him, but its rapid growth in last 6 months has really concerned us.

The vet says it is not uncommon for terriers and doesn't think it is cancerous. The surgery is "out-patient"~he'll be home the same day. I'm nervous, and my usually calm DH is REALLY nervous

Just wondered if anyone here has any experience with this?

Mr. Puppa with a little snow on him :

 

[fkj2]

I have a rat terrier who has had a fatty lipoma on her chest for years. It's the size of a good-sized grape, and maybe has gotten only slightly larger over time. It doesn't bother her so I'll leave it alone until it's a problem. Having her teeth cleaned is what makes me anxious, but then, she has underlying allergy issues and is a little too chubby.

Lipomas are different than malignant tumors in that there is usually a difference in consistency. Lipomas generally feel soft to touch and somewhat moveable, while malignant tumors are typically hard or firm and more fixed to the surrounding tissues. That said, all unusual growths on pets should be examined by a veterinarian. I doubt your vet would have given you a premliminary diagnosis of a lipoma if he/she weren't comfortable that's the problem.

The lipomas I've seen excised on humans (in a prior lifetime) often come out intact, as though they've been scooped out of a shell.

The vet will probably give you the option of doing labwork pre-operatively. Since you are understandably nervous, you might want to consider having that done just to make sure Jake's liver and renal functions enable him to tolerate the anesthesia.

Those terriers...they have no clue how anxious they make us. Hope all goes smoothly for you all.

 

[Christine]

Just about every dog I've ever owned has had lipomas. My current dog (a hound mix) has about 4 smallish ones on her that are growing in size. My vet does not really want to remove them.

I had a German Shepherd who had BIG ones. We did get one removed that was growing on the back of her leg because the vet thought if it got too big it could impair her leg mobility.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Your pup is ADORABLE!!!!!!

Our flat-coated retriever has a few of them. The vet said it's common to the breed. But so far they aren't any bigger than a grape, and he isn't bothered by them.

Hope your pup's surgery goes well and he's up in no time!

 

[wvdisluv2]

I have a rat terrier who has had a fatty lipoma on her chest for years. It's the size of a good-sized grape, and maybe has gotten only slightly larger over time. It doesn't bother her so I'll leave it alone until it's a problem. Having her teeth cleaned is what makes me anxious, but then, she has underlying allergy issues and is a little too chubby.

Lipomas are different than malignant tumors in that there is usually a difference in consistency. Lipomas generally feel soft to touch and somewhat moveable, while malignant tumors are typically hard or firm and more fixed to the surrounding tissues. That said, all unusual growths on pets should be examined by a veterinarian. I doubt your vet would have given you a premliminary diagnosis of a lipoma if he/she weren't comfortable that's the problem.

The lipomas I've seen excised on humans (in a prior lifetime) often come out intact, as though they've been scooped out of a shell.

The vet will probably give you the option of doing labwork pre-operatively. Since you are understandably nervous, you might want to consider having that done just to make sure Jake's liver and renal functions enable him to tolerate the anesthesia.

Those terriers...they have no clue how anxious they make us. Hope all goes smoothly for you all.

Thanks so much for your reply! Jake's pre-op labwork has deemed him "healthy as a horse" (who knew horses were so healthy) His lipoma is exactly as you've described "soft/movable", they'll make sure after its removal that it is indeed benign.

Terriers are such great dogs~Jake believes he is the "alpha" here~and Daisy, our 11yr old boxer-lab just lets him keep on believing that...despite her 40lb advantage.

 

[wvdisluv2]

Just about every dog I've ever owned has had lipomas. My current dog (a hound mix) has about 4 smallish ones on her that are growing in size. My vet does not really want to remove them.

I had a German Shepherd who had BIG ones. We did get one removed that was growing on the back of her leg because the vet thought if it got too big it could impair her leg mobility.

Your vet sounds like ours~he is only concerned (as are we) about how it has grown in size recently. Jake doesn't seem to mind it , but the vet thinks its time for it to come out.

Your pup is ADORABLE!!!!!!

Our flat-coated retriever has a few of them. The vet said it's common to the breed. But so far they aren't any bigger than a grape, and he isn't bothered by them.

Hope your pup's surgery goes well and he's up in no time!

Awwww Thanks! I love the flat-coated retrievers! Is he a black one? (I'm partial, for some reason to black dogs )

Thank You All for making me feel better!

 

[corndog]

Our lab (he's 8 years old today!) has one about the size of a golf ball on his side/belly and a number of other smaller ones. He doesn't mind them a bit.

I had one in the about the same place that I had removed last year that was about the size of a deck of cards. No big deal. I didn't even need one of those cones to keep me from licking the incision!

 

[RNMOM]

Our golden had a couple lemon/baseball sized ones on his chest. We opted to remove to have them examined. Unfortunately they were wrapped up in blood vessels and he did a lot of bleeding. He had a huge scar and a long recovery as it extended between his front legs. Poor old guy.

 

[Disney Doll]

I have a rat terrier who has had a fatty lipoma on her chest for years. It's the size of a good-sized grape, and maybe has gotten only slightly larger over time. It doesn't bother her so I'll leave it alone until it's a problem. Having her teeth cleaned is what makes me anxious, but then, she has underlying allergy issues and is a little too chubby.

Lipomas are different than malignant tumors in that there is usually a difference in consistency. Lipomas generally feel soft to touch and somewhat moveable, while malignant tumors are typically hard or firm and more fixed to the surrounding tissues. That said, all unusual growths on pets should be examined by a veterinarian. I doubt your vet would have given you a premliminary diagnosis of a lipoma if he/she weren't comfortable that's the problem.

The lipomas I've seen excised on humans (in a prior lifetime) often come out intact, as though they've been scooped out of a shell.

The vet will probably give you the option of doing labwork pre-operatively. Since you are understandably nervous, you might want to consider having that done just to make sure Jake's liver and renal functions enable him to tolerate the anesthesia.

Those terriers...they have no clue how anxious they make us. Hope all goes smoothly for you all.

I agree with this post.

My late dog Ted had a few...most were no bigger than a grape and I never had to get one excised. I did always take him to the vet when I noticed them, the vet would aspirate and the fluid that came out would be a little oily looking when she put it on a slide. My vet told me the same thing about them as far as being soft and somewhat "movable" meaning you could almost grab the whole thing, where a tumor would be more "attached" feeling.

However the fact that it is getting bigger is a good indicator for removal.

 

[wvdisluv2]

Our lab (he's 8 years old today!) has one about the size of a golf ball on his side/belly and a number of other smaller ones. He doesn't mind them a bit.

I had one in the about the same place that I had removed last year that was about the size of a deck of cards. No big deal. I didn't even need one of those cones to keep me from licking the incision!

What a good boy (girl?) you are!!! Plus, I'm betting you'd get some questions from work LOL.

Our golden had a couple lemon/baseball sized ones on his chest. We opted to remove to have them examined. Unfortunately they were wrapped up in blood vessels and he did a lot of bleeding. He had a huge scar and a long recovery as it extended between his front legs. Poor old guy.

Poor guy Hope he's doing better now~What a beautiful Irish Setter(?) in your sig.!!

I agree with this post.

My late dog Ted had a few...most were no bigger than a grape and I never had to get one excised. I did always take him to the vet when I noticed them, the vet would aspirate and the fluid that came out would be a little oily looking when she put it on a slide. My vet told me the same thing about them as far as being soft and somewhat "movable" meaning you could almost grab the whole thing, where a tumor would be more "attached" feeling.

However the fact that it is getting bigger is a good indicator for removal.

So sorry for your loss of Ted I'm so glad our vet seems to be on the same page as everyone else's. We really like him and his prices are really reasonable. We are in a rural area and Jake's surgery, barring any complications, will be less than $200.00. He (our vet) knows we love our dogs, but are not millionaires.

 

[ols386]

Yes, we had a dog that had to have a fatty tumor removed. It sounds kind of weird, but it was right on her bottom. The vet removed it, and she was fine. It never came back, but I've heard of some dogs who have them removed, and they can come back later, but our dog's never did. Your dog is really cute. I just bet he will be fine.

 

[Amy]

What a timely thread! Our 6-yr-old dog Charlie, a lab-something mix, has had a lump on his side for a little over a year. We've been keeping an eye on it and the vet aspirated it early this summer. Same as a pp said - it was oily on the slide, so she confident that this fact plus it's moveable means that its benign. Since the lump has grown from the size of a dime to a golf ball, we're going to have it removed in January. Our vet said that basically if it's not bothering him, don't worry about it; but it'll prob. have to be removed eventually and the surgery and recovery will be easier if it's smaller.

OP, good luck to you and Jake on Tuesday!

 

[becjlek]

We have a 14 year old lab with a few of those. Our vet is not concerned and at her age the surgery to remove them would be pretty risky I think.

 

[wvdisluv2]

Yes, we had a dog that had to have a fatty tumor removed. It sounds kind of weird, but it was right on her bottom. The vet removed it, and she was fine. It never came back, but I've heard of some dogs who have them removed, and they can come back later, but our dog's never did. Your dog is really cute. I just bet he will be fine.

Thanks! Glad your pup was fine~hoping Jake's doesn't come back either

What a timely thread! Our 6-yr-old dog Charlie, a lab-something mix, has had a lump on his side for a little over a year. We've been keeping an eye on it and the vet aspirated it early this summer. Same as a pp said - it was oily on the slide, so she confident that this fact plus it's moveable means that its benign. Since the lump has grown from the size of a dime to a golf ball, we're going to have it removed in January. Our vet said that basically if it's not bothering him, don't worry about it; but it'll prob. have to be removed eventually and the surgery and recovery will be easier if it's smaller.

OP, good luck to you and Jake on Tuesday!

Thanks Amy Hope Charlie's surgery goes well too! I love me some "lab-something mixes"

We have a 14 year old lab with a few of those. Our vet is not concerned and at her age the surgery to remove them would be pretty risky I think.

We also have an 11 yr old boxer/lab mix, who has thankfully (*knocks on wood*) had no lumps (other than a warty-skin tag )

I transported a pitt bull mix this weekend to a rescue from a kill-shelter (absolute SWEETHEART) that is 14 yrs old~no one told him that he is 14 though

 

[Serena]

My lab mix had one on her neck. It worried us, it grew over a few years and we decided to have it removed. Everything went smoothly.