Digger’s Very Unusual Fatty Lump
A Christmas Eve Mystery Solved by Teamwork
A Labrador Who Stopped Eating – Never a Good Sign
Digger, an 11-year-old Chocolate Labrador, is no stranger to fatty lumps (lipomas). Like many Labs, he has collected a few over the years — most of them harmless, most of them a bit unsightly, and some of them impressively large. (We’ve removed lipomas the size of rockmelons!)
But on Christmas Eve, just as the PAH team was closing the clinic for our Christmas drinks — and yes, you know how much we love a party — Digger’s owner called in a panic. Digger hadn’t eaten all day. For a Labrador, that’s essentially a five-alarm emergency.
A Trip to NEVS and a Curious Discovery
Because we were literally locking the doors, we directed Digger straight to NEVS, our wonderful after-hours colleagues in Terrey Hills. There he was seen by Dr Larissa — one of the most experienced emergency vets around, known for her sharp clinical instincts.
During her examination, Larissa felt a mass deep in Digger’s abdomen. His ultrasound, however, wasn’t what she expected. The mass looked fatty, not vascular, and there was no sign of bleeding. His blood tests were surprisingly normal too. Digger received pain relief and supportive care, and over the Christmas period he slowly improved. But the mystery lump remained unexplained.
Enter Dr Anna – Our Diagnostic Problem-Solver
Early in the new year, we brought in Dr Anna Dengate, our mobile diagnostic specialist. Anna has a remarkable ability to figure out “the weird ones”, and Digger certainly qualified.
On her scan, she found something truly unusual — a baseball-sized fatty mass freely floating around inside the abdomen, extremely mobile and surrounded by inflammation. Anna described it as “a baseball on a string,” moving every time Digger shifted position. It sounded uncomfortable, and it raised more questions than answers. Surgery was now the safest option.
Exploratory Surgery at PAH
Digger came in for exploratory surgery with Dr Jill, assisted by vet student Sammi. As soon as Digger was under anaesthesia, the mass could be felt clearly — a firm orb sitting deep in the abdomen.
Once inside, the picture became clear.
The mass was indeed a large lipoma, attached by a highly vascular stalk of tissue and free to swing around like a pendulum. It was carefully removed, along with another fatty lump under the skin while he was asleep. The rest of his abdomen looked normal and healthy.
Pathology confirmed the mass was a benign lipoma — just an extremely irritated and unusually placed one.
A Happy, Comfortable Digger
Ten days later, Digger returned for suture removal, looking brighter and more comfortable than he had in months. His owner said he was back to his cheerful Labrador self — eating with enthusiasm (as expected!), moving more freely, and clearly relieved of the strange “baseball” he’d been carrying inside him.
This case was a wonderful example of teamwork across PAH, NEVS, and VetsNorth — and of an owner who noticed something wasn’t right the moment Digger skipped a meal.
