When should I worry about a lump on my dog?
Such a difficult question.
As dogs get older they will often get a variety of skin and under the skin lumps. Lipomas, sebaceous adenomas, skin tags and sebaceous cysts can all be unsightly but not dangerous.
When should you be worried?
Our vets are very good at examining lumps and discussing your options. The only way to remove a lump is usually surgery under a general anaesthetic so there has to be some thought and assessment.
Each year at vaccination be sure to write a list of lumps you have noted and these can be reviewed one by one. Some lumps can be further assessed with a fine needle aspirate. This will be an extra charge but can give some valuable information.
Surgery will be discussed in any lump that is growing or changing rapidly, is in a difficult position or has grown to an excessive size. Sometimes a lump that we have discussed as a lipoma will become larger or sorer. We find owners have a special sense about lumps that had appeared not to be a problem but then change and start to be a concern.
If you have a lump on your pet that is concerning you, please book an appointment to have it examined get an assessment from your veterinarian.
This is Kel. He is a 10 year old Labrador. Kel had a skin lump on his inner thigh but his owner had become more concerned about it because it has changed. Dr Tanian performed a fine needle aspirate in a consult and the result was a suspected Mast Cell tumour.
He was booked in for surgery that week with Dr Jill. Once Kel was anaesthetised and the area was clipped it was noted that there was a swelling below the fleshy lump. This is common with Mast Cell tumours and meant the margin for excision needed to be even wider. 
As you can see a large margin has meant Kel has a large wound to heal. He will need to be kept quiet and have a collar on his head to stop Kel disturbing the wound.
One week later his wound is checked. Kel had got his E-collar off and licked all the skin sutures out. Oh dear! Luckily the internal sutures were holding really well and the wound should heal very quickly. 
Lab results showed Kel had a Grade 1 Mast Cell tumour and that it had been completely removed. A fabulous result.
