dog lipomas

[Deleted]

Does anyone have experience with this - removal? treatment to prevent/stop growth, etc?

My hound mix dog is almost 11 and has a big one on his side and has now developed 2 more in the same area, but smaller.  They don't seem to cause him any pain or discomfort and the large one has been tested and diagnosed as lipoma so I'm assuming they all are.

The internet is a crazy place so I've found all kinds of crazy causes, cures, remedies, etc. but it doesn't seem that removal is necessary in this case.

I'd hate to think something I'm giving him (food, treats, meds, etc) is causing them.

Any feedback?

[katietornado]

Some old dogs get lumpy. I've known dogs whose bellies felt like they were filled with golf balls; they were just lipomas everywhere!

Our 10.5-year-old greyhound has one on a leg. It's growing slowly but surely. Not much to be done but keep an eye on it. If it's at risk for like, catching on something and ripping off, or if it gets red / warm, it's time to talk removal. But they are just a fact of life with some old puppers.

[jmc325]

I came to this board to ask about this exact same thing. My senior pup (about 12 years old) has them all over his body. Back in 2014 we had one removed from his chest and another from his side. Recovery for the one on his side was super easy, however the one in his chest was filling back up with fluid, so they had to put a drain. Thankfully, that took care of the issue. What prompted us to have them removed is because we were worried that the one in his chest would become problematic later on and wanted to tackle it early.

Since then he's developed so many more. The vet did a fine needle aspiration on 4 of the most prominent ones and thankfully each came back as true lipomas. Just last night my husband and I were talking because the one near his groin is growing rapidly and we're worried it may affect his ability to urinate if it continues to grow. Last week during a vet appointment, our vet measured each lipoma so now we have a gauge of how quickly they're growing. Our pup has a high grade heart murmur (discovered just this year), having him go under for surgery adds to our stress of whether or not we should have it removed.

Sorry to overload! My best advice to you is measure the lipoma either yourself with a tape measure or have your vet do it, so you can see how quickly it's growing. Also, just as a note, just because one mass is a lipoma, doesn't mean they all are. If it's starts to affect your dog in any way (struggling to walk, discomfort, etc.) seriously consider having it removed.

Best of luck!