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so my wife noticed a solid growth in my dog's belly. it has a little firmness to it but not its relatively soft. the vet said its likely just a fat deposit and they can give me a quote for surgery and its up to us. there is a possibility that it could be something worse. as a general rule, i dont like the idea of voluntarily having surgery if its not necessary. surgery is dangerous for anyone's health. it doesnt bother her and isnt in the way of anything. it probably would been to grow a good amount before it was a nuisance. anyone deal with one of these and has an opinion on whether or not its worth putting her through a surgery over it?
One of my dogs had one. I opted not to have it removed and after some years it just up and vanished. It did have some issues with bleeding when it would grow for the first year or so. It was in a spot that got irritated by a harness chest strap so I had to stop using a harness on her. Dog lived to be 15 and never had any heath issues.
so my wife noticed a solid growth in my dog's belly. it has a little firmness to it but not its relatively soft. the vet said its likely just a fat deposit and they can give me a quote for surgery and its up to us. there is a possibility that it could be something worse. as a general rule, i dont like the idea of voluntarily having surgery if its not necessary. surgery is dangerous for anyone's health. it doesnt bother her and isnt in the way of anything. it probably would been to grow a good amount before it was a nuisance. anyone deal with one of these and has an opinion on whether or not its worth putting her through a surgery over it?
When our dogs had lipomas, the vet would do a needle biopsy right on the spot (as I recall) to confirm that's all it was. I don't remember whether we got the result while waiting at the vet appointment (I think we did), but for sure the biopsy was done right there. We have left all our dogs' lipomas alone. Sometimes they decrease in size, sometimes they increase (a little bit). They did not impede anything and the dogs sure did not care about them, so we let them be (and the dogs were none the worse for it).
If your vet did not do a biopsy, or even offer one, I think I'd look for a different vet (assuming you live in an area with options).
When dogs I have had what the vet thought was a lipoma the vet has doe an aspiration where he sticks a needle in it and draws off some fluid if the fluid is greasy he is pretty certain it is a lipoma but still gets a look at the cells under a microscope or sends it for pathology. There was only one time that one was not a lipoma. I had to see one of the other vets that day and she kept saying oh it looks like a lipoma but to me it didn't as it was different. But she kept assuring me it was nothing and said she would do an aspiration and draw off some fluid..well there as little fluid to draw off but she still assured me it was nothing. They did get enough cells to take a look and I was right it was not a lipoma it was a nerve sheath sarcoma which my regular vet removed the next day. So I would see if a vet can do a simple aspiration and find out what it is. My dogs were not even sedated for the procedure as it is nothing more then a needle poke.
When dogs I have had what the vet thought was a lipoma the vet has doe an aspiration where he sticks a needle in it and draws off some fluid if the fluid is greasy he is pretty certain it is a lipoma but still gets a look at the cells under a microscope or sends it for pathology. There was only one time that one was not a lipoma. I had to see one of the other vets that day and she kept saying oh it looks like a lipoma but to me it didn't as it was different. But she kept assuring me it was nothing and said she would do an aspiration and draw off some fluid..well there as little fluid to draw off but she still assured me it was nothing. They did get enough cells to take a look and I was right it was not a lipoma it was a nerve sheath sarcoma which my regular vet removed the next day. So I would see if a vet can do a simple aspiration and find out what it is. My dogs were not even sedated for the procedure as it is nothing more then a needle poke.
This is what our vet did, too - I called it a needle biopsy but I suspect that's not the right term.
This is what our vet did, too - I called it a needle biopsy but I suspect that's not the right term.
A distinction between terms might help a bit:
Aspiration is basically the action of withdrawing a sample from a lump. It could end up being either liquid or solids. The vet could get some idea just from looking at the characteristics of sample at the time (like fatty or oily).
There's a core needle biopsy and also fine needle aspiration cytology that is somewhat different.
If your questions were not answered, go to a different clinic and get a second opinion.
Some of the small growths can be removed with a local aesthetic. Ask if that is an option.
my wife took my dog. i usually do it but i go to work like normal and she is home everyday. now they grab your dog from your car and return the dog later due to coronavirus. my wife is less likely to ask all the questions than i am and in this situation its even more difficult. anyway, this vet is a mile from my house so its super convenient and ive been satisfied with them except i feel they are more financially oriented that my old vet. so i do get concerned when they bring up surgery for something that may not need it. ill talk to my wife about it later and see if a syringe biopsy can be done.
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