3 replies to this topic

[desertpoppy29]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum and joined because my black Lab Maxx is amazing I am posting in this section first because I am worried about a large mass that he has been growing for the last 2 years. He was my mom's dog before she gave him to me and was quite overweight because he was the garbage disposal for her old leftover human food. When we got him, my husband and I opted to NOT give him human food anymore since he was having bowel movement issues (gross). He lost the extra weight pretty fast but we noticed a lump on his left side over his ribs about the size of a lemon. I took him to the vet and they used a needle to try to get anything out if it and they said it was just fat and its fine. Fast forward to last summer when he started crying due to back pain and the vet (a different one from before) said he pinched a nerve. They also checked his lump out as it was the size of a grapefruit now. Same result: fat. Well now it has tripled in size and is almost the same diameter of a basketball!! It sticks off him quite a bit and has grown in size rapidly over the last 3-4 months. It doesnt bother Maxx to push on it or for him to even lay on that side, but I am worried it is something serious. He doesn't have any other lumps on him like other labs seem to get...it's like they all migrated to one spot!!

Is this large lump normal? We will take him to get checked out as soon as we can afford it (waiting on our tax return) but it is scaring me because it is just so huge and quite firm. Has anyone seen this kind of thing before or heard of it? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[Kurt]

No, this is not normal. Usually fatty tissue growths don't get larger than a marble or similar size. They can get bigger, but once they get past golf ball size, they should be removed. As my vet puts it "It's nothing now, but may become something later.". I think you have one of the "something else later" type of growths. That growth should have been removed when it was the size of a lemon. Now you are in a situation where it may be too big to remove, once again depending on what type of growth it is.

What kind of condition is your dog's health in now? If it's good and if he doesn't have heartworms or other intestinal parasites I would opt for removal as soon as possible, if it's still possible. And I would get the opinion of two well qualified veterinarians. When small, these growths are not that expensive to remove but when big like this, I am not sure.

If Max's growth is wrapping around his spinal cord you may not have to wait for your tax return. I would take him into the vet ASAP. And if you can't afford the surgery right now, talk to the vet they may work with you especially if you have been a regular customer.

I have seen cases where these fatty tissue growths appear on the muscle tissue of the upper rear legs and grow to a size where the leg cannot function anymore. And when they get to a certain size, sometimes they cannot be removed without endangering the dogs life. It all depends on what the underlying structure of the growth is.

[desertpoppy29]

Thank you for your fast reply! I had asked the 2 vet's that have seen his lump and they both said to leave it alone until it got in his way of functioning or became painful. So that's why we never asked to have it removed. He is in great health with no parasites, heartworm, or anything like that. He really acts like the lump isnt even there, but I have noticed that he has a hard time laying on that side and must shift around a lot to get comfy. It doesnt seem to be close to his spine, really just on the outside of his rib cage. Because of his age, will he have a good recovery from a surgery like this? He is still full of energy as if he were a puppy and I would hate to see that energy dimish, but definitely want him to be taken care of!!

[Kurt]

The only person that could really decide if your dog is a candidate from removal surgery is your veterinarian.

If your dog is in good shape, I'd have the vet run a basic metabolic panel (blood test) on your dog to make sure all his organs are functioning normally.

Is your dog still overweight? If he's within 10lbs or so of his normal weight, and the basic metbolic panel comes back OK, then I'd opt for the surgery. Since this growth has been growing, I would think that it will reach critical mass.

And they can "explode" too. Our Brandy had one the size of a golf ball and it exploded in the vet's waiting room. Lots of clear fluid, white material and blood.

If you have any more questions, please let us know.

It's really about your dog's comfort as he is approaching his later years. And I would be afraid that a lump this big could start interfering with your dogs comfort more as time goes on. So based in this information, I'd definitely opt for removal as long as the vet thinks the dog is in good enough condition to survive the surgery. Fortunately, this surgery isn't that bad as it only invades just under the skin rather than into the dogs internal organs.

Good luck to you and keep us posted about your progress....