Many times pet guardians may find a lump after their dog's daily grooming sessions or when checking for fleas or ticks. One of the most common lumps are lipomas; these are fatty deposits under the skin. Lipomas are usually benign, they usually are soft and they seem to not cause any particular pain or problems to the dog.In extremely rare cases, lipomas can become cancerous, causing inflammation around the tumor site, and may have the ability to metastasize (spread to other tissues). Fortunately, however, this is rare in dogs, and exceedingly rare in cats.
Sometimes lipomas may grow very large and depending on where they are located, they may cause discomfort and therefore. It is best then to have the lump checked out in order to rule out any possible malignancies such as basal cell tumors, sebaceous adenocarcinoma or mast cell tumors.
Most often vets will recommend surgery as their only course for removing these tumors; many owners are concerned about putting a dog through surgery especially if the pet is middle aged or a senior; and in most cases the tumors grow back. In these cases owners look for alternative treatments.
