Fat tumors?

**Daisy99** · 02-01-2010, 11:31 AM

My yellow lab Daisy will be turning 11 in April, I have noticed while brushing her she seems to have a lot of lumps all over they aren't very big, the biggest one is under her front left leg and it seems to be growing. I have had her at the vet and he said it was just fat tumors and not to worry but I don't understand why she is getting them she is 75 pounds so she isn't over weight. I have had her at a few different vets and they say the same thing just fat tumors. She isn't very active but the only thing she seems to enjoy is going for walks so that is what we do to keep her fit. I was just curious if anyone has any info about fat tumors and can the be dangerous?

**Canyon Labradors** · 02-01-2010, 12:25 PM

My oldest 2 have them as well. They don't get them because they are fat, they are called Fatty Tumors because the tissue that makes them up IS fat. Here is a description pulled off a website called Pethealth101.com

What is a lipoma (fatty tumor)?

A lipoma is one of several different types of skin tumors. It is a slow-growing collection of fat cells (lipo=fat and oma=tumor) usually found just under the skin. Lipomas are different than normal fat because they form lumps rather than a flat layer under the skin. Like any tumor, lipomas are a form of cancer, but they are a benign form, which means they are a group of cells that multiply without normal control but do not travel through the body (metastasize) or invade surrounding tissue. Even though lipomas are not destructive to other cells, they can cause health problems by growing so large they press on internal organs. Depending upon where they develop, lipomas can interfere with walking and movement. When lipomas interfere with movement, which is common when they grow between the front leg and body wall (in the axilla), friction can wear through the skin and infections can develop.

My MIL had a sheltie that was covered in them and required surgery because they were in all the bad spots like underarms and inner back thigh. A year after they were taken off, they were all back again.

Unfortunately, it's just really common in older labs.

**Garth** · 02-01-2010, 06:50 PM

My boy had one on his side. It's really prominent in my siggy pic. When I first noticed it, I automatically assumed the worst & went rushing off to the vet. He assured me it was nothing to worry about & it was only a fat lump. He said any surgery would only be cosmetic & it would come back.

Unfortunately, it's just really common in older labs.

True. And unless it's causing her any real discomfort, you're better off just leaving it alone unless your vet tells you otherwise.

**Daisy99** · 02-01-2010, 08:20 PM

Thank you both I feel better knowing more about them. I am thinking I might have to have the one under her front leg removed it is the biggest, I wonder if that is why she has stoped running, she will start to but she stops and walks instead.

**Thunders Mom** · 02-02-2010, 02:21 PM

Bud, 9, has them all over. They don't seem to bother him at all.
Simba, 4, has one. I had the vet pull stuff out of it to make it smaller and it just grew back, bigger.

As indicated, they don't seem to bother the dogs, but they bother me.

**kootenaydogs** · 02-02-2010, 02:23 PM

Sunny, our old yellow Lab (now deceased), had a number of lipomas. The vet did a needle biopsy to confirm that they were lipomas and we decided to leave them alone because they weren't bothering her in any way. Sunny wasn't a fat dog either, but it's my understanding that certain lines may be more predisposed to developing them than others. Our other Lab, Knight, never developed any.

**Mombomb** · 09-27-2010, 04:41 PM

My 11 yr old has several of them. They dont bother him and the vet said not to worry. Of course, when I first saw them, I panicked and rushed to the vet's with tears streaming down my face. But, he's fine!

**kassabella** · 10-26-2010, 07:45 AM

Ernie is 8 and had 2 for about 2 years. It is frightening when you first feel them. My vet said unless they grow too big, or in an uncomfortable position they leave them.

**DiMacQ** · 01-21-2011, 02:17 AM

Cookie is 9 and a half. She has them all over - and many different types of lumps. We've gone through surgery a few times and never again. As she is healing from the surgery, more are growing. So we have decided she has had enough, as the surgeries were very hard on her. It is a tough decision, especially knowing that there were a few that came back from the lab as cancerous. The vast majority of them were simply fatty tumors. She had one in her armpit area and having it removed really did help in her activity.

**SharonaZamboni** · 04-08-2011, 10:36 AM

My Cam had quite a few by the end. One in her front "armpit" was there for years and got pretty big, but it didn't seem to bother her. Her friend, Pooh Bear, had a giant lump over half of his side. It was removed but grew right back, so we knew we probably wouldn't opt for removal with Cam.