• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Fatty tumor getting bigger

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
Hi all.

So my rottweiler, Tink, got 'diagnosed' (as much as a dog can) a couple months back with a flat fatty tumor on one of her ankles (or hocks, whatever). The doc said that if it got bigger, we'd have to bring her in again and get it removed. Back then it was tiny, but now it looks like this:



Here's a comparison shot of the one with the fatty tumor vs. the one without:



It's hard to tell because it's more about depth than size, but it's wayyyy bigger than when we last took her to see the vet. I've been nagging at dad to get on it and see when our vet would be in but he's kept putting it off and now he finally sees how worrying it is. It doesn't seem to inconvenience her in any way, but better safe than sorry.

He's gonna call the vet in the next couple days and see when our vet will be in. My guess is he'll want to remove it. I'm hoping it's just a fatty tumor and not anything malicious.

Tink's doing pretty good otherwise, she's about 9 and a half, and other than being a little bit sore sometimes, she still plays like a puppy. She loves her squeaky toys, her favorite is a little cow with a Santa hat that I got her for the Christmas before last. She still loves eating biscuits and going outside. If left to her own devices outside, on a nice day she'll gladly lay in the backyard, watching the world go by and sniffing the air.

She's doing good for such an old pup. I just hope she's doing as okay as we think she is.
 

iamwhoiam

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/16/12
Messages
28,269
Location
the zoo
Sorry about the fatty tumors. My Bichon had several of those and the vet even found one on his tongue when they cleaned his teeth. Vet removed all of them and had a few biopsied and, fortunately, they were all just fatty tumors. Hope that will be the same with Tink.
 

Just-passn-thru

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
1/13/16
Messages
5,546
Location
Southern California
Real Name
Suzanne
Better to get it out while its small, lipomas ( benign fatty tumors ) even though are non-malignant can possibly get very large and infiltrate surrounding tissue and organs, muscle, tendons, etc..
 

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
Better to get it out while its small, lipomas ( benign fatty tumors ) even though are non-malignant can possibly get very large and infiltrate surrounding tissue and organs, muscle, tendons, etc..
Sorry about the fatty tumors. My Bichon had several of those and the vet even found one on his tongue when they cleaned his teeth. Vet removed all of them and had a few biopsied and, fortunately, they were all just fatty tumors. Hope that will be the same with Tink.
Hopefully it's benign. I know Dad is very reluctant to spend money on vet stuff, but the way I spin it to him is this; What would you rather do, pay a little to remove the fatty tumor, or skip it and end up paying a lot because it caused damage and you were too cheap to get it removed?

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that's how I feel about it. Better safe than sorry you know?
 

Bird_lover6

Jogging around the block
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/2/11
Messages
848
Location
Houston Metro Area
Real Name
JoJo
My little dog has a non-encapsulated, but non-malignant tumor that will likely kill her. It bulges on her rear, and is growing inward as well, where it can create problems with vital organs, blood vessels, etc. Although we have taken her to a specialist vet surgeon, he advised against surgery because: 1) The surgery was complicated and could kill her. 2) There's a greater than 50% chance that the tumor will grow back. Furthermore, the surgery was extremely expensive.

I watch her closely, since I am determined that she won't suffer. In the meantime, we are enjoying our time with her, and she's such a sweet, sweet little shih tau. My younger two kids have grown up with her and will be so heart broken when she passes. :sad3:
 

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
My little dog has a non-encapsulated, but non-malignant tumor that will likely kill her. It bulges on her rear, and is growing inward as well, where it can create problems with vital organs, blood vessels, etc. Although we have taken her to a specialist vet surgeon, he advised against surgery because: 1) The surgery was complicated and could kill her. 2) There's a greater than 50% chance that the tumor will grow back. Furthermore, the surgery was extremely expensive.

I watch her closely, since I am determined that she won't suffer. In the meantime, we are enjoying our time with her, and she's such a sweet, sweet little shih tau. My younger two kids have grown up with her and will be so heart broken when she passes. :sad3:
Gosh, that's so awful. I'm so sorry.
 

camelotshadow

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
11/9/11
Messages
21,494
Location
S California
Real Name
Christine
:sadhug2:Poor Tink. Talk to the vet.
Maybe he can do a biopsy?

At 9 1/2 years Tink is a senior dog & Rotts lifespans are av 8 to 10 years with a few maybe making 12. Seems female Rotts live longer than males so she could have a few more years.

Rottweiler Life Span - How Long Will Your Rottie Live?


Guess it depends if its benign or malignant & how fast it could grow back.
If its malignant they would probably amputate the leg. My neighbors dog had her leg amputated & she was about the same age.
She was a big dog about a lab size & got along well on 3 legs & lived a few more years.

If its grown in a few months & could grow back after an operation you have to decide whether you want to put her through an operation & then have it grow back in a short while.

If its causing her pain then something has to be done.


 

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
:sadhug2:Poor Tink. Talk to the vet.
Maybe he can do a biopsy?

At 9 1/2 years Tink is a senior dog & Rotts lifespans are av 8 to 10 years with a few maybe making 12. Seems female Rotts live longer than males so she could have a few more years.

Rottweiler Life Span - How Long Will Your Rottie Live?


Guess it depends if its benign or malignant & how fast it could grow back.
If its malignant they would probably amputate the leg. My neighbors dog had her leg amputated & she was about the same age.
She was a big dog about a lab size & got along well on 3 legs & lived a few more years.

If its grown in a few months & could grow back after an operation you have to decide whether you want to put her through an operation & then have it grow back in a short while.

If its causing her pain then something has to be done.

We'll have to see what the vet wants to do once we take her in. Even if she had to get that leg amputated, I would still love her just as much. She doesn't seem to be in pain, other than being a little bit stiff after running around a ton, but that's to be expected with a rott of her age. I don't think it bothers her.
 

camelotshadow

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
11/9/11
Messages
21,494
Location
S California
Real Name
Christine
Hopefully its just a fatty tumor & can be dealt with easily.
Glad it does not seem to be hurting her.
 

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
Hopefully its just a fatty tumor & can be dealt with easily.
Glad it does not seem to be hurting her.
Hopefully. I'm gonna make sure that after we come home from getting my blood drawn today, Dad calls the vet.
 

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
So Dad called, and our vet is gonna be in on Monday. He's gonna be in surgery all morning, so we'll go in the afternoon.
 

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
This afternoon we're going to the vet. Last time we saw him, he said that he would remove the fatty tumor if it got bigger so I'm expecting that. I'm gonna make sure we ask to have him do a biopsy on it once it gets removed. I'm hoping that it's just benign. I have a gut feeling that it might've done irreversible damage to the muscles and tendons and other important leg bits, but I'm hoping that I'm wrong.

I've been stressing like crazy and that led to me stress-eating a bunch of sugary stuff which led to me having an awful headache. So I've just been trying to keep myself busy. I redid Fuzzgig's tank, I've been watching documentaries, playing with Chirp, stressing, feeling miserable, convincing myself that I'm not stressed. Times are rough for me at the moment. But I'm trying.
 

camelotshadow

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
11/9/11
Messages
21,494
Location
S California
Real Name
Christine
Try to get some better snacks.
Hope if its fatty its benign but needs biopsy before as surgery would be different if its not.
:sadhug2:
 

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
My IBS flared so I'm staying home. Dad is at the vet with Tink right now.

UPDATE: So the vet said that it'd be good to get it removed. They did some blood work and if everything is all good they'll call us tomorrow and she'll be getting it removed Thursday!
 
Last edited:

iamwhoiam

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/16/12
Messages
28,269
Location
the zoo
My Bichon has a few growths again. One on his foot and one on the inside of his ear. The vet recommends removing them. Will get that taken care of soon. Estimated cost over $1000.

Sorry you are having another IBS flare up.
 

camelotshadow

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
11/9/11
Messages
21,494
Location
S California
Real Name
Christine
Some vets don't recommend surgery unless its constricting an organ or movement.

Ear I guess could be tricky but don;t want it getting to the brain...

:sadhug2:
 

iamwhoiam

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/16/12
Messages
28,269
Location
the zoo
Some vets don't recommend surgery unless its constricting an organ or movement.

Ear I guess could be tricky but don;t want it getting to the brain...

:sadhug2:

The one on his foot is hard and appears to have grown since the vet looked at it @ 2 mos. ago. The one inside his ear is very small and actually just feels like a fatty tumor. It's actually not inside his ear per se but on the inside of the ear flap.
 

iamwhoiam

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/16/12
Messages
28,269
Location
the zoo
UPDATE: So the vet said that it'd be good to get it removed. They did some blood work and if everything is all good they'll call us tomorrow and she'll be getting it removed Thursday!

Hope all goes well with the surgery.
 

taxidermynerd

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/11/16
Messages
5,171
Location
Chicago Area, IL, USA
Real Name
Bee (they/he)
Hope all goes well with the surgery.
I hope so too! I'm really nervous, but I think that's because I'm always nervous about everything! But yeah. Tink is gonna get some extra treats before and after the operation. This evening, she got a tiny bit of my dinner, which was pasta with a 3 cheese blend (romano, mozzarella, parmesan). Tink loves cheese, and she got some while the cheese was still nice and gooey. I think I made her day:):heart:
 
Top