Fatty Lipomas

[supaflyskye]

My beloved Noodle dog was recently Dx’d w/ fatty lipomas. She has 2 of them, a larger one (maybe between the size of a quarter & 50 cent piece in diameter) right in her “armpit” basically, & another much smaller one several inches away on her ribcage.
I had quite the scare upon finding them – I was so sure she was dying of cancer, hah. They seemed to come practically out of nowhere, and just a day or 2 before finding them, I’d had an awful nightmare in which my dog died …I was irrationally certain at the time that surely, I must’ve had that nightmare because somehow my subconscious “knew” that there was something fatally wrong w/ the Noodle, even though I was not yet aware of the presence of these lumps.
I was so extremely relieved, when we got into the vet’s office a few days later, to find out that they were completely benign & relatively harmless.
Nika is 6 years old now, and while she has very stably maintained a fit, healthy weight of ~53lbs (between 52-54 essentially, usually between 52 1/2 - 53 1/2, very little fluctuation) throughout her entire adult life, when she was weighed at the vet’s office she clocked in at 59.8lbs! Man oh man, I knew she’d lost some fitness over the past year, and a couple family members had made some comments about her “getting fat,” but I guess I really just did not notice how pudgy & out of shape she’d actually gotten. We’re working on it though, & she’s already lost some weight & is starting to muscle up properly again.

Anyway, this brings me to my question – is there anything that can possibly be done to minimize these lipomas? Or perhaps at least ensure they are less likely to grow and/or multiply?
My veterinarian told me that if she lost some weight & got back into full fitness, there was a slim possibility that the lumps might shrink and/or possibly even disappear entirely, but that the chance of that is indeed quite slim, although she has seen it happen before. She said it was also entirely possible, regardless of weight/fitness, that her lipomas would continue to grow & multiply over time, until she is absolutely covered in them & looks like ‘the elephant dog’ (paraphrasing here, hah). Or that there could be very little changes in them at all from this point.
She advised against any surgical/etc removal, unless it got to the point where they were affecting her range of motion or otherwise bothering her (that one in her armpit particularly), which is perfectly sensible of course.

I’m up at my family’s summer house at the moment, w/ many various family members, including my aunt, who is a small animal veterinarian w/ her own practice out in CO. She’s offered to look at the Noodle lumps & provide an opinion, but just in conversation, w/o having thoroughly inspected them yet, she does not think there is any chance of them shrinking, and thinks it’s instead most likely that they will continue to proliferate. She says she has never personally seen a dog on which they ever improved instead of worsened.

But, I just thought I would toss it out here onto COTH to cover all my bases in making certain there’s not any little-known magic potion or something of the sort which will miraculously cure fatty lipomas. :lol:
But, if I am doomed to just have an increasingly lumpy dog for the rest of her life, then so be it. She will always be the most beautiful creature in the world to me, regardless.

[S1969]

i have never heard a connection between the dog being “fat” and fatty lipomas, nor have I heard that weight loss will shrink them. My elderly dog just died recently and he had several; they grew larger over time despite the fact that he was growing older and more frail, and definitely not fat or gaining weight. Both of my old dogs had them, and neither was ever fat.

You can have them surgically removed. Most people do not unless they are very large (which can happen) and/or interfere with the dog’s comfort. Most people don’t; they are more of a cosmetic issue than anything else, although you should keep an eye on them and have your vet feel them to evaluate for changes.

[supaflyskye]

@S1969

i have never heard a connection between the dog being “fat” and fatty lipomas, nor have I heard that weight loss will shrink them. My elderly dog just died recently and he had several; they grew larger over time despite the fact that he was growing older and more frail, and definitely not fat or gaining weight. Both of my old dogs had them, and neither was ever fat.

You can have them surgically removed. Most people do not unless they are very large (which can happen) and/or interfere with the dog’s comfort. Most people don’t; they are more of a cosmetic issue than anything else, although you should keep an eye on them and have your vet feel them to evaluate for changes.

Hm, yes, that’s what my aunt seems to think as well.
My girl is quite certainly very far from being actually “fat” by any stretch, even when she was heavier a month or so ago; it’s just that she normally maintains a very “lean & mean” slim & muscular physique, and thrives most in such a shape. She’s always had an extremely high metabolism normally (there have been some points, when she’s been very active, at which she’s needed 5 cups/day of 470cal/cup kibble just in order to maintain her weight), but her metabolism has definitely started to slow down w/ age. She’s also not been getting as much exercise as usual over the past year or so (no longer the case! the Noodle & I are definitely getting back on our way to good fitness), which I don’t doubt played a big part in the weight gain.

But yeah – my vet at home said she had treated a couple dogs whose lipomas greatly improved w/ weight loss. One in particular she talked about at length was owned by a tech there, so she saw him quite frequently – an extremely overweight Dachshund who I guess was absolutely covered in lipomas when the tech initially took him in. But by the time they’d gotten him down to a good healthy weight, many of the lipomas had disappeared entirely, and those that remained were much smaller than they’d been initially.
She did say though that the dog in question was quite obese, so I am not sure that, in the case of my dog, losing just a (relatively) measly 6-7lbs & getting muscled back up could/would potentially make much of any difference at all.

Thank you for the input!

[Mosey_2003]

My current Cocker has…4 or 5 of them, at least? One quite large one, one moderate, couple smaller ones. Plus he keeps developing skin tags. It’s something that mostly happens as they get older, my other Cocker had them too as he aged. If I had money to throw away, I’d have the bigger ones removed because they bother me, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

[supaflyskye]

@Mosey_2003

My current Cocker has…4 or 5 of them, at least? One quite large one, one moderate, couple smaller ones. Plus he keeps developing skin tags. It’s something that mostly happens as they get older, my other Cocker had them too as he aged. If I had money to throw away, I’d have the bigger ones removed because they bother me, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

My parents’ 12-y/o Cocker has one small-ish one (according to the vet at her most recent check-up a few weeks ago? I don’t know…myself & a couple family members have checked & have not actually been able to find it…my brother is convinced that the vet mistook her bellybutton, which is rather large & an “outie” hah, for a lipoma), but it’s somewhere under her belly I guess & is not in the least bit noticeable (obviously hah, since we haven’t been able to find it even when looking). She does have a few skin tags though.

& Yes, I suppose the way you feel about them is quite normal – my vet mentioned that they tend to really bother owners much more than they ever bother the dogs, and that she’s had some clients who very forcefully insist on their removal, just for aesthetic reasons. But she also said that they often come back after being removed, at least to some extent or another.
My girl’s don’t particularly “jump out” at you when you’re looking at her, but I am worried especially about that larger one in her armpit – that if it gets much bigger it will become necessary to remove it, as I can easily see it causing some uncomfortable chafing or something what w/ the location it’s in. =/

[sisu27]

My parents 10.5 year old Dobe has a very large one (approaching grapefruit size) in her armpit. If it bothers her you can’t tell.

[S1969]

@Mosey_2003

If I had money to throw away, I’d have the bigger ones removed because they bother me, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

I wouldn’t. I had a skin tag removed from my dog and it was more extensive than I expected. All tumors and tags are different but until the vet gets in there, it’s hard to know what they will find and how much they will have to remove. He has another one in the feathering of his front leg and I’m hesitant to have it taken off even though it’s kind of large and might get caught in a comb. It’s a fairly traumatic experience that I wouldn’t do for just cosmetic reasons except in certain cases. Definitely not for a small fatty tumor in an old dog.

[Kyrabee]

My parents cocker spaniel had 2 very large ones that we eventually had removed about a year and a half ago. One near her armpit and the biggest one on her chest. We were afraid the one in the armpit would start impinging on nerves. She was pretty quiet and sore for about a week then back her her bouncy goofy self. She has a ton of warts/skin tags. I don’t know how the groomer doesn’t buzz the tops of them off but she doesn’t. She is 11 this year to getting up there. We waited until they got pretty big with the biggest one was almost hanging to the ground.

[Simkie]

Koa grew quite a few of them. I had them removed only if she was under for something else.

What I did notice–no idea if connected–is that she STOPPED growing them when I removed chicken from her diet. No new tumors on Orijen Regional Red or the 6 Fish, lots of new bumps on the regular adult or other “chicken” based food. Shrug. Worth a shot if they bother you.

DO make sure that they’re actually lipomas. Some vets don’t do a needle aspirate and just call them lipomas based on feel. Sometimes mast cell tumors can feel an awful lot like lipomas.

[maunder]

My Jack Russell, Thistle, will be 14 this year. He started off with one fatty lipoma when he was 8 or 9 years old. I had that one tested when it started to grow and a few years after that. He’s pretty much a walking fatty lipoma now. He has one large one and a kabillion small ones. I have to watch his weight because he 'look’s plump because of them but he truly is not. My vet would occasionally needle aspirate one, especially the ones on his lower abdomen, but they’ve never been malignant.

I agree with Simkie that it’s important to know if they are malignant or not.

Sometimes all you can do is to watch 'em grow.

[supaflyskye]

@Simkie

Koa grew quite a few of them. I had them removed only if she was under for something else.

What I did notice–no idea if connected–is that she STOPPED growing them when I removed chicken from her diet. No new tumors on Orijen Regional Red or the 6 Fish, lots of new bumps on the regular adult or other “chicken” based food. Shrug. Worth a shot if they bother you.

DO make sure that they’re actually lipomas. Some vets don’t do a needle aspirate and just call them lipomas based on feel. Sometimes mast cell tumors can feel an awful lot like lipomas.

My vet did a needle aspirate on each of them, though didn’t biopsy at all. I questioned whether a biopsy would be a good idea, just to be completely certain – I was willing to spend the money for the peace of mind – but she very definitively indicated that sending off for a biopsy was absolutely unnecessary, and seemed very confident that they were nought but fatty lipomas. Because I was uncertain, she showed me what she had aspirated out on the slide, even had me feel a little bit on my finger, saying “See? It’s nothing but oil. It’s all just fat, essentially.”
So hopefully that is the case? She definitely seemed to be very sure about it.

ETA: & Thank you for the suggestion RE food! I suppose it can’t hurt to try. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Nika usually gets Canidae “All Life Stages,” which utilizes a variety of protein sources, including chicken. I recently bought a small bag of 4Health fish & potatoes, just because I happened to have a coupon for -50% off it, but I’ve just been mixing it roughly half & half w/ her usual Canidae. I could switch over to that entirely for the moment at least, & see if it makes any noticeable sort of difference.

[Magicboy]

Among our pack of Corgis, the three that are over 7 years old have them. When we discover one, the vet aspirated it just to check it out. None have been removed so far

[Mosey_2003]

@S1969

I wouldn’t. I had a skin tag removed from my dog and it was more extensive than I expected. All tumors and tags are different but until the vet gets in there, it’s hard to know what they will find and how much they will have to remove. He has another one in the feathering of his front leg and I’m hesitant to have it taken off even though it’s kind of large and might get caught in a comb. It’s a fairly traumatic experience that I wouldn’t do for just cosmetic reasons except in certain cases. Definitely not for a small fatty tumor in an old dog.

Well, the biggest is between his front legs and he lays on it, so not entirely cosmetic. I keep an eye on it in case it starts chafing. The others are on his back/ribcage though, so they aren’t in the way at all. I wouldn’t bother having skintags removed at all.

[S1969]

@Mosey_2003

Well, the biggest is between his front legs and he lays on it, so not entirely cosmetic. I keep an eye on it in case it starts chafing. The others are on his back/ribcage though, so they aren’t in the way at all. I wouldn’t bother having skintags removed at all.

Well that’s definitely different. My old guy had one there too and had he been younger I might have had it removed. It grew to almost the size of a baseball but he was over 16 and I just couldn’t bring myself to put him through that discomfort. It would have been a big incision and probably would have needed drains. He was able to lie down and sleep just fine, but if he had been 12 I probably would have done it.

I was showing my other dog at the time and the tag was on his thigh, so it was noticeable. But I was also worried we’d rip it off with a comb or something (of course just before walking in the ring). I had it removed when he had his teeth cleaned but it was a much bigger incision/removal than we expected. It had tendrils or something that went deeper than we knew. It biopsied ok but I agree that I wouldn’t remove any others unless they are dangerous. His other one is on his front leg and maybe not an issue but we keep an eye on it.

[DrBeckett]

A lipoma the size of a 50 cent piece is not large. I’ve seen some that weigh about 7 to 10 pounds. The problem with them is if they outgrow their capsule and rupture. Or if they get too large to close easily. Otherwise, I recommend leaving them, unless the sight of them bothers you. I’ve never seen one turn cancerous, although I’ve been told it can happen.

[Mosey_2003]

@S1969

I had it removed when he had his teeth cleaned but it was a much bigger incision/removal than we expected. It had tendrils or something that went deeper than we knew. It biopsied ok but I agree that I wouldn’t remove any others unless they are dangerous. His other one is on his front leg and maybe not an issue but we keep an eye on it.

That’s troubling to hear, because Max does have one long @$$ skin tag coming down from his bottom eyelid that seems to just keep growing and growing, and I was hoping it would be a simple thing to have it snipped during his next dental. I’m always afraid he’s going to rub or scratch it off and I’ll have a bloodbath :uhoh:

[supaflyskye]

@DrBeckett

A lipoma the size of a 50 cent piece is not large. I’ve seen some that weigh about 7 to 10 pounds. The problem with them is if they outgrow their capsule and rupture. Or if they get too large to close easily. Otherwise, I recommend leaving them, unless the sight of them bothers you. I’ve never seen one turn cancerous, although I’ve been told it can happen.

Thank you for the info. I appreciate it.
I know that her 50-cent-piece-ish sized lipoma is not “large” in the grand scheme of those sorts of things – but it is most definitely larger than the other very small one she has.
I apologize if I gave off the impression that I was trying to describe it as some massive, debilitating growth, I was just referring to it generally as ‘the larger one’ in order to differentiate it from the other, much smaller one she has nearby it. I suppose perhaps I should switch over to calling it ‘the armpit lump,’ hah.

[thatmoody]

My chihuahua, who is 9, has one on his ribcage. It was needle biopsied and came back negative, but it’s grown somewhat and he’s lost weight (he also has chronic pancreatitis and so we keep him fairly lean at 16 lbs). My old lab, who died at 14, had a TON of them, and they proliferated. I hope this one doesn’t - it’s slightly bigger than it was 2 years ago, though, so if he is under anesthesia for a tooth cleaning soon I may have them look at it again. I’d love to have it removed but it would likely be somewhat extensive surgery, and it’s not in a really bad place (although it is where he lays)

[hoopoe]

these are benign ( no cancerous) and while they are a cosmetic nuisance, they will not harm unless they are in a tricky location which interferes with locomotion. I would not spend money nor anesthesia risk on removing them

[EKLay]

My lab has a bunch of these, and when she first got them my vet suggested milk thistle might help slow the growth/ proliferation. Since we started her on it, she hasn’t gotten any new ones and the ones she has haven’t grown at all. We do have to keep her on it for a couple months, then off for a couple months, as you’re not supposed to keep them on milk thistle constantly. She first started getting them at 7, and she’s turning 13 this year, so them being stable for 6 years is very nice.