I Have Just Found A Lump

I have found a lump – should I be worried?

Finding a lump or bump on our pets can be very concerning, but don’t panic! Lumps of all kind from harmless skin tags to malignant tumours are common occurrances in our pets, and with the appropriate investigation and treatment do not affect their quality of life.

What are the most common lumps?

There are many different causes of lumps on the skin. Here are the most common:

Infection 

Abcesses often present as a lump that has appeared quickly.

Haematomas

This is a bleed under the skin most often relatedto trauma. A common place is the ear flap secondary to head shaking and scratching.

Cysts

There are many different presentations of cysts but they are generally benign.

Parastites

Ticks can be mistaken for lumps and animals with flea allergic dermatitis may get small raised lump like areas on their skin.

Benign tumours

These are lumps which grow locally and do not spread around the body. They can present in many ways, for example lipomas (fatty lumps), skin tags and warts.

Malignant tumours

These are more serious lumps which can spead locally as well as to other areas of the body, for example the lungs. Their presentation is very variable.

So how do we tell what these lumps are and whether they need removing?

  1. we will discuss the history of the lump- how long your pet has had it, whether it is growing quickly or slowly, whether it is bothering your pet.
  2. we will thoroughly examine the lump checking its size, texture, ability to move and have clear margins, checking for infection / ulceration. 
  3. We then have to go past what we see with the naked eye and go down to a cellular level. To do this we take samples from the lump.
  4. Fine needle aspirate (FNA)- this is the simplest and least invasive method of sampling. A needle is inserted into the lump and cells are drawn out and placed on a microscope slide which is then analysed. In most cases this gives us more information but sometimes a biopsy of the mass is required for a more definitive diagnosis to be obtained.
  5. A biopsy involves taking small pieces of the lump tissue and sending them for analysis.

How do we treat lumps?

It is important to gain as much information about lumps and bumps as possible as this will guide our treatment plan. If the lump is benign then it can either be left alone and monitored or removed without cutting away a lot of normal tissue around it. If the lump is malignant then we may need to do further tests to check for spread to the rest of your body. We would need to remove the lump by taking the lump itself as well as some of the surrounding tissue to ensure complete excision. 

There are lots of additional treatments we can now provide for our pets with malignant tumours so their prognoses can still be good. 

Summary 

Lumps and bumps are common findings in our furry friends and they are often successfully managed or treated. The sooner we can examine and diagnose these lumps the sooner we can discuss treatment which often means the animals have better long term outcome. So if you find a lump please don’t worry just book an appointment and we can hopefully put your mind at rest.