Weim with lipomas

[Lynne&Co.]

My weim Billy has many lipomas which have all been checked out by the vet when they appear. After 4 years of monitoring these harmless lumps and bumps, the one on his neck has suddenly started to grow rapidly. He turned 11 on Wednesday 5th February and everything looked fine. Yesterday I noticed the skin looked a little pink. This morning, a lot of hair fell off it and the skin is purple. He's off to the vet @ 3:30 today and I'm worried sick with what this could be. Will try to post a pic...... If anyone is familiar with what this mightbe I would appreciate some advice. Crossing my fingers it's not cancer

[Lynne&Co.]

Just got back from the vet.....very good news!

It seems this lipoma became infected somehow and that is why it suddenly became so large. There was no wound on it so vet thinks it may have been an ingrown hair or tiny scratch. They froze the area, lanced it and drained all the junk out. He's all bandaged up because the wound is a bit open and bleeding but other than 7 days of antibiotics and topical cream, we are all good!

I feel stupid for thinking the worst

[hazelrunpack]

Whew! That's a relief!!

Thinking the worst just means you're a good mom--everyone who loves a dog (or any pet) finds themselves doing it at one point or another. Worrying is a hard thing to control!

[MaxaLisa]

My dog used to develop lipomas when given fish oil supplements or when put on a fish diet. Does your dog by chance get any of those things?

I'm told by some that curcumin might help with lipomas, but don't have experience with it being used for lipomas.

[Lynne&Co.]

Thanks Hazel, unfortunately my relief was short lived. Billy never stopped bleeding and was taken to emerg vet @ 9pm Friday night. He had bled through 3 large bandages by then something was def wrong.

They stitched up the wound and said to return in the am to have the stitches removed so the wound could drain. He bled through the bandaging by the time he got home @ 1am and I spent the night changing the blood soaked bandaging. He was back @ our own vet by 8 am Saturday morning and our vet Kathy came in to take care of him.

They thought his blood was not clotting so they cut the inside of his mouth and it clotted so he was then taken into surgery. The lipoma had changed from the fat it used to be and had an abnormal artery and mass inside. The artery had been nicked when she lanced the infection and that's why he continued to bleed. The mass was removed and sent for pathology and Billy is now on the mend. I will always closely monitor the other lipomas for changes now and not take it for granted they are harmless. What an ordeal this has been. Feeling very grateful right now.

Here's a picture of our scarred boy as he fights the residual anesthetic and falls asleep while sitting up. Too funny ....... Nice to be laughing again!

[Lynne&Co.]

Attached the wrong picture

[Lynne&Co.]

Hi Lisa,
No I don't feed him fish diet. He is on a commercially prepared raw diet which I think does have a fish oil supplement?
I do know that the breed is known for lipomas as they age though.

[hazelrunpack]

Holy catz! An ordeal, indeed! So sorry that happened to your boy! Sounds like that mass definitely needed removing!

He's soooo handsome! I hope his recovery goes smoothly from here on out!

[Lynne&Co.]

Thanks Hazel!
Nothing like a bit of craziness to keep you on your toes.
Thanks for thinking he's handsome......he sure thinks he is!!
Since he got up this morning he's been acting like nothing even happened. They sure bounce back quick.

[Lynne&Co.]

My vet called today to let me know the results of the pathology done on the mass she removed. Unfortunately it was a Mast cell tumour, stage 2, with dirty margins. I have no interest in having him opened up again as they will need to remove part of his shoulder muscle to get clear margins.
I don't want him in pain and would like to go the route of supportive care as opposed to more surgery/chemo. Has anyone been through similar? I really don't need advice as I'm fairly sure of what I'm comfortable doing but would really appreciate input re:managing his comfort and quality of life. Thanks so much.

[MaxaLisa]

I'm so sorry

Did the report say the mitotic figure? That is one of the best indicators for aggressiveness.

My girl had a cluter of 5 mast cell tumors in her shoulder, but they were able to get clean margins.

Here is someone that managed their boxer's mast cell tumors with supplements, but they can be very slow growing in Boxers. http://germanshepherdhome.net/forum/...st_Cell_Tumors

I might also look at boswellia, since it is supposed to have good results for brain tumors, and in that area, you might worry about metastisis to the brain. My girl died of a brain lesion - we think it was not related, but it cannot be entirely ruled out.

Such terrible news.

[Lynne&Co.]

Thanks for the link Lisa. I found the Tagamet and Benadryl therapy very helpful. We see the vet tomorrow for a check on stitches so will be prepared with my questions. One of them being 'mitotic figure"? That was not mentioned when she called yesterday.

[marko]

Sorry I don't have anything to add. Just wanted to send positive thoughts your way.

[Lynne&Co.]

Much appreciated. Thank you all.

[hazelrunpack]

No advice, but I'll heap on some more positive vibes!

[MaxaLisa]

Best of luck to you guys!

Regarding the mitotic figure - it should be on the report, but perhaps not everyone includes it. I always ask for the physical copy of all labwork, etc., so that I have it for my file at home.

[Lynne&Co.]

Update on Billy,
So he got his stitches out last Friday and the wound has healed very nicely. He was pretty much back to his old self on day 2. Amazes me how quickly they bounce back!
I did ask for the lab report and it is two pages of mostly medical jargon that I cannot understand.
Lisa, the mitotic index is less than 1 per 10 400 X high-power field.
Ruptured and inflamed mast cell tumor low grade II narrowly incomplete excision. Variable clinical behaviour can be anticipated.
Mild anisocytosis and anisokaryosis.
Neoplastic cells infiltrated by small to moderate eosinophils.
No visible karyomegalic or multinucleated cells.
No visible lymphatic invasion.
Low number mast cells extend into deep surgical margin of specimen submitted.
The above was explained to me by our vet as best she could. We are just happy he's happy and back to his old self and hope we have a couple of good years left with him.

[MaxaLisa]

That is EXCELLENT news about the mitotic index. Less than 5 vs greater than 5 is what they use as a cut-off, but "less than 3" is the greatest survival time category.

Unfortunately, there were not clean margins, which increases the risk. These two things combined is why the report says "variable clinical behaviour can be anticipated". Good news is that there is not evidence that it has spread to the lymph system.

Anything you can do to support the body's defense here would probably pay off.

I'm really glad that he is feeling so much better!

[Lynne&Co.]

The news didn't really sound great until your note. Thanks so much for your advice and suggesting I get a copy of the lab report. I am giving him 50mg Benadryl and 200mg Tagamet as a preventative measure. The information from the link you gave me was very useful although my vet had no opinion on these meds but said it couldn't hurt. Many thanks to you all for all of your good wishes.

[MaxaLisa]

Best of luck. Things aren't optimal, but there is a silver lining, and I hope that the drugs are well-tolerated and help, a lot!

[Lynne&Co.]

I noticed a lump has returned on our boy so off to the vet tomorrow to have it checked out. It is fairly hard and attached and doesn't move easily within the skin. He hasn't been very well for a few weeks and I'm certain the mass was not there yesterday when I bathed him. He has been having episodes of diarrhea and vomiting every other day and so I've had to bathe him about once a week. He seems happy and comfortable so it's really hard to tell he's ill although I know he is. I really don't want to address this right now as I have a house full of company for the next 10 days but of course I have to.
I took a picture of him this afternoon,

[hazelrunpack]

Aw, Billy--handsome as ever!

They worry us so because we love them so much! Hope the vet has some positive news for you!

[MaxaLisa]

Hope that the news wasn't bad.....