My dog has a lip lump that isn't cancer; why won't antibiotics help?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. There is no way of knowing for sure without an examination though this represents a reason to seek veterinary care. This is usually determined with an examination and a fine needle aspirate (FNA) or a biopsy. Treatment depends on the findings up to that point. I recommend you have Lucy evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

Honestly it could be either caused by the infected tooth or it could be a mass. This is why your vet first prescribed antibiotics to see if it goes down or not. Now this is the nerve racking wait and see period to determine if is something to worry about and requires a biopsy once the antibiotics have run their course.

Hello, thank you for suing PetCoach. Most likely this is benign histiocytoma. I have linked an article for you below about this issue. Basically it is a common benign tumor that is typically seen in young dogs and on the extremities. It regresses on its own within a few months. No treatment is needed however, is some cases, giving Benadryl has seemed to make it go away sooner. For a 48 pound dog I would give two of the 25mg Benadryl (diphenhydramine) capsules twice a day until you notice it reducing in size. Yes, dogs take a much higher dose of Benadryl than we do. I would not be overly concerned about this but we sure don't want her licking it so if her licking gets excessive, you will need to put a cone collar on her to stop that. ( https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952066 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

You should give the antibiotics a couple days to work, i am hoping that by Sunday you will start seeing some improvement. if by Monday it is not getting better take him back to the vet, it might need to be opened surgically in order to drain the fluids that are accumulating on that spot.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This is an epulis - a growth (benign of malignant) on the gum. It can get bigger and starts bothering Baxter but it may stay small and not cause any problems at all. You should monitor the growth for the next 2-3 months. If it is getting bigger or keeps bleeding, that would suggest this is a malignant mass and you will have to think to get it surgically removed. If it stays small, you just need to keep an eye on it. It does not look infected (in fact this kind of growths usually don't get infected in general) so I would wait with azithromycin, Baxter probably does not need it at the moment.

I am sorry to hear that! It may be that the infection is still going on - you may need a longer course of the antibiotic or perhaps a different one. I would recommend having them expressed again to see if there is still debris present. I would also want to double check and make sure there is not a mass present in the area:( You can ask for a biopsy to be done if the lump seems unrelated to the infection. I hope this helps and that it is nothing more than a persistent infection!

Hello, sorry to hear about Giuseppe. Because the lymph node has decreased in size with antibiotics alone and the fact that only a single lymph node is enlarged, this is less likely consistent with lymphoma. Lymphoma typically affects multiple nodes and does not respond to antibiotics. Occasionally, active lymph nodes may remain slightly enlarged for a few days, or if the infection is not being completely treated then the lymph node may remain big. The best way to confirm if this lymph node has lymphoma or not, would be to obtain cytology with a with a needle aspirate to have a pathologist examine the cells. Cytology is generally a non-invasive procedure and could be done by your veterinarian. Hope this helps and best of luck.