My dog has neck lumps and snoring. Should I worry before surgery?

It could be an infection, inflammation, tumor, etc. He should be examined by a vet to determine the cause. Your vet can do a needle aspirate to help diagnose and then determine the best treatment. He may need an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, or other medications depending on the cause.

The lump looks like it may be a possible skin growth or even abscess (infection under the skin). Skin growths tend to be benign, however it is best to have the area looked at by your vet. Your vet can likely take a sample of the area without sedation/anesthesia for testing to see what treatment (if any) needs to be done. Your vet can also examine Luke and perform any bloodwork if needed to determine if it would be safe to remove the lump under anesthesia, if needed.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Elphaba. I worry that bumps you have noticed are enlarged lymph nodes. I would try to feel other areas on her body for similar and symmetrical bumps. Lymph nodes are also found in front of the shoulders, in the armpits and groin as well as behind the knees. She will need to see a veterinarian to have her condition diagnosed, but enlarged lymph nodes can indicate serious disease. I hope this information helps!

These may be swollen lymph nodes or an enlarged thyroid gland. This could cause snoring. He could have a chronic upper respiratory infection also, which can in turn cause the lymph nodes to swell. You should have this examined by your veterinarian.

I am assuming that your vet did a needle aspirate and wasn't able to get a diagnosis. The only way to know the cause of the lumps would be to remove them and submit to a lab for biopsy. As long as he is otherwise healthy then the risk of anesthesia is low. If he needs a dental cleaning then your vet could do both at the same time. If you don't want to have them removed then you could monitor for a month or so and see how the lumps change. If they are growing then they really should be removed.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If there are lumps on his throat and he is having upper respiratory symptoms, I would recommend having x-rays of his upper airway done to see if there is any compression or deviation of the airway due to one of the lumps. He may also be dealing with allergies, in which case you can try an antihistamine. Most people use 1mg per 1lb of body weight every 12 hours for Benadryl. The vet can also insert a small needle into the masses and examine them under a microscope for a better understanding of what the lumps might be. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

The risk of anesthesia would probably be the biggest concern for Nevah. We always evaluate our patients and put them into a certain class of risk prior to the anesthesia. When we have patients with high anesthetic risk, we usually will notify the owner first, before we do anything, so they are comfortable with the procedure knowing the risk. We will also alter the drugs and procedure as necessary to avoid risk. A skinny healthy dog is not necessarily a risk. However, overly thin dogs may have an underlying health condition that is making them skinny. Before considering the risk, you would want to get bloodwork done on Nevah. This will show if there are any signs of organ failure or disease. Most veterinarians would require this prior to doing anesthesia on a dog this old. After all the information is acquired, your veterinarian would be able to advise you about the risk versus the benefit. If the dental disease is really bad and/or the lumps are cancerous, then the benefit would likely outweigh the risk in most of these situations. However, if the teeth are not too bad and the tumors appear benign, then it may not be worth the risk. I hope that helps.