My old dog has a thickened ear sore. Is it serious? Should I biopsy?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Thanks for the picture! Sadly a lot of skin masses can look the same but the picture resembles a sebaceous adenima which are benign. The only way to know for sure is to either remove it and send it for biopsy or try to do a fine needle aspirate in it. I hope this helps and have a great night!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I do not think the mass has anything to do with being bitten in the area. It looks like a sebaceous adenoma form your picture (benign). It is very small and I recommend, if Lilly is a calm dog, removing it locally with lidoacine and a punch biopsy. It looks smaller than 8mm which makes it easy to take off with out anesthesia. If you decide not to take it off, I think that is fine. Dogs that form sebaceous adenomas tend to form more throughout their lives. Sometimes the dogs will lick or irritate them prompting owners to want to remove them. I hope this helps and I wish you and Lilly the best!

That does look to be a mass. A mass is a collection of cells and can be benign (inflammation, cyst, some tumors) or a malignant tumor. Given the age of your dog this may be a histiocytoma, but as many skin tumors can look alike the best plan to confirm this is for your vet to perform a needle aspirate for cytology. That way you will know for sure if this can be monitored or if it needs any therapy. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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 Reggie evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good day!

This looks like a mass, which is a collection of cells. A mass can be benign (inflammation, cyst, etc) or malignant (skin tumor). The only way to know what this mass is would be by having your vet sample it. Typically we start with a needle aspiration for cytology. If concerning cells are noted removal with biopsy may be recommended. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thank you for your question. I would suspect this isn't anything to be concerned about, however, because it is on an ear and likely to become a problem if it grows, I would have your veterinarian take a look. It isn't only the appearance of a nodule that we worry about, but how it feels, and if it is moveable, or attached to the structures below the skin. Those are things that I cannot tell from a photo. This looks like a small little growth that we would probably monitor over time, but it is an odd location, and it is better to be safe and have it checked out. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor pup! No, I don't think that this looks likely to fall off on its own. In fact, since it has doubled in size and is also open and oozing now, I would consider it even more important to have it surgically removed. It would also be best to have this mass sent off for histopathology to find out if it is cancerous or not, especially given its recent rapid growth.