My senior dog has a red lump on her lip. Should I worry about surgery?

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

Poor girl. Because this mass is open and seems to be bothering her I would highly consider having this mass removed surgically. Sometimes if the mass is small (less than 2 cm's) we can do a sedative on the pet and quickly remove these. However if it is a larger mass then general anesthesia may be required. She also needs to be placed on oral antibiotics to keep this area from getting infected and daily cleaning of the mass as well. Sterile saline flushes can help keep this area relatively clean and then an e-collar placed on her can help prevent licking. If surgery isn't an option for you, then medical management with antibiotics, e-collar and regular cleanings may allow proper healing of the area, but in most cases surgical removal is the best option. Best of luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. With Stella's age, I would suspect this is likely benign and what we call a histiocytoma. To be on the safe side though, I would recommend having your veterinarian take a look at this and perform additional testing to help better determine what it could be. Your vet can insert a small needle into the mass and look at the cells under the microscope to help rule out what it could be. A histiocytoma is a benign (non cancerous) tumor that usually resolves on its own over time. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

This could be a benign skin mass like a wart or a lipoma or could be something more serious like a mast cell tumor. My best recommendation is to take Mara to the veterinarian so a fine needle aspirate and cytology can be performed. This will help your veterinarian determine the cell type of origin and decide if the masses need to be removed. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It sounds as if your vet is concerned that your dog has a malignant tumor, most likely squamous cell carcinoma. If there is suspicion about the malignancy of a tumor the best course of action is to have it removed. I can understand your concerns about Dahlia undergoing surgery but it would be safer and easier to remove it now, while it is smaller, then it would be if it was left to continue to grow. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It is difficult to know without seeing the lesion. The best thing would be to have your vet take a look at it to determine if treatment is needed. It could be an infection, cyst, papilloma, skin tag, or a mass. Your vet can do a needle aspirate, if needed, to help diagnose and then determine the best way to treat. It may need to be removed.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. Even young dogs can develop growths. This can be a viral wart or another tumor type like a mast cell tumor, histiocytoma, among many others. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good night!