lump on dog's abdomen.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Jay,

I'll wait to see your photo before commenting. So far it hasn't appeared in my inbox yet.

Dr. Marie


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Dr. Marie replied:

OK, thanks for the great pictures. I've included three of them here:







It's always tough to analyze bumps and lumps over the internet but I'll give you my thoughts.

My first thought is that it is not likely to be anything serious. It could be the result of an insect sting or even some mild scar tissue from some type of a wound. (Who knows if Max perhaps got poked with a twig or scraped himself on something).

Another possibility is that it could be a sebaceous cyst. These things will occasionally pop open and exude a substance like cottage cheese. They're nothing to worry about. However, I tend to see a lot more sebaceous cysts on the top of a dog as opposed to the abdomen. Similarly, a wart is possible, but most warts tend to be on the back and trunk of a dog.

At this point I would likely just keep an eye on this lump. You've got some great pictures so you can look back at these as a comparison in the days and weeks to come. Here are some criteria that would make me want to get it checked out:

-If it starts to leak a yellow or green pus, then we know it's infected and he needs antibiotics.
-If it starts to become bothersome to Max.
-If you are noticing it get more red.
-If you feel that it is getting larger than it is now.

Most likely this is something that will go away on its own over the next few weeks. My biggest concern, if it is getting larger or red would be for something more serious like a mast cell tumor. It really doesn't look like this from the picture, but again, you really can't diagnose a lump from a picture.

I hope that helps. Good to hear from you again!

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

Not really Jay...I selected three of the best ones to post in here, but I couldn't tell a lot from the pictures.

In fact, with lumps like this the only way to really know what is going on is to have the vet do a fine needle aspirate and look at what kind of cells are in there. If I saw a lump like this in my office, even with feeling it and seeing it firsthand I probably couldn't give you a diagnosis without doing the aspirate.

Honestly, I'll be surprised if this turns out to be something serious. I do think you're fine to monitor it for a while. But, if it is really bothering you, then there's no harm in having your vet take a look sooner rather than later.

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

Sounds like a good plan. I really think it is the result of some type of wound or insect bite. Hopefully it will keep getting smaller over the next few days/weeks.