Fatty Lumps are Not always Harmless

Over the years, and the course of 5 Golden Retrievers I have seem my share of fatty lumps.  Chloe had a rather big one behind her arm, we called her “football”.  It was not as big as a football but a pretty good size.  Since it was behind the arm, it did not interfere with her ability to move, so the vet did not think it had to come out.  That was a relief.

With Meeshika we had been keeping an eye on a small hazelnut sized lump lower down near the tummy for couple of years now, but it has stayed the same size all this time. Then one morning when I petted him while he was standing, I felt a giant lump under his right arm pit.  It was as if it had come out of nowhere, it just suddenly was there and very big.  I was surprised that I hadn’t noticed it until it was this big, but when I explored further, I realized that it was not noticeable when he was sitting or laying down.  It seemed that when he was standing, the muscles being engaged were pushing it forward and when he was rolling around on the bed getting a tummy rub or petted, it receded further in.

I called our wonderful house call vet Eliza C., who we are very lucky to have, and she came

to examine him.  A needle aspirate confirmed that it was “just” a fatty lump – not cancer, and I was relieved to hear that we were in the clear.  Unfortunately that was where the good news ended.

The location of the lump turned out to be a major problem.  It was growing from under the arm pit to the chest and it was threatening the carotid artery and his breathing. There was also concern about joint damage, he was already swing his arm around it when he was walking, so the Eliza recommended surgery.  What complicated things was that Meeshika had problems with the anesthesia when he got neutered.  He developed a gallop rhythm and they also had trouble stopping the bleeding during the surgery, so I had pretty much decided that he should not have any more surgeries unless it was life threatening.

What to do?

I took Meeshika to Dr. Carpenter at Arvada West Veterinary Hospital for a second opinion.  Eliza as a house call vet does not do surgeries and she felt that with the great job Dr. Carpenter did on Chloe, she trusted him with this surgery.  It turned out that with advancements in anesthesia drugs since the time he got neutered, the risk would be lower and I went ahead and scheduled the surgery.

Since Meeshika’s brother Jenson had evaded neutering on account of being a bit of a wuzz and afraid of the vet, (we call him our wuzzy-cat)  I thought it was a great opportunity to send them in together.  I was hoping it would be less scary if Jenson could go in to the vet together with his brother.

I dropped them off early in the morning so they were first in line.  It was a very scary morning as there is not only always a risk with anesthesia, but with Meeshika’s history I was extra worried. It was a huge relief when Dr. Carpenter called to tell me that everything had gone well with Jenson’s surgery, he had gone first and Meeshika was next.  So at least I knew I was bringing one dog home.  I was on pins and needles again for an hour and a half, when Dr. Carpenter called again with the news that Meeshika was OK too!  Yeah!

Around 3pm the same day, I was able to pick them up and take them home, so no night away from home.  Jenson seemed as if nothing had even happened, but Meeshika was looking a little rough.  Dr. Carpenter showed me how to take care of the drains in Meeshika’s wound.   He had two drains – a surgical pipe with 2 ends open, that I needed to “wiggle” or tug on twice a day to keep them open, so the wound could drain and then clean them with hydrogen peroxide and cotton balls.  The t-shirt is an absolutely genius idea! It kept the would clean and stayed on much better than any bandaging would, and you don’t have to worry about wrapping it too tight or too loose.  It also let air in, which I think makes it heal better.  He was

very comfortable in it and he looked super cute. He did cry out in pain when Dr. Carpenter put on the t-shirt, it must have really hurt, the surgery was hard on his muscles plus the incision.  Dr. Carpenter helped him into the car as he couldn’t do it himself.

Once we got home, getting out of the car also hurt and he cried out in pain again.  He got up the stairs alright, and then plopped down right by the entrance.  I had pretty much lined the whole house with blankets and pillows for him, but he didn’t make it that far, the poor baby.  I wrapped some blankets around him and got pillows, and decided to just let him rest right there.  I laid with him for some time and eventually went to bed.

The next morning when I woke up, he had come into the bedroom and was resting next to the bed.  A good night’s rest had done wonders, from then on forward it seemed like he turned a corner.  He never cried out in pain again when I tended to his wound and quickly got his energy back.

A week after the surgery we went back to the clinic and Dr. Carpenter took the drains out.   We were allowed to go on s

mall walks again, which both boys absolutely loved. Jenson was doing extremely well, and a week of no exercise was driving him (and me) crazy, so he really needed to go on walks again.  We gradually worked our way up to a mile.  A week later the stitches came out and all restrictions on activity were removed so we are back to long walks in the beautiful mountains.

Dr. Eliza C, who is gradually retiring and not taking on new animals, otherwise I’d put out her contact info as she totally rocks, and Dr. Carpenter and the staff at Arvada West Veterinary hospital, who are equally awesome, took such wonderful care of my boys, I can’t say enough good things about them.  Thank You!