Lumps and Bumps

One of the most common skin issues that cause owners to bring their pets to the veterinarian is the presence of a lump, bump or mass.  Lumps and bumps come is all kinds of shapes and sizes.  All have one thing in common; all are abnormal.  The challenge for veterinarians is to determine whether these abnormal masses are harmful or harmless.  In some cases, masses have such a distinctive appearance or behaviour that a diagnosis can be rendered at the time of physical examination.  However, in most cases, further testing or procedures will need to be employed.

If the mass is large enough they can be tested by Fine Needle Aspiration biopsy.  This process allows removal of a small core of cells from which microscopic slides can be made for cellular examination.  Surgical biopsy allows removal of an entire piece of the mass for submission to the laboratory for analysis.  Finally, the entire mass may be removed with some surrounding normal appearing tissue and the entire sample may be submitted to the pathologist for analysis.  All diagnostic methods have the potential for attaining a diagnosis though only the surgical biopsy and surgical removal methods afford the greatest likelihood of this.  Complete surgical removal will allow the pathologist to determine whether the entire growth has been completely removed, allow for accurate identification of the mass and in the case of cancerous growths, allow for staging of the cancer to assist the veterinarian in establishing a long-term prognosis. 

Surgical removal of skin masses is generally very well tolerated, heal quickly and will usually leave only very small scars.