Our nearly 14 year old female lab mix has a huge lipoma on the side of
her chest. It does not seem to bother her or interfere with her
movement - although she does not like it to be touched - but this
grapefruit sized tumor continues to grow, and is definitely a bit
bigger now than it was at this time a year ago. Our vets want her
opertated on immediately. They fear the lipoma will rupture.

Over the years, the vets have performed fine needle aspirates of the
lipoma, which they consistently describe as a benign fatty deposit.
Today, however, the vets were quite disturbed by its size, and they
recommended a biopsy to make sure it hadn't turned cancerous and then
a surgical procedure to remove the massive growth entirely. Their fear
was that the lipoma would rupture, and that as a result we would be
forced to put our dog to sleep. Due to its size, the lipoma would be
tricky to remove. It is likely that it has grown into the surrounding
muscles and tissue. The vets said they were not qualified to handle a
procedure of this scale. They recommended that we travel five hours to
Auburn University's vet clinic where they would perform the procedure
and the monitoring of our pet.

Obviously, we are quite concerned about all of this. I am reluctant to
the idea of surgery itself, particularly with such an old dog. Beyond
the surgery and the anesthesia and any complications that might arise,
we're also concerned about her recovery. Would she be more comfortable
without this procedure? Is it actually necessary? Or would she simply
not even survive it?

In all of my research, I have yet to hear that a lipoma could rupture.
From what I've read, surgery should only be considered if the dog's
movement is hindered, which it is not in our case, and that otherwise
a dog is just fine with these kinds of bumps. Of course, her bump is
quite big and it concerns us still.

If anyone has been in a similar situation, I'd greatly appreciate your
feedback. We've never had to confront something like this and we're
not entirely sure where to turn.

Thank you.
Miz