My senior dog has a new lump on his back. Should I see a vet?

Question

My older dog has a lump on his back. He has a bunch of bumps and lumps as he gets older, but this one concerns me. He has an appt with the vet next month for his checkup and rabies shot. Should I f/u on this or is it not a big deal? Pet's info: Dog | Maltese | Male | neutered | 10 years and 7 months old | 11 lbs

Daniel Fonza, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Based on the pictures you provided, I suspect that the lump you speak of is a benign skin tumor. It looks very similar to what we would call a sebaceous adenoma. These typically develop with old age and are typically nothing to be worried about. Sometimes these can continue to grow and can rupture or become infected. Normally these can be monitored at home and if there are any suspicious changes then I usually say to bring the pet in to have the mass examined. If you would rather play it safe to make sure this is nothing to be concerned about, you can have your veterinarian perform testing on the Mass to help better determine what it could possibly be. The veterinarian can perform a diagnostic test known as a fine needle aspiration test in which a small needle is inserted into the mass and then these cells are then reviewed under a microscope. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

My senior dog has a new lump on his back. Should I see a vet?

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