My old dog has a lump. Should I biopsy it or go straight to surgery?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Female | spayed
My 12 year old, Golden Mix, has a small lump. I took her to the vet and he wants to do surgery. I asked him if he could just biopsy it. He said that would aggravate it and make it “mad”. I thought surgery was jumping the gun.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on March 26th, 2019
Hi and thanks for posting! If it is a small mass, taking a biopsy may be hard to do. They do need a fairly good and complete piece of tissue to properly evaluate it. Sometimes if small masses are concerning from appearance to your veterinarian, they may recommend just removing it completely and sending off the tissue to a pathologist for evaluation. I hope this helps!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on June 22nd, 2019
I'm very sorry about Pig. Look, I cannot question what your vet has done because I haven't seen him in person and therefore cannot make a valid assessment of the situation. Hypothetically, maybe a biopsy would have been best first, and usually that would be my first step, but I can't say if that's the right choice in his case. I am truly sorry.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has a lump on his back little toe. It does not seem to bother him. Should I have the vet drain that toe before we do a punch biopsy or should I just leave it alone. I have him on dog herbs for lumps and bumps but it is not doing a thing
BB is so handsome! If the vet is recommending a biopsy on it, I would have that done. In a senior dog, there is always a chance that any lump could be malignant, and tumors cannot be drained. They need to be removed surgically, but the only way to know for sure what is causing the lump is to have it diagnosed. Any suspicious lump should be examined and treated to be sure it isn't something serious. I would make an appointment for BB to have this lump diagnosed in order for it to be treated. Best of luck, I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My vet dx my 1 yr old lab mix/ Golden retriever with a possible Histiocytoma or Mast Cell Tumor based of physical exam. He is treating it as a Histiocytoma and gave Entederm. I'm supposed to return in a couple weeks for a 4 week follow up and if the
Hi there. This is often a question of personal preference, because there are pros and cons to doing a needle aspirate beforehand. If the aspirate shows that the tumor is benign (a histiocytoma, or something similar), then it's true that surgery could be avoided. However, if it shows something malignant, like a mast cell tumor, then Harvey will still need surgery and the mass will still have to be sent for histopathology for grading and other information that can't be obtained from an aspirate. Also, it's important to be aware that around 20-25% of needle aspirates come back with inconclusive results - so in that case, you'll need to proceed to a surgical biopsy or surgical removal regardless. So, it's not as clear cut a decision as you might think. For me, I often recommend going straight to surgery for a small, easy-to-remove mass that appears to be growing (or not shrinking) rather than doing an aspirate first, since the aspirate doesn't usually change our plan. But you can
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi my 14 yr old staff has had a biopsy on a hard inner lump on his neck , the vet just called sed no results were on the biopsy they could not get anything from it no good no bad just nothing . They suggest that he has it removed ? Why would a biopsy
Hello and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Unfortunately with some tumors, a biopsy may not reveal what the tumor is. Some tumors can be small with a larger capsule of inflammation or surrounding normal tissue. I have had biopsies come back with no diagnosis but when the entire Mass is sent out for further testing, I get a more definitive answer. This is because with a biopsy you are only taking a tiny portion of the mass in hopes you get a good sample with cells to give you an answer. With removing the mass, there is a larger sample size for the laboratory to come up with an answer for. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via phone or text consultation
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
my 13 yr old mutt just had bladder stone surgery for the 2nd time in two years. Now she has a growth on her thigh the size of the palm of my hand. It's not bothering her. my vet wants to take it off for 900.00 my husband says enough I am confused as
Your vet can do a fine needle aspirate and have it looked at by a pathologist to determine whether it is a malignant tumor. If it is a harmless lipoma , that does not bother her, then there is no need to remove it until it bothers her or causes problems. If it is malignant, then it should be removed. You may want to get a second opinion from another vet.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have an unspayed female Brussels Griffon 9 yrs old. She has a hard lump behind her vulva about the size of a walnut. It doesn't seem to be causing her any pain. She was given an antibiotic injection and told to wait 2 weeks. He did aspirate it an
It would be a good idea to have the lump removed, as there is always a chance any lump in a senior dog could be malignant. Plus not every type of cancer can be diagnosed with an aspirate, further tests are needed like a biopsy. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I may be over-thinking but I am so worried about my dog getting a biopsy for her growth, which is roughly about a size of half a penny. Is is unusual for the veterinarian to recommend a biopsy instead of a thin needle aspirate? I keep getting mixed r
Hello. An actual biopsy is often much more diagnostic than an aspirate, but honestly, with a lesion this small, why not just remove the whole thing now & send it for pathology? If the entire lesion is removed, this may be curative. I would talk to your veterinarian about this option. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My 15 year old chihuahua min pin has a benign tumor on her hind hip area Should I have it removed?
This kind of lump/growth needs to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Has it been already diagnosed? I am asking as without the diagnosis it is not possible to provide appropriate treatment options. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, infections, benign or more sinister type of tumors. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi, I had noticed a rather large (10 p) sized raised lump on my 10 year old Labradoodle's right hip. As a vet what would be your next steps to examine this? Thank you very much in advance! Heidi
Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. I recommend that you see a veterinarian. I will typically perform a procedure known as a fine needle aspirate when a dog develops a new bump. I use a small needle to collect a sample of cells to evaluate under the microscope. This helps me to diagnose the bump. It could be a benign growth that does not require treatment, a cancerous tumor that needs surgical removal or even an infection under the skin such as an abscess. I hope this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has developed a lump on her rib cage. I went to vet Saturday morning and the tried needle aspiration and could get anything out. Could it still possibly be lipoma even tho they couldn't get anything with needle? She wants to have her go to a
Needle aspiration of lipomas typically yields identifiable fat so i agree with your family vet that it is concerning to not have any material recovered with the needle aspirate. We always start with needle aspiration as it is non invasive with quick results but some masses are harder to diagnose with this test. This typically occurs if the mass is firmer in nature. Going to see a specialist can be helpful as we can sometimes use other techniques such as ultrasound to obtain samples with needle aspiration to try to avoid biopsy. But ultimately biopsy may be necessary for some masses. I hope this helps and thank you for using Boop by Petco!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi. My 10 yr old 5 lb shidtsu/Maltese had a mass on her breast 1"X11/2"X11/2". My questions are, is a needle biopsy or lump removal first step? Is a soft tissue surgeon required? Can removing mass cause it to spread if malignant? And is cryotherapy a
The steps I would take are 1. Pre/operative blood panel 2. Chest X-ray to make sure there are no metastatic masses in the chest. 3. Complete surgical removal of the mass with wide margins AND spay at the same time. 4. Submit tumor for histopathology to see if it is malignant. Make sure the chest X-ray is clear. If this is malignant and has already metastasized to the chest, then successful outcome for long term survival changes. Surgical removal will not make it spread faster. I don’t think cryotherapy is a good idea because the surgical area will be too large and she needs to be spayed also. These tumors are very hormonally dependent. Her ovaries need to be removed as well as the tumor. Thank you for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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