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My senior dog has a pussing neck growth. Is anesthesia safe for her?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Miniature Schnauzer | Female | spayed | 12 years and 4 months old | 19 lbs

ello! My 12 year old schnauzer has a growth the size of a pea on her neck. It recently started pussing and crusting over. See attached photo. I want to get it removed but I’m concerned she is too old to go under anesthesia. She has a heart murmur and high liver values, which I have her medicated for already. The vet seemed to not be concerned with the growth but my younger pup is always sniffing and trying to lick it making me think something is infected or possibly cancer.

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on September 26th, 2019

This lump/bump/growth should be ideally examined by your local vet to have a diagnosis established. Your vet may want to perform an FNA (fine needle aspiration) or a biopsy to sample the bump and determine its underlying nature. The procedure to remove it for diagnostic purposes will be fairly quick and could even be done under local anesthetic. Differentials would include skin cysts, infections, benign or more malignant 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

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