In a message dated 1/22/2003 9:33:55 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> My question is, are there any things I can do to try to determine if it's a > harmless lump or something more serious? One option is to do a needle aspirate. The vet will use a needle and syringe to try to draw up a few cells from the lump. If successful, he can either send the slide off to a pathology lab for evaluation or he can take a look at it himself for any unusual cells. My vet usually does the basic cytology herself and lets me know whether there's anything suspicious or not. If there is, I either remove the lump and biopsy it or do a punch biopsy....depending on her findings and the location. Usually she comes up with sebacious cyst type stuff or lipoma (fatty benign tumor). Some types of tumor can be proliferated by anything that disturbs their integrity, such as infiltration with a needle of punch...that's a risk I take rather than repeatedly knocking my dog out for full excision or ignoring the lump all together (the other two options). -Sherri Venditti
