Injections to shrink lipomas

[Caramac71]

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of injecting into lipomas to shrink them?

I took my dog to the vet about a different problem but while checking my dog over he was concerned about a couple of lumps. Dog has loads of lipomas appeared over the last 2 years and we have tested lots of them, but I couldn’t remember if the ones he was most concerned about had been checked so we aspirated them. Results have fortunately come back as lipomas but vet has suggested injecting into them to shrink them. They are on his leg and he’s concerned that if they grow they may affect his mobility.

This isn’t my regular vet, and it’s not something regular vet has ever suggested. I’ll get a second opinion from regular vet but meanwhile I wondered if anyone had any experience with this as google searches didn’t bring up much information.

 

[SusieT]

never heard of it. I'd get a second opinion

 

[Thistle]

I had a lipoma on my back, rubbing my bra strap and impeding my shoulder movement. Injections were never mentioned, it was surgically removed under local.

 

[Zero00000]

I've always known lipomas to be 'cut out', never heard of injecting them.

 

[bubsqueaks]

We've recently taken our 11 year old Labrador to the vet with Lipomas - she has quite a large one on her hind leg entwined with her muscle so cant unfortunately operate.
An injection was never suggested by my Vet as an alternative to the operation.
We have started a health & fitness regime - put her on health joint supplement, light diet, taken her to hydro pool.
Its strange as I couldn't find any research as to why they grow or what causes them so I figured its got to be worth a punt that they are linked to diet & exercise - fingers crossed X

 

[Caramac71]

Thanks everyone, I will make an appointment with my regular vet to discuss. Unless this is a new treatment, the only info I could find about injections into lipomas was about 7 years old and the advice was that this is no longer done as caused other complications.

Bubsqueaks, my regular vet said that some dogs are just more prone to them and if they get one they are likely to get many more. Unless they cause problems he suggested leaving them alone. He did say they may be more common in overweight dogs, and so diet and exercise can only help.

I really don’t want to put my dog through removal but I’m also mindful that this is his ‘good’ leg (he has arthritis in the other one as had it operated on for luxating patella and pinned many years ago), so I’d hate for something to restrict his mobility.

 

[deb_l222]

I've never heard of injecting lipomas but if they become too large and start to restrict movement, then they generally do have to be surgically removed. One of my springers (Chance) had one grow to the size of a fairly hefty breast implant and that had to come out but it was fairly straight forward. I do remember panicking a bit at the drainage tubes afterwards but it healed up well with no complications.

We had a springer in rescue years ago that had a lipoma the size of a small dog - you had never seen anything like it. Poor thing could barely walk as it stretched from her chest all the way across her tummy. It was remove or PTS. She was only 8 I think, so our vet had a crack. Lots of stitches and had to keep her very still for a few days afterwards but made a remarkable recovery and got a new lease of life.

My Rufus is covered in lumps and bumps but he's not in the slightest bit overweight, he's just unlucky. Some are lipomas, some are warts but he's also prone to cycts, the inbred article

 

[Aru]

Get a second opinion.
Surgical removal is the recognised treatment for lipomas,if they require treatment. Many dont need treatment at all and removal tends to due to location-affecting mobility now or in the foreseeable future or the comfort for the dog dependent. They are benign tumours in most cases.

However if it's in a area that may restrict mobility if it grows, I would also recommend you seriously consider removal while its small and easily removed,with minimal surgery and recovery time while the dog is still otherwise healthy rather then the wait and see approach...because these are much much easily to remove and heal up when they are small.
Larger ones leave a large dead space behind,sometimes require drains and can have issues with healing after surgery in mobile areas....and the older dogs get the more likely you are to run into issues that may increase anaesthetic risk.

If there's a chance its going to cause issues fix it while its still an easy fix.