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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Keeli/Knots under the skin
| Hi everyone, I just noticed that Keeli has an area larger than a quarter right in front of her right shoulder blade. She also has several lumps on her chest area. Is this something that happens with all the meds she is taking. She is still on 10mg pred 2 x daily, azathioprine 12.5mg daily and ketaconazole for the thrush in her mouth. Also still giving 500mg of suralfate daily, 1 pepcid daily and pet tinic. If anyone has experienced this would you let me know. Am really worried that all of this is coming out now. I thought we were making some progress. She doesn't act like these bother her. Will recheck lab work tomorrow evening at the vet. PVC is staying at 31-32 and we just decreased the azathioprine the last visit. Please anyone with information let me know. Sincerely Joann and Keeli |
| Joann Binger |
| A benign cause for multiple lumps are fatty tumors. They can be small or large but in general they are loose under the skin. In other words you can roll them between your fingers. Sometimes they are attached a little deeper under the surface of the skin but are basically the same thing. A vet can take a syringe, sample the material and look at it under a microscope. They may see the large fat cells that these are made of. In most cases they are left alone, unless they become so large that they hamper movement. Older dogs tend to have these. Another cause for bumps or lumps under the skin are enlarged lymph nodes. The can be enlarged in response to infection or allergies. They can also be enlarged due to a type of lymphatic cancer. Your vet will know which tests to run to determine this. Another cause for multiple lumps that seem to change size quickly are mast cell tumors. These are special cells in the body that release histamine in response to a stimulus like a foreign protein (think allergies). Sometimes mast cells can behave unpredictably and become cancerous. Again, there are tests that be taken to determine this. Chance had multiple fatty tumors. I was very worried when he got his first and second one on his chest and groin. The vet sampled them and found them to be simple fatty tumors. After awhile I became familiar with how they felt under my fingers and didn't worry about them very much. He had them in many locations. He always had swollen lymph nodes because of his allergies. He did develop a few small skin reactions to the cyclosporine that were benign. They were hard and knobby. I thought they were unsightly and when he had his knee surgery, I asked the surgeon to remove them. I am hopeful and pretty sure your vet will say they are fatty tumors. So please don't worry yet. Ask specific questions about the things I have mentioned and let the vet explain whey they think these are or aren't what I have described. my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Patrice, Thanks for getting back to me. Seems like they came up over night. I will ask the vet tomorrow. Specifically the questions you presented. Could be an infecton due to the tooth we can't fix at this time because of her health status. I haven't seen anything like this on her before. Will see what the WBC is and get back to you. Thanks again. Best wishes, Joann and Keeli |
| Joann Binger Ok |
| Joann, For current or future reference, a good way to determine whether a lump is a fatty tumor or something more urgent is an ice cube. Fat will freeze hard. Obviously this shouldn't replace a vet review and diagnosis, but in a panicked pinch it works. Sharon |
| Sharon PA |
| Sharon, Thanks for the information. The big one on Keeli's rt shoulder actually did get hard. I did not know that. Thanks again. Joann and Keeli |
| Joann Binger Ok |
This thread was discussed on 30/09/2011
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