Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

Beats — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 23:33:52 GMT

Not suitable for this case, but I haven't heard anything about liposuction since this:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21797873

There are occasional cases I've seen where the mass I consider to be contributing to lameness in the manner that anything that is 2kg may be contributing to the lameness of a stiff labrador.

Anyone any liposuction lipoma stories to share?

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

Roger Wilkinson — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 21:07:41 GMT

Thanks everyone,

much appreciate the feedback. I'm going to leave my current case unoperated because owner isn't keen. I'll try to remember to report back in a couple of years!

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

Julian Earl — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:26:58 GMT

I've removed these and as long as not penetrating into the muscle bellies themselves they come out fairly easily by effectively shelling them out with blunt dissection. The cavity should be flushed copiously afterwards for any tumour debris plus general microscopic tissue- fragments. Then close the dead space with Vicryl or preferably PDS for less tissue reaction. The post-operative result has always been good and apart fro the wound, the dogs seemed more comfortable without the pressure in the affected region. I cannot recall ever seeing a malignant one but I daresay they happen sometimes? I think that NSAIDs are essential post-operatively to reduce the potential for fluid swelling in the cavity left behind as well. I cannot recall any breed predilection though.

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

janine redman — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 08:23:07 GMT

Hi I have dealt with three , interestingly , all were border collies. Tricky surgery as very infiltrative but good outcomes initially. Two of the three recurred after a couple of years. One had repeat surgery .

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

James Dunne — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 21:15:33 GMT

Hi Roger

I've seen 4 cases [3 thigh, 1 axilla], that I would consider significant. 3 excised with careful dissection and had excellent outcomes. One caudal inter muscular thigh mass did not excise well and was quite infiltrative. It had caused significant lameness prior to surgery and despite an initial improvement, recurred after 8 months, albeit with less severe lameness. That case had a biopsy report of 'infiltrative lipoma'. I lost it to follow up, but as far as I'm aware, it was not re-operated. From what I gather, 'massive lipoma' is a problem for human surgeons when they occur in the limbs. Since they are generally only operated when they do cause a problem, it is hard to know what the prognosis is if they are not causing a problem - sorry if that doesn't read well; I'm just not sure if I've understood the question correctly!

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

Julie Innes — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 21:07:09 GMT

[quote user="Helen Browning"]Don't know if this is any help, but was at a CPD recently by Clare Knottenbelt (Hawk and Dove) who spoke about the success of intra-lipoma injection of triamcinolone acetonide in cases like these. She would obvs be the one to contact re protocol but found this paper if of interest https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3511498[/quote]

Thank you, Helen, that is really useful info! I have a patient at the moment with an infiltrative lipoma on her hip. We debulked/ biopsied, as originally I was concerned it was a soft tissue sarcoma- poorly defined, fairly quick onset. I have discussed the fact that it may well recur, it is all around the muscle and complete removal will be impossible, so this might be something I can contact someone about.

Re other lipomas, I always warn owners (especially of labs!) to watch how fast these grow, as I've also seen those football sized lipomas in the chest/ axilla area.

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

Helen Browning — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 20:38:16 GMT

Don't know if this is any help, but was at a CPD recently by Clare Knottenbelt (Hawk and Dove) who spoke about the success of intra-lipoma injection of triamcinolone acetonide in cases like these. She would obvs be the one to contact re protocol but found this paper if of interest https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3511498/

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

Niall Taylor — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 15:53:54 GMT

I agree, I've seen a few in that area and also around the shoulder region which have got so big they cause considerable debility. And by that time they are usually so intimately wrapped around the structures in the region it's difficult or impossible to remove them completely and you just end up debulking them so they then grow back. I know some oncologists are a bit sniffy about removing any lipomas, almost regardless of location but I would always take them out of such a complex area as soon as it is identified. In fact I removed one from the right caudal thigh in my own Labrador just a few weeks ago and he's doing brilliantly. The mass was enormous and well on the way to the point it would have been impossible to remove.

Niall

RE: Intermuscular thigh lipoma in dogs

Jill Butterworth — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 13:48:04 GMT

Not caudal thigh, but I've seen one the size of a melon in the axilla which made walking difficult, the leg swung out.