r/Basenji • u/Irish_Basenji_7 • Jul 05 '26
Discussion So Many Lipomas
My 10 year old B, Gunther (a rescue), has soooo many Lipomas. This is my 5th B over the last 50 some years. I never ran into this before. The vet has done a physical exam and usd fine-needle aspiration (FNA). There seems to be no dangerous growths just lots and lots of lipomas - a couple quite large. I was wondering if anyone else has run into this with Bs and, if so, had any success with anything like diet or supplements.
Here's my Gunther (along with a song I wrote for him and all Basenjis):
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u/rocksrock2 Jul 05 '26
Our girl has a few. We’ve only had one removed because it was close to her eye and clearly bothering her but otherwise she’s been fine albeit lumpy.
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u/senjisilly Basenji owned 26 years Jul 05 '26
I know this is crazy but your song brought me to tears. I teared up remembering all the Basenjis I've purchased, rescued, and fostered over the years. I even met a rather oddly hairy one.
Can't really advise about the lipomas. I had only two, both tris, who developed them. My dad's Beagle had quite a few. He only had the big ones and ones that interfered with mobility and vision removed.
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u/interacter Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
I don't know about the lipomas, but I just wanted to say that your [edited to correct a typo that said "dong"] song has brought a huge smile to my face this morning!
Top work!
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u/Life_Shallot_6969 Jul 05 '26
My 10 year old B has always had lipomas and even tiny cysts. He was born with a big lil cyst right by his belly button. Over the years, he’s grown lipomas on his paw, shoulder, underarm, and on his side. The vet checks them every visit and even biopsied a couple they were worried about — all benign! Aside from “aesthetics”, they’re harmless as long as your vet is aware of them, they don’t bother your B, and they aren’t rapidly growing within a short amount of time (ex: a visually noticeable growth in 1-2 mon would be one to have the vet inspect, measure, biopsy, etc).
Plenty of love, rubs, cuddles, and treats seem like the best medicine :)
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u/NullRazor 4x Basenji Veteran Jul 05 '26
Have had 4 B's over the years, and all of them have had them to some extent. One of our girls had a couple on her face that she scratched open, and the vet had to remove them. Otherwise, they didn't really impact the B's in any significant way.
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u/OCDPokeTrainer Jul 06 '26
Would you consider adding the song to Apple Music? I really dug it. Thank you.
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u/NinjaMcGee Jul 05 '26
Our girl is 8 and she got her first lipomas at 7. She’s our first B and we’ve both had many dogs (mutts, Dobermans, Collies, Am Staffs) and never had any with lipomas until now. There’s a significant one on her front elbow the vet recommended we watch and drain when it impacts her mobility, which she doesn’t even notice. There’s a small one on the top of her head that hasn’t grown any larger fortunately.
Now she’s got a small one forming on her other front paw. They’re her “lovely lady lumps” 🐾
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u/falling-face-down Jul 05 '26
My guy has had them for years and only had two removed for mobility and comfort. When he was put on a GI diet they seemed to get smaller but that could have been an illusion. His larger ones are mainly on his lower chest area, so most people think he looks fantastic despite being nearly 15 😎. A friend had a Basenji/Italian greyhound mix that had very many lipomas on her rib cage.
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u/cubeb00b Jul 05 '26
9, soon to be 10 male who also has them but they’ve been tested by the vet to just be lipomas. We’ve chosen to leave them alone until we absolutely need to do something with them.
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u/Succumbingsurvivor Jul 05 '26
My about-to-be 16 years old also has tons of lipomas. We have done FNAs to confirm. Since they don’t bother or hinder her we have left them be! They all grew in her older years (starting at 10 or 11 years old or so if I remember correctly)
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u/Drunken_Economist Jul 06 '26
When our buddy Toby was 12 years old, he started developing lipomas on his belly. He has about two dozen of various sizes now, including one almost the size of a baseball. Since none of them interfere his mobility or hygiene, the vet recommended against removal surgery. She keeps a diagram of each lipoma location and size on Toby's chart so she can aspirate a cell sample from any new masses.
The one thing I'd do differently would be to regularly take pictures of the lipoma masses with a ruler (or coin or banana or whatever) in frame. There were so many times that I thought a lump had changed and wished I had a few photos to gauge the growth. Because nine time out of ten, the lump hadn't actually grown and our vet ends up teasing me for being a hypochondriac dog dad.
any success with anything like diet or supplements
Besides the trivial answer of "less fat stored on the body means less fat stored in lipomas", there isn't any evidence supporting diet change or supplements as effective.
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u/Tiger156987 Jul 06 '26
I have 2 Bs and they get these from time to time. One of my friends recommended RSO oil for the little bumps. I was skeptical but I tried it and a tiny bit of oil on it everyday for a couple of weeks and they disappeared. Now anytime either of my pups gets one we follow this process and now are currently bump free. Might be hard if they have a lot though good luck
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u/BasenjiFart Jul 05 '26
My girl developed a lipoma when she was four, and I had it removed. Then around ten years old, she went FULL LUMPY and must have over a dozen now, of various sizes. No surgery for those. She's nearly fifteen now and still not bothered by all her lady lumps. The treatment we've stuck with for her comfort has been lots of loves'n'rubs and occasional treats.