Lipomas in Animals

[matt]

I have had two dogs that had lipomas. I'm pretty sure it is irrelevant to my lipomas but still I don't want to let this possibility to fade away.

I would like to know if any of you guys have had animals that had lipomas? If so, have you yourself had lipomas?

How did you treat your pets lipomas, or did you? I'm curious to know if there are veterinarians who have treated pets other than with surgery. Do veterinarians explain in any way why lipomas appear? Do veterinarians think lipomas are hereditary? I happened to know my two dogs parents, and they had no lipomas.

[Charlupa]

I have had two dogs that had lipomas. I'm pretty sure it irrelevant to my lipomas but still I don't want to let this possibility to fade away.

I would like to know if any of you guys have had animals that had lipomas? If so, have you yourself had lipomas?

How did you treat your pets lipomas, or did you? I'm curious to know if there are veterinarians who have treated pets other than with surgery. Do veterinarians explain in any way why lipomas appear? Do veterinarians think lipomas are hereditary? I happened to know my two dogs parents, and they had no lipomas.

Funny I stumbled upon this article today. Today I remembered reading an article about lipomas in dogs. I started to wonder if lipomas were found in other animals,especially animals that have not been domesticated. Most dogs are not eating the food we eat. Do they appear more in dogs that are fed the same foods as us. Or do they develop them as a reaction to our environment. Do bears , deer or rabbits ever get lipomas. Did your dogs ever bite you Matt? I have been bitten by a few dogs. This could all be irrelevant but Im just gonna throw all ideas out there.

[matt]

Hi Charlupa!

All ideas are appreciated, no matter how stupid they might sound at first!

Yes, of course my dogs bite me, many times (and I let them kiss me, yuck )

My dogs ate mostly the food I bought them from the slaughterhouse (mixed meat and guts) mixed with normal dog dry food from the pet shop. So they ate pretty differently than I did.

I have also thought about if there could be connection? And if so, in which direction? Could I have "infected" my dogs or the otherway around? Ok, this is very far fetched now, but let's just through everything on the table

[Laura]

I have had two dogs that had lipomas. I'm pretty sure it irrelevant to my lipomas but still I don't want to let this possibility to fade away.

I would like to know if any of you guys have had animals that had lipomas? If so, have you yourself had lipomas?

How did you treat your pets lipomas, or did you? I'm curious to know if there are veterinarians who have treated pets other than with surgery. Do veterinarians explain in any way why lipomas appear? Do veterinarians think lipomas are hereditary? I happened to know my two dogs parents, and they had no lipomas.

My dog just developed some. She is about 17 and does not eat the same food.
I take that back, she does eat oatmeal with organic milk.
I started giving her this for AM about 6 months ago.

Its not alot.

I also add a little organic milk to my ceral.

Although this dog is a chuihuahua, she sleeps in her own bed.
She also sits behind me as I work (I work at home ).

But my daughter doesn't have lipomas (yet) and is 19 and lived with me and also used organic milk.

I had been using non organic milk for about 6 months recently.

[matt]

Hi, Laura!

Interesting that your dog also shares lipomas! Although I think there is no connection but I like the fact that we are just throughing out things. All-in-all I think it's quite common for dogs to have lipomas but I don't know yet is it more common than for humans. I must say I enjoy reading the animal boards too because there is a lot to learn from those. I wonder if those were actually lipomas that they got rid of with curcumin and turmeric.

[Charlupa]

My dog did not have any lipomas, but he did get sick and had to be put down after he attacked me. He bit my chest and this did happen soon before I started finding lipomas. I am still wondering if wild dogs ( or dingos) have been found with lipomas. Or any wild animal for that matter.

[matt]

I found the link to this quote from The Cause Of Lipomatosis thread where Charlupa posted about some veterans suffering from lipomas:

How ironic. I just got back from the veterinarian and the dog has a lipoma. Vet said that this is very common and that almost all dogs will eventually develop at least one of these fatty tumors. He said that there is no reason to remove it unless we just want to do so. I'm going to let it go as it isn't a problem, or at least the dog hasn't said anything to indicate that it is.

First my daughter (we had hers removed from her head) and now the dog. Darn these lipomas. smiley: laugh

Cruiser

Cruiser, ya gave the dog a Lipoma, wait till PETA hears about that.smiley: wink Enjoy Life!!

Who knows, maybe Cruiser did give the lipomas to the dog

[Charlupa]

Today I came across an article about lipomas in birds. There is a plan for treatment in birds but not in humans. UNBELIEVABLE!

[Laura Roslin]

Doing some googling about lipomas, heavy metal and iodine. Read this:

Tumors - Lipomas in Birds

What is a lipoma?

Lipomas are benign fat tumors commonly found in Budgies, some Amazon parrots, galahs and sulphur crested cockatoos. They are most often found under the skin on the sternum (breastbone or keel bone) or on the ventral abdomen, but can be anywhere on the body. They appear as soft, pale yellow, sometimes lobulated, solitary or multiple enlargements under the skin. They may be noticed as a "lump" or you may just notice that the bird is getting fat. They can become so large that they will affect the way the bird perches or impair its flight. Formation of lipomas is associated with poor nutrition, obesity, hypothyroidism and genetic factors.

"Formation of lipomas is associated with poor nutrition, obesity, hypothyroidism and genetic factors."
Malignant liposarcomas are rare and tend to be firmer.

Is there any treatment for lipomas?
If caught early, most lipomas can respond to nutritional therapy. Often, affected birds are on high fat, all seed diets. Weaning slowly onto a balanced, low fat diet (pellets + fruits and vegetables) is often successful in reducing or resolving lipomas. Iodine supplements may help stimulate the thyroid gland and increase the metabolism of fatty tissues. Stimulate your bird to exercise at least twice daily to help with weight reduction.

If the lipoma is becoming too big or problematic then surgery to remove it is required.

Malignant liposarcomas are surgically removed but have the potential to spread or metastasize.

Consult a veterinarian familiar with birds for further guidance.

This client information sheet is based on material written by: Rick Axelson, DVM

HOW TO REACH US
VCA Antech Home Office
Phone: 1-310-571-6500
Toll Free: 1-800-VCA-PETS
Fax: 1-310-571-6700
12401 West Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-he ... birds-/964

[pierre]

There's that word 'hypothyroidism' again

[matt]

And people who have leukaemia or auto-immune disease are more likely to have hypothyroidism and hence fungal infections. Or could be the other way around? People who suffer from fungal infections have more often leukaemia, auto-immune diseases and hypothyroidism?

I found a study which describes a patient with a lymphoma (cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system) who suffered from fungal infection in her thyroid gland. The study mentions that most often the thyroid is infected by Aspergillus, Coccidioides, and Candida species but this woman had Histoplasma capsulatum infection.

Fungal infection of the thyroid usually presents with many characteristics of subacute thyroiditis which is a form of thyroiditis that can be a cause of both thyrotoxicosis and hypothyroidism. We have discussed here whether lipomas are linked to hypothyroidism? It's uncommon and can affect individuals of both sexes and all ages. It manifests as a sudden and painful enlargement of the thyroid gland accompanied with fever, malaise and muscle aches. It is suggested that its cause might be viral in origin.

Furthermore iodine is known to kill fungus and is an anti-septic. Iodine is also a constituent of the thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine.

[Laura Roslin]

Horses eat mostly grass or hay, along with oats and some corn. Also apples or carrots. Race horses would likely be fed supplements.

Leading Thoroughbred Sire Awesome Again Has Colic Surgery

by: The Blood-Horse Staff
September 14 2011, Article # 18824

Awesome Again, the leading active sire of Breeders' Cup winners, is recuperating from colic surgery performed the morning of Sept. 13 at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, located in Lexington, Ky.

"Awesome Again had an exploratory celiotomy (abdominal surgery) the morning of Sept. 13 for a strangulating lipoma (fatty tumor) of the small colon," said attending surgeon Alan Ruggles, DVM, Dipl. ACVS. "At this time his prognosis is considered favorable barring further complications. He has recovered from general anesthesia and is resting comfortably in his stall (at Rood & Riddle)." Awesome Again stands at Frank Stronach's Adena Springs in Paris, Ky. General manager Eric Hamelback and resident veterinarian Tom Little, DVM, are closely monitoring the stallion's recovery.

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18824

[johnsonbeer0099]

lipomas have many animal not man but also may be observed in larger psittacine birds and other.it generally occur in adult dogs .so don,t weary.

[matt]

An interesting video about Galah (a cockatoo) with multiple lipomas and his vet.

Part 1


The vet says he used to just rushed in and surgically removed lipomas from animals but he now thinks they can be shrinked and even make to disappear without surgery. He wants to minimize the need for surgery and drugs and to use natural products instead when he believes they will help. He also says he isn't allowed to do any claims about the products but he reveals they are meant for humans.

He says the lumps are partly due to over-eating, partly due to malnutrition and partly due to the likely presence of a retrovirus that's been around for life.

Part 3 (part 2 didn't hold any valuable information)


Treatment:

• Agaricus Mushroom extract 2-3 drops twice a day by mouth for 30-60 days
• Some other solution which I can't hear? 2-3 drops twice a day by mouth 30-60 days
• Powder of multiple different antioxidants
• Goji juice

[qualitygeek]

I have also had two chihuahuas with lipomas. One was 6 when he died in a tragic accident. The other is still living & he was born in 1999. They were not related unless further back than the pedigrees AKC provided showed. Bubba has two rather large lipomas on his chest - they are soft & moveable. He eats a low-fat raw diet & has since he was about 6 or 7 years old.

[matt]

Hi qualitygeek!

Thanks for posting. I believe it's quite common for dogs to have lipomas, I wonder why though? Did your chihuahuas live together? Do you know other chihuahuas who have lipomas too?

I had dogs who had lipomas but they were more or less relatives but lipomas seemed to skip generations. All lived at the same time though.

[caribou]

I've always thought that lipomas are common in dogs because of inbreeding. But who knows.

[matt]

Hi caribou,

since you have some medical background could you explain how you think inbreeding might cause lipomatosis? What is the science behind it? Thanks!

[caribou]

Well, I'm talking about genetic diseases in general, rather than lipomatosis. But I think it would be caused by the founder effect. Only a few individuals have been used for breeding, so their genes become substantially pronounced in the population. This has two effects
1) if these individuals happen to have autosomal dominant diseases, the proportion of this disease in the population increases considerably
2) it's thought that every single person or animal is a 'carrier' for a few rare recessive genetic diseases. That means that they're completely healthy, but if they happen to get children with someone who is also a carrier for the same disease, their children have a 25% chance of becoming ill. In isolated communities, it is far more likely for both parents to be carriers for the same disease (because usually there are a few recessive alleles that have become too pronounced in that population due to founder effect). The same is true for some cultures where family marriages are common, because e.g. cousins are much more likely to have the same recessive alleles than any non-relatives. And some dog breeds have both of those two problems (isolated, small communities and founder effect + using distant relatives for breeding). I don't know if lipomatosis is a recessive or a dominant disease for dogs, it could be quite different from the human form for all I know. But in any case, inbreeding does increase the prevalence of genetic diseases in a population, and if lipomatosis in dogs is genetic, it could easily become extraordinarily common merely due to inbreeding.

[matt]

Ok, thanks for the explanation!