hi everyone ,our labrador had a heamatoma on his ear removed 8 weeks ago and then an operation on the same ear (lateral wall resection) about 6 weeks ago and then a week later another heamatoma removed on the same ear due to headshaking but now his ear is much better and he only shakes occasionally.
the problem we have now is that a lump the size of a golf ball has appeared between between his shoulder blades, more noticeable when he puts his head down to eat or puts his paws up on you for a cuddle!
anybody with any ideas, he has had three operations on his ear in the last 4 months.
i dont want him to have anymore surgery , what do you all think?

I think the only thing you can do really is go and see the vet again I am afraid :)

I hope it is easy solved and he doesn't have to have another OP :)

Lucy
xx

It's quite possible that it's where antibiotics were injected. If so it's a very common and perfectly normal reaction and will subside of its own accord. It goes without saying, though, that if you're worried then take him to the vet for proper diagnosis.

hi jeangenie
this is what im hoping but do you think it would appear a few weeks later??
oh we do worry about every lump and bump, they are our babies!!

My two pups got lumps between their shoulder blades a couple of weeks after their vacs.  Took them to the vet and they said it was just because of the injections.  They have totally gone now.  They were about the size of 2 marbles, so quite large on a pup.

I would always get these things checked though, just in case. It is probably due to the injections seeing as he has had a few injections recently!

I have had the same thing. It could be site of the injection or if you have other dogs they may have caused a haematoma whilst play fighting. You could try Arnica to help it go down. But of course if you are concerned go to the Vets.

Has he slipped when out running at all? My Dobe went skidding along in the mud during a walk winter before last and landed on the ground with a big groan. Later that day he came up in 2 duck-egg sized lumps between his shoulder blades which the vet said were haematomas. Very alarming to see, but they sorted themselves out within in a couple of weeks. Just a thought!

Sounds like he may well have reacted to an injection he's had. They can take a while to come up. My gsp got a swelling a couple of weeks after his rabies vac - which has now gone I'm pleased to say :) It might be worth checking with your vet to be sure.

Hi
The lump between his shoulders could be where a vaccine/booster has been administerd - it's possible it's a mild adverse reaction to the vaccine.  (there is a similar reaction on my website).  Or maybe antibiotics have been given in the same spot which could also cause a lump!

Either way, definitely go to see the vet to have it checked out asap - these lumps can appear immediately after or within a few weeks of vaccines.

how long do you think it will take for the lump to go down after being from the injections

Sorry I've no idea how long the lump will remain - does it irritate him at all ?

I think it's best you go to the vet to get it checked out!

Let us know how you get on!

Hi, I know this is an old thread but I'm interested to know if the lump between your dogs shoulder blades has now gone down. 

We had our dog speyed yesterday and I've now noticed a lump has developed on the back of her neck.  I'm quite worried because one of our other dogs got a lump in the same place and our vet decided to remove it (it was horrible because her wound became infected and she had to have it re-opened and left with a drain in it). Fortunately the lump on Avas neck was harmless and most likely caused by injections she'd been given.

I don't really want to put our poor Shar through another operation to remove the lump because the poor love has been through enough hard times (we've only had her for a few weeks as she was mistreated by her previous owners who over used her for breeding purposes, and she's been left with nasty burns scars on both sides of her body which we understand were caused by the heat lamps that were used to keep her puppies warm - she's had at least 5 litters of pups and she's only 5 years old, I think it's disgraceful that she was abused like this).

We'll take her back to the vets on Monday about this, but I'm thinking it might be better to give it a few weeks before we consider removing this lump because I don't want to put her through any more pain especially if it's just a harmless lump.  Any advice would be really appreciated, we've only had this girl a short time but we are totally besotted with her, she's such a beautiful dog with the loveliest nature.

Thanks a lot
Mair

Reaction lumps can come up at injection sites, including vaccinations, so if she has just had an operation this is very likely to be the case here.

I would keep an eye on it and ask the Vet about it when she has her check up and/or stitches removed.

Agreed - my Dobe has had some whoppers come up after injections! Sometimes they can take a week, or even two, to go down.

Thanks for that, will keep a close eye on it.

I noticed on a link site that putting Arnica on the area might help a bit, so if I do that and also try to massage the site a bit do you think that might help?

Mair

When my Vet does an op like that he covers them with antibiotics. Vaccination on the day and tablets for 5 days. Couldn't this be an antibiotcs vaccination reaction, that being the case then it will go down. Have a look at your bill and you will be able to see if they did give the vaccination.

It doesn't mention an antibiotic injection on our bill, but she has had some Amoxycillin tablets so he probably gave her an antibiotic injection as well because he's done that before when they've been for treatment. She also had a Dental scale & polish while she was under the anesthetic and Blood - Pre GA?

I can still feel a lump, which feels like it moves about under the skin when you pick up the skin behind her neck.

Premed would certainly have been an injection.

our young hound developed a lump like this after being treated for a fractured shoulder blade, it too was an injection site, a large lump, didn't bother her at all but took ages to go down. I was told it can be caused by the injection being too cold?? Not sure if that's true....whenever mine have any injections I always ask for it to be room temperature and I make sure I rub it afterwards......

just my two-penneth!!

Thanks for all the replies, I fancy the lump at the back of Shars neck is getting a bit smaller.

I took her to the vets on Tuesday because she's also now developed a lump where her operation wound is! She's got quite a baggy belly because she's had quite a few litters of pups (the last litter was born on 28th June), but where her stitches are, a fair-sized lump has appeared on the one side (I reckon it's about the size of a golf ball). Anyway, a trainee vet was available to take a look at her for me, the lady said she thought Shar felt a bit hot but when she checked her temperature it was alright. She said that she thought that the lump on the back of Shars neck is a little bit higher than the area that would usually be injected. She said that they usually inject dogs lower down than the site where Shars lump is located.  I'm still convinced that this lump has appeared after her visit to the vet, so I think it is caused by the injection.  Our other dog had a similar lump appear, which the vet removed and that was harmless, the vet at the time said it was probably caused by having injections in the same place on her body.
I'm still worried about the lump on Shars scar, we nearly went back again to the vet with her today about it, but she seems perfectly well and doesn't appear to be in any discomfort with it.  She is going back next Friday to have her stitches removed, but I think that if this lump hasn't gone down at all by tomorrow afternoon then I will be taking her back tomorrow to get it checked again (don't want to leave it over the weekend incase anything bad happens to her).  The wound itself looks clean, there is no discharge, or redness, but I feel uneasy about this lump. 
Thanks again!
Mair

Are you sure the lump on the wound is not fluid build up, that is what my freinds dobe ahd it was at the lower end of the incision.

Just had another look at the lump and it runs along the one side of the stitches . Shar doesn't seem to mind me touching around the area, so I'm thinking it's not causing her a lot of discomfort.  My husband is worried that it's some kind of hernia.  Shar has been stretching out and we've also had to carry her back down the stairs a couple of times (she goes up them in about 4 leaps!). If it's fluid, do you think that it's normal after this type of surgery? I feel a bit awkward going back to ask the vet about it again because I don't want them to think I don't trust what they are telling me.


Mair

Can't really say my friends bitch had a cancerous tumour removed from her side.  It was explained that the fluid production is soemthing to do with an immune response as the fluid has white blood cells.

Ok, hopefully it might just be the way the body repairs itself after trauma, I can't recall my other two getting lumps after they were speyed. She seems quite happy in herself, and her movement doesn't seem to be affected at all (maybe that's part of the problem because she's such a bouncy, busy girl - it's almost impossible to keep her from springing about everywhere!). I think I'll pop her back in to see the vet tomorrow to put our minds at rest - after all it's better to be safe than sorry.
Thanks for your help
Mair

I had exactly the same with one of mine. The Vet reckoned that she was having a reaction to the internal stitches. The lump went down over a short period of time. The lump was just by the side of the wound.

My hubby has just got back from the vets with Shar and she's been seen by our usual vet, he said he thinks that the lump has been caused by the stitches. It's not a hernia because he can't push the lump back up, he said it should go down within the next 6 to 8 weeks. So thankfully it's good news and we are feeling very relieved about that tonight.
Thanks to everyone for offering me advice about this, it really was very much appreciated.

Mair