vet question

akm

My young dog (about 1 1/2 years old) recently developed two tumors under his arm. I took him to the vet and she said they were just skin tags. They are on top of the skin and about the size of erasers. She said I didn’t need to get them removed right away, but since they were in his arm pits they might get irritated and need to be removed eventually. The cost for this procedure would be $700-$900. I really want to be on the safe side and have them removed so they don’t turn into something dangerous or maliganant, but I can’t spend that kind of money on something that could possibly just be cosmetic.

I've contacted Bide-a-wee and the Humane Society of NY to get estimates of what it would cost if I took my dog there for the procedure. Does anyone on this board have suggestions of other places I might contact if this doesn't work out?

Many thanks!

I really need to get pet insurance, however, I'm not sure pet insurance would even cover this.

leozoeypiper

I worked for a vet for many years. It is my understanding that skin tags are not harmful. I think that the vet is only concerned about the placement of them and that they may get irritated due to there being a lot of movement in that area. They will not become malignant. It's not an emergent situation so maybe just see how it goes for a while. The Humane Society would probably have the best prices for something like that so definitely get an estimate from them. I believe that it would be considered a "pre-existing condition" as far as pet insurance goes so I wouldn't bother with that option.

pitu

I agree with what Leozoeypiper said.
I have a dog with one of those tabs, and it flattened itself out after a couple of years, after it was weird and red and looked irritated at the start. It drove me nuts, but the dog didn't care.
Listen to your vet, and don't worry about getting ahead of it.

For future reference...
Surgery on dogs is waaaaaay cheaper outside of NYC, so if you have any plans to visit anyone, look into it. I'll skip the details, but we were quoted $2200 at the place our regular vet sent us to in Manhattan for a procedure that was $250 in the midwest. The midwest doc was even super experienced with the breed and the particular surgery.
The quote at an upstate NY vet was $700-$800.

lilbangladesh

This is NOT the situation for preventive surgery. Skin tags are ABSOLUTELY harmless and will never become malignant. In fact, they are something we all get as we get older. You've seen old people with extra bits of flesh on their faces, right? Those are skin tags, perfectly harmless, which is why most people don't bother to remove them unless they are super self-conscious.

Your dog is not self-conscious, and probably doesn't care at all about it. I wouldn't worry about it unless irritation actually does develop. Keep an eye on it, but it's definitely a wait-and-see situation. I think it's unlikely that anything surgical will need to happen. If it doesn't bother the dog, don't worry about it.

akm

Thanks everyone! I know I should trust my vet, (esp. since I really think she is great!) but I can't find anything anywhere about young dogs getting skin tags. Plus they keep growing and another one just started growing. I'm just paranoid and don't want to ever have to say "if only I had just gotten them removed..."

My parents are going to try to get an estimate from their vet in VA. It's just going to be tricky getting my dog there! I'm not that comfortable driving 9 hours by myself. Darn Amtrak and Greyhound's no dog policy!!