Can I safely tie off a black lump on my old dog with heart issues?

It sounds as if your vet is concerned that your dog has a malignant tumor, most likely squamous cell carcinoma. If there is suspicion about the malignancy of a tumor the best course of action is to have it removed. I can understand your concerns about Dahlia undergoing surgery but it would be safer and easier to remove it now, while it is smaller, then it would be if it was left to continue to grow. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

The lump looks like it may be a possible skin growth or even abscess (infection under the skin). Skin growths tend to be benign, however it is best to have the area looked at by your vet. Your vet can likely take a sample of the area without sedation/anesthesia for testing to see what treatment (if any) needs to be done. Your vet can also examine Luke and perform any bloodwork if needed to determine if it would be safe to remove the lump under anesthesia, if needed.

At the age of 13 surgery in this location may actually not prolong your dog's life, but actually cause him more suffering, as, in order to remove this fairly large tumor, parts of the tongue and neck tissue may need to be removed. This will take a while to heal, be painful and will interfere with eating. I think you can trust your vet with the assessment. If you would like a second opinion, consult with a veterinary oncologist. I am sure your vet can refer you to one and will not mind.

These lumps appear to be either a wart, or benign cyst, but there is no way to tell for sure unless a sample is taken and sent to the lab. They do tend to get these more often as they get older. These can rub against things and break open, so removal is considered to prevent this and as a way to definitively diagnose the type of mass. I do not suspect that the vet has given any unethical advice in order to boost revenue (this would be a highly irregular and unlikely thing for a vet to do); and I would likely give the same advice in this situation. Tying a string around the lump is not a safe option. This can cause a great deal of pain and lead to severe infections. Only surgical removal by a professional is advised for these. I hope that helps and all is well with Brino.

Poor girl. Because this mass is open and seems to be bothering her I would highly consider having this mass removed surgically. Sometimes if the mass is small (less than 2 cm's) we can do a sedative on the pet and quickly remove these. However if it is a larger mass then general anesthesia may be required. She also needs to be placed on oral antibiotics to keep this area from getting infected and daily cleaning of the mass as well. Sterile saline flushes can help keep this area relatively clean and then an e-collar placed on her can help prevent licking. If surgery isn't an option for you, then medical management with antibiotics, e-collar and regular cleanings may allow proper healing of the area, but in most cases surgical removal is the best option. Best of luck!

an open and infected tumor should be removed. If it happens to be a lipoma (fatty lump) then this should be curative. If it happens to be another type of tumor, then your vet should do an x-ray of the lungs to check whether there are metastases. I think you should get a second opinion from another veterinarian or a veterinary oncologist.

No, it's absolutely not OK to cut it off as you cannot know for sure what it might be connected to. Take him to the vet to have it looked at and if it needs to be removed it will most probably be done under sedation.