I adopted my nine year old lab about 9 months ago. Before we adopted him, he was "fixed" at the local SPCA. About a week ago, I did a cursory check for ticks and the like and noticed a black like bubble where his balls used to be. I took him for a check up and the vet said that it could be melanoma or just a skin tag. The only way to check would be to do surgery, remove the tag and have it sent away. I have a concern regarding surgery since I have always been told that it should be the absolute last option, especially in older dogs. Has anyone had this problem or is there any other way to handle it without surgery? :eek:

Welcome to the board. Bless you for adopting your senior boy. What's his name?

If he is a very calm boy and will lay very still, the vet could try locally freezing it and then cut it out. They could even give him a sedative cocktail.

Where is this black bump? Can you take a picture of it for us to see?

One of our past girls had a melanoma on the bridge of her nose.

I don't have a senior dog, but Hogan had a suspicious spot on his face and needed to be biopsied. The vet sedated him (not totally under, just enough to calm him down) and gave him a local anesthetic around the lesion. He took a 3mm (very small) punch biopsy and sent it off to a pathologist. (the results came back negative by the way)

I'm not a vet but I'm pretty sure surgically removing the whole thing is not the only way to know. My vet thought it may have been a melanocytoma so I did a lot of research on it. I found this link to be helpful on the Merck Veterinary site: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in...234.htm&hide=1

Keep us posted.

I just wanted everyone to know that I got a second opinion and, in fact, my baby will have to have surgery. However, the vet said that they will only sedate him and numb the area so no need for the complete knock out. THanks to everyone for their opinions.

Thanks for the update. When is he scheduled for surgery?

Wishing him and you all the best!!! Please keep us posted...