Bilateral giant subcutaneous lipomas in one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius)

A 10-year-old female Omani one-humped camel with two enormous subcutaneous masses above the base of the tail was admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), King Faisal University Saudi Arabia. The two giant masses grew slowly over two years. The body condition score (BCS) of the female camel was between 3.5 and 4 and all clinical parameters were within normal ranges. The circumference of the right and left masses was 79 and 76 cm, respectively. Clinically, the masses appeared doughy, painless and pedunculated with a short wide stem above and around the base of the tail. Both masses had nearly identical sizes, shapes and locations. They looked like the ovine fatty tail. The masses were excised surgically at two separate occasions, one month apart. The surgeries were carried out under the effect of intravenous xylazine HCl 2% solution and ketamine HCl 10% solution as well as ring blocks analgesia. Cut sections of the excised masses showed many yellowish and whitish fat lobules. The weight of the left and right tumours was 6.5 and 6.6 Kg, respectively. Histopathology revealed lobulated groups of the neoplastic adipocytes separated by bands of fibrous tissue elements. The overall appearance of two sections from each mass was consistent with a diagnosis of lipoma. The animal was followed up for 6 months by telephone conversation with the owner and no recurrence of the tumours or complications were recorded.