Blood filled lump by ear

Hi. I've a 7 year old lad and for the last month or so he has had a small lump by his left ear. he's had problem with itchy ears for years so don't know if he's cause it with his claws. the vet wondered at the time if it was a tic but never said it was, also no legs can be seen. the end of the lump can be burst as it scabs over with dry blood. any idea what it could be 

Hi - it is not obvious to me at this time what the lump is, either.  You don't say how long it's been there, but ticks tend to swell and fall off after only a few days and I suspect that your vet would have recognised one by examining it.   Sometimes, labelling a thing is less important than working out a valid next move - have you and your vet discussed the possibility of biopsy?   As a vet, when I am not sure how to approach particular lesion, I might talk to the pathology department who would be dealing with it.  Again, they wouldn't identify it but often they can tell me the best next course of action to take (remove with X wide margins, leave to see what happens next, etc). However, your own vet may very well already have thought about this and have a sensible plan mapped out.

its been there for over a month. the vet didn't seem to have any plan. just had a quick look.   I had him in for a rather large lump on his leg which he believed was a lipoma ( sorry if not the correct spelling) yet he never offer a biopsy to make 100% sure

It sounds as though you have come away from the appointment unsure what the plan of action for this lump was.   It is possible that the vet saw the lipoma as the primary cause for presentation - indeed, removal is often not the preferred choice for dealing with lipomas nowadays, as they are thought to be indistinguishable and continuous with fat, and actually part of the fat rather than true 'lumps'.  However

Hello!   I'm sorry - I pressed 'return' while trying to edit there.   We are not allowed to delete for reasons of clinical transparency.   Let me try again. 1) Lipomas - you raised concern that your vet didn't offer a biopsy for a lipoma.   Interestingly, the thinking regarding lipomas has changed somewhat over the years.  We used to see them as "lumps" but now tend to view them as features of adipose (fat) tissue, when it is laid down in lumps rather than in a continuous sheet.  Aspiration (putting a needle in and withdrawing come cells) can demonstrate fat cells but of course doesn't give a definite 'yes this is a lipoma' or 'no it is something else' answer;  removal can do this, but is wasted in the case of lipomas.  On the other hand, it is important not to miss more concerning lumps thinking that they are lipomas and will come away with weight-loss, for example.   Your vet sounds to have made a judgement on this and they have seen the case, but I may be hearing that you have come away with concerns, in which case it may help to ask them more about it.    2)   Meanwhile, I am unable to identify the second lump.  In general, ticks appear and drop off again over the course of days rather than months, so it sounds as though this may not be a tick and it is time to present the lump again.   If you remain unclear, it is a good idea to ask at the consultation, 1)  'What is the plan for this lesion going forward?'  to give you an understanding of what to expect from the lesion / timescales etc. and 2) when to visit the vets again.    I hope that this helps - if not to clarify the issue, then for you to get the best you can from your vet.

yes that defiently helps. before posting i was going to look at going back to the vets to have a conversation but didn't know if it was stupid or would have been seen as time wasting. thanks again for the help