Sorry about the rather strange title.
My 8 year old cocker has developed a number of fatty lumps , most are small and cause her no difficulty. However , one on her side has recently grown to about the size of a tennis ball.
I have had it checked by the vet and he says it is of no danger to her but he could remove it if we wished.
Im not interested in doing anything for cosmetic reasons as she still looks great although when she gets a haircut it is fairly prominent and always causes people to enquire after her health.
When her hair is longer it is virtually invisible.
My question is would it require her to have a general anaesthetic and what sort is the procedure. Is there a long recovery period?
I have no wish to put her through any unnecessary discomfort or danger with what essentially is cosmetic and not ,as yet, essential surgery.
Any ideas anyone?

These are all questions you should have asked your VET.
Being a cat owner means being responsible, your cat can not speak so you have to on her behalf. Anyway.......

Get it done.
If in doubt, whip it out!

The recovery period will be a matter of minutes. The poor thing may be is discomfort for a few days (no more than a week)

Let us know how you get on!

Its a dog isn't it???

woof woof!

I dont want to sound ungrateful, but before you have a go at me maybe ask a question or two first and also read my post thoroughly. I mentioned she was an 8 year old cocker! A I said my vet poo pooed the idea of surgery saying that it ( the lump)was of no danger to her. He also said he would take it away from her if that was what Iwanted. I was just so relieved that she was in no danger that I didnt have the prescence of mind to ask subsequent questions.
As a prelude to another visit to the vet to as these questions of a professional Ithought i would ask the opoinion of others on this forum for their experiences. Members here have always been very helpful. I asn't expecting to have the side of my face chewed off

our old collie (she's coming up to 13 now) has a rather large one on her side

i could comfortably lay my hand flat on it three times over, had i a third hand
and it sticks out around 2" from her ribs
like your dog, it doesn't bother her (apart from when she tries to slip through a door! )
she still lays on it, scratches it, not a problem at all.

the vet said a few years ago that they could remove it, but miss was an older dog then, so anaesthetic was risky. we left it as it doesn't really affect her life.
but when she went for her booster this year they said it's (understandably) too large to remove now

the main worry with it was in case the skin split with a knock or anything
but she's been fine, we do get a few questions every now and then, but a lot less than most would expect
because of the size of it, a lot of people have commented on her being over weight, which she isn;t when you body score her, she just looks a little plump because of it, bless her!

OP, my Labrador Sam has a lump on his foreleg.

Due to the fact he is almost 13 our vet recommended that we did not remove it. The vet said it was not painful for Sam and the risk of anaesthetic at his age was something he'd rather not do.

I would go with your vets advice so long as its not bothering your dog.

I hope she goes on OK with it

Sounds like a lipoma which is a benign fatty lump. They can sometimes get quite big over time and are not uncommon on older dogs but the general advice is not to bother with them, unless them are positioned where they are a problem for the dog e.g. in an armpit area where they interfer with free movement.
In any case if they are removed they can sometimes come back again as the fatty tissue has been disturbed by the surgery.
There is some debate that they can initially be caused/triggered by a knock but as far as I know that has not be catagorically established, although my older dog has small one in the same place that another dog cannoned into her, causing her to yelp, a few months earlier, but maybe that was just coincidence.
They can also become (more) apparent when a dog loses some weight (or hair) as the more generous former profile may have obsured them from view
Removing it would require a general anaethetic (GA) as the lump(s) have to be cut out and the area then stitched. the stitches would then usually be removed after about 10 days. The dog may take about 24 hours to fully recover from the GA and it could be a little sore from the incision for a couple of days. The vet may ask you to lead exercise the dog only until the stitches are removed.

ah, going on from that, our miss' is where she's rubbed against door/door joins all her life going through them
and a friends rotty was always bumping into things with his shoulders throughout life - and this is where he has his bumps
so there might be something in that

One of our dogs has a few of these and is regularly checked by our vet due to her diabetes and he, like others here, have also confirmed they are nothing to worry about and to leave alone as they are not bothering her.

DomD, I would also leave it alone,as you say why put your cocker through unnecessary surgery.

Thanks to everyone you are all helping to clarify the situation for me.
Its great to hear advice from people in a similar circumstance. Thank you all