Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog lived 49 months after vena cava removal without kidney removal
By Guillaumot, Pierre J et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2012·Centre Hospitalier Vé, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: 49-month survival following caval venectomy without nephrectomy in a dog with a pheochromocytoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 11-year-old spayed female Labrador retriever was diagnosed with a tumor on her right adrenal gland, which was causing swelling in her hind legs. During surgery, the vet was able to remove the tumor without taking out the right kidney, despite the tumor invading a major blood vessel. After the surgery, the dog stayed in the hospital for six days and her leg swelling gradually went away. She lived for nearly four more years after the surgery, showing that this approach can lead to a good outcome even in complex cases.
People also search for: dog adrenal tumor treatment · Labrador hind leg swelling · pheochromocytoma surgery outcome
Abstract
An 11 yr old spayed female Labrador retriever was diagnosed with a right adrenal tumor. At surgery, adhesions to the right kidney were dissected, allowing the right kidney to be preserved. The tumor showed extensive invasion into the suprarenal vena cava. It was felt that thrombus removal via venotomy could not be performed. Instead, the vena cava was ligated caudal to the liver and cranial to the right renal vein. The neoplastic gland was then excised en bloc together with the portion of the invaded caudal vena cava. Hind limb edema had developed preoperatively and increased transiently in the first days postoperatively. The animal was discharged 6 days postoperatively with no other clinical disorders, and hind limb edema resolved over time. Histopathology identified a pheochromocytoma. The dog died 49 mo later. A neoplastic thrombus of the vena cava may require venotomy to allow thrombus removal. Occasionally, removal of the thrombus by venotomy may prove impossible. In such a situation, en bloc removal of the concerned portion of the vena cava may be performed with a good long-term outcome provided that gradual occlusion of the vena cava by the thrombus has allowed time for collateral circulation to develop.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22843823/