Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
African grey parrot with painful humerus cyst and breathing trouble
By Azmanis, Panagiotis et al.·Published in Journal of avian medicine and surgery·2013·Clinic for Birds and Reptiles, Germany·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: A complicated, metastatic, humeral air sac cystadenocarcinoma in a timneh African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus timneh).
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old male timneh African grey parrot was brought to the vet because he couldn't fly and was having trouble breathing, showing signs like tail bobbing and open-beak breathing. The vet found a hard, painful mass in his wing area and discovered through X-rays and ultrasounds that it was a serious tumor affecting his air sacs and lungs. Unfortunately, due to the severity of his condition and the presence of cancer that had spread to his spleen and kidneys, the decision was made to euthanize him.
People also search for: parrot breathing problems · African grey parrot cancer symptoms · why is my parrot not flying
Abstract
A 9-year-old male timneh African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus timneh) was presented because of inability to fly and suspected trauma. The owner also had observed dyspnea, with tail bobbing and open-beak breathing. On clinical examination, a hard, painful mass was palpable in the left proximal humerus and axillary area. Radiographs revealed a radiodense soft tissue mass of the left humerus with no bony involvement, multifocal opacities in lung and air sacs, and an enlarged spleen. An asymmetric, vascularized cyst was detected in the mass by ultrasound examination. Results of biopsy of the mass revealed multifocal cysts composed of unilayer isoprismatic cells laying in vascularized connective tissue. Because of the severity of clinical signs and the poor clinical condition, the bird was euthanatized. On postmortem examination, the findings were air sac cystadenocarcinoma involving the humeral air sac with metastases in the spleen and kidneys, atherosclerosis, pneumoconiosis, and mycotic granulomatous pneumonia and airsacculitis with isolation of Aspergillus niger.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23772455/