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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Dog heart tumor biopsy done with fluoroscopy-guided catheter technique

By Raleigh, Joseph S et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2021·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Biopsy of an intracardiac paraganglioma in a dog using a fluoroscopically guided endovascular technique.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A 10-year-old female spayed mixed breed dog was brought to the vet for diarrhea and vomiting, and tests revealed a mass in her heart. The vet used a special technique to take biopsies from the mass, which turned out to be a paraganglioma, a type of tumor. The dog received one round of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but unfortunately, she developed a serious complication called a pulmonary thromboembolism just two days later, leading her owner to choose humane euthanasia. While the treatment did not save her, the biopsy method used could help diagnose similar cases in the future.

People also search for: dog heart tumor treatment · dog vomiting and diarrhea · paraganglioma in dogs · dog radiotherapy side effects

Abstract

A 10-year-old female spayed mixed breed dog was evaluated for diarrhea and vomiting. Diagnostic imaging demonstrated the presence of an intracardiac mass. A modified Seldinger technique was used to access the right jugular vein, and an endomyocardial biopsy forceps was introduced through a sheath to obtain several biopsies. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry demonstrated a paraganglioma. The dog underwent 1 fraction of radiotherapy and l-asparaginase chemotherapy and was discharged. The dog developed a pulmonary thromboembolism 2 days after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and the owner elected humane euthanasia. Although long-term assessment of treatment response was unable to be performed, this novel diagnostic option could be considered for similar cases due to success in obtaining a histopathologic diagnosis, which is essential in developing a disease-specific treatment plan. This report also describes the use of radiotherapy for primary treatment of an intracardiac neoplasm, which can be a consideration in the future.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33955047/