Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of an Epidermoid Cyst in a Foot of a Horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of equine veterinary science
- Year:
- 2020
- Authors:
- Mageed, Mahmoud & Elfadl, Ahmed
- Affiliation:
- Tierklinik Lü · Germany
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
An 18-year-old Quarter Horse mare was having trouble walking on her left front leg for about four weeks. A thorough examination showed swelling in the area around her hoof, and various imaging tests, including X-rays and MRIs, revealed a well-defined soft tissue mass affecting the bone structure in her foot. The plan was to surgically remove this mass and stabilize her joint, but before any treatment could be done, the owner chose to have her euthanized. The mass was identified as an epidermoid cyst, which is a type of growth made up of layers of skin-like cells. Although these cysts are uncommon, they can cause lameness in horses, especially after an injury.
Abstract
An 18-year-old Quarter Horse mare was evaluated because of moderate left forelimb lameness of 4 weeks' duration. The clinical evaluation and diagnostic perineural analgesia localized the lameness to the distal portion of the left forelimb. There was swelling on the dorsal and lateral aspect of the coronary band. Radiography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography of the foot revealed circumscribed well-capsulated soft tissue mass causing a focal deformation of the dorsolateral border of the middle phalanx. The treatment aimed to remove the mass surgically and stabilized the interphalangeal joint, but the owner elected human euthanasia before treatment attempt. Histopathology diagnosis was an epidermoid cyst, which was characterized by multilayers of keratin surrounded by stratified squamous epithelium. Although rare, an epidermoid cyst should be considered as a differential diagnosis for space-occupying mass in horses' foot that develops chronic lameness after trauma. This report describes the multimodality appearance of the epidermoid cyst.
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: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33077085/