Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
CT scans show large abnormal prostates in dogs with perineal hernia
By Åhlberg, Tuuli M et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2022·Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: CT imaging of dogs with perineal hernia reveals large prostates with morphological and spatial abnormalities.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of older male dogs with perineal hernia (a condition where tissue pushes through the pelvic muscles) were found to have larger prostates with various abnormalities compared to healthy dogs of the same age. The study used CT imaging to show that these dogs often had cysts in their prostates and unusual prostate shapes or positions. This suggests that prostate issues may be linked to perineal hernias in dogs. Understanding these changes can help veterinarians better diagnose and treat affected dogs.
People also search for: dog perineal hernia symptoms · enlarged prostate in dogs · dog prostate cyst treatment
Abstract
The etiology of canine perineal hernia (PH) remains unclear, although as a disease of older male dogs, it is likely to be hormonal. The role of the prostate in the formation of PH has been questioned; however, prospective and systematic evaluation of prostates in these dogs is absent in the literature. In this prospective case-control study, CT imaging was used to assess prostatic changes in dogs with PH (n = 46) and compare these findings with those of intact age-matched male dogs (n = 23). Using the OsiriX® DICOM viewer, we measured prostatic volume and correlated it with the size of the dog by using the length of the sixth lumbar vertebra. In addition, we recorded spatial and morphological changes of the prostate, such as heterogenicity, intra- and paraprostatic cysts, and mineralizations, as well as prostatic location and rotation. We found that dogs with PH had larger prostates (P < .001) that more often contained cysts (P < .001) and had larger cyst diameters (P = .013) than age-matched controls. Prostates of PH dogs also contained paraprostatic cysts (17.4%) and focal mineralizations (32.6%), which were absent in the control group. Abnormal rotation and location of the prostate were common in dogs with PH. In conclusion, these findings support the use of CT as an adjunct diagnostic imaging modality for the evaluation of the prostate in dogs with PH. Further studies are needed to evaluate nonprostatic CT findings in the pelvic cavity of PH dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35347797/