Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgery removed thymoma causing vein swelling in Golden Retriever
By Hunt, G B et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1997·Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Excision of a locally invasive thymoma causing cranial vena caval syndrome in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old female Golden Retriever was brought in because she wasn't eating, was having trouble breathing, and had swelling in her neck. X-rays showed fluid in her chest and a mass in her chest area, which turned out to be a thymoma (a type of tumor). During surgery, the tumor was found to be growing into a major vein but was successfully removed without complications. After the surgery, the dog's symptoms improved significantly, showing that surgical treatment can be effective for this condition.
People also search for: dog breathing problems · Golden Retriever tumor surgery · thymoma treatment in dogs
Abstract
A 9-year-old female Golden Retriever was examined because of inappetance, labored breathing, edema, and distension of the veins of the neck. Thoracic radiography revealed pleural effusion and a cranial mediastinal mass. Biopsy results obtained by use of fine-needle aspiration were consistent with thymoma. At surgery, the tumor was found to have invaded the cranial vena cava. Extra- and intravascular portions were removed without complications, and the dog's clinical signs resolved. To our knowledge, this is the first documented report of an invasive thymoma causing cranial vena caval syndrome that has been successfully treated in a dog. In this instance, the simplest surgical method, namely venotomy and tumor extraction using venous inflow occlusion, was successful, obviating the need for temporary or permanent vascular conduits or grafts. These findings indicate that there is potential for surgical correction of invasive thymoma with cranial vena caval syndrome in some animals, and the prognosis is not always poor.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9170091/