Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with painful thigh swelling and lameness from muscle cancer
By Bar-Am, Y et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2006·Koret School of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Femoral compartment syndrome due to haemangiosarcoma in the semimembranosus muscle in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A five-year-old male German shepherd was brought to the vet with a painful swelling in his right thigh and severe limping that had lasted for two weeks. The vet found a firm mass in the dog's hamstring area, and tests showed high pressure in the thigh compartment along with a large fluid buildup. The dog underwent surgery to remove the mass, which was diagnosed as haemangiosarcoma (a type of cancer), and his symptoms improved. Unfortunately, two and a half months later, he developed another mass and was found to have cancer spread to his lungs, leading the owner to make the difficult decision to euthanize him.
People also search for: dog thigh swelling · German shepherd cancer symptoms · haemangiosarcoma treatment in dogs
Abstract
A five-year-old, entire male German shepherd dog was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital-Koret School of Veterinary Medicine because of an acute, painful swelling of the right thigh and severe lameness of two-weeks duration. On physical examination, a firm and painful mass was detected in the hamstring region. Radiography and ultrasonography revealed a soft tissue mass, with a 250 cc fluid accumulation craniomedial to it. Intracompartmental pressure measurement with a Wick catheter demonstrated significantly elevated pressure within the right caudal femoral compartment (25 to 28 mmHg compared with 5 to 7 mmHg in the unaffected leg). Surgical exploration of the area was undertaken, fasciotomy and mass excision were performed, and resolution of the clinical signs was achieved. The mass was identified by histopathology results as haemangiosarcoma. Two and a half months after surgery, which was followed by adjunct chemotherapy (doxorubicin), the dog was readmitted with a subcutaneous mass in the same area, although he was not lame at this time. Radiographs of the thoracic cavity demonstrated widely disseminated metastases in the lungs. At that point, the owner elected to have the dog euthanased.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16674725/