Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with heart fluid buildup and tamponade from dead fat tissue
By Krentz, Terence A et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2017·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Focal intramural pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade associated with necrotic adipose tissue in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 1-year-old male German Shepherd was brought to the vet because he suddenly became very tired, was breathing fast, and wasn't eating. The vet found that he had fluid around his heart and muffled heart sounds, which indicated a serious condition called cardiac tamponade. To treat this, the vet performed an emergency procedure to drain the fluid and then surgically removed a mass that was causing the problem. After surgery, the dog recovered well and showed no further signs of heart issues.
People also search for: dog breathing fast · German Shepherd heart problems · cardiac tamponade treatment in dogs
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION A 1-year-old castrated male German Shepherd Dog was examined because of an acute onset of lethargy, tachypnea, and inappetence. CLINICAL FINDINGS On initial physical examination, the dog was tachypneic with muffled heart sounds on thoracic auscultation and a palpable abdominal fluid wave. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed focal intramural pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME The patient underwent emergency therapeutic pericardiocentesis, followed by right lateral intercostal thoracotomy and subtotal pericardiectomy. A 3 × 5-cm mass located between the parietal and visceral layers of the pericardium was resected. The histologic diagnosis was necrotic adipose tissue with granulomatous inflammation and fibroplasia. The patient also underwent exploratory laparotomy and umbilical herniorrhaphy during the same anesthetic episode and recovered from surgery without apparent complications. There were no further clinical signs of cardiac disease. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The patient described in the present report underwent successful subtotal pericardiectomy for treatment of a benign focal lesion causing recurrent pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade. Prompt diagnosis and intervention may have contributed to the positive outcome in this case.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28671499/