Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Nontraumatic adrenal tumor rupture causing bleeding in four dogs
By Whittemore, J C et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2001·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Nontraumatic rupture of an adrenal gland tumor causing intra-abdominal or retroperitoneal hemorrhage in four dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Four dogs were brought in feeling very weak and lethargic, with pale gums indicating possible serious health issues. They were found to have ruptured adrenal gland tumors causing internal bleeding. After surgery to remove the tumors, three of the dogs recovered well and lived for over five months, although one was later euthanized due to another health issue. Unfortunately, one dog could not be saved during surgery. The recommended treatment for this condition is to stabilize the dog’s blood flow and then perform surgery to remove the tumor.
People also search for: dog lethargy pale gums · adrenal gland tumor in dogs · dog surgery recovery · internal bleeding in dogs · treatment for dog adrenal tumor
Abstract
Diagnosis and surgical management of intra-abdominal or retroperitoneal hemorrhage in 4 dogs with rupture of an adrenal gland tumor were determined. All 4 dogs were lethargic and weak with pale mucous membranes on initial examination. Three dogs did not have any history of clinical signs of hyperadrenocorticism or pheochromocytoma prior to examination. In 3 of the dogs, a mass in the area of the adrenal gland was identified with ultrasonography prior to surgery. All dogs developed ventricular premature contractions before or during anesthesia. Three dogs survived adrenalectomy; 1 dog was euthanatized during surgery because of an inability to achieve adequate hemostasis. The remaining 3 dogs all survived more than 5 months after surgery; 1 was euthanatized 9 months after surgery because of rupture of a hepatic mass. On the basis of these results, we suggest that hemodynamic stabilization followed by adrenalectomy is the treatment of choice for dogs with nontraumatic rupture of an adrenal gland tumor and resulting life-threatening hemorrhage.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11497046/