Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with dark eye and face spots diagnosed with nevus of Ota
By Giannikaki, Stamatina et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2019·1 Optivet Referrals, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Oculodermal Melanocytosis: Nevus of Ota in a Dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old male neutered Labrador Retriever was brought in because of dark pigmentation in the right eye and on the right side of his face. The vet found that the pigmentation was due to a condition called oculodermal melanocytosis, which involves benign growths of pigment cells. Unfortunately, the condition progressed over time, leading to more serious eye problems, and the veterinarian decided to remove the eye 19 months later. After the surgery, the dog was diagnosed with significant pigmentation changes and other related issues in the eye area.
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Abstract
This report describes the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and histopathologic features of oculodermal melanocytosis in a young dog. A 3-year-old male neutered Labrador Retriever presented with conjunctival and scleral hyperpigmentation of the right eye, with concurrent ipsilateral cutaneous hyperpigmentation involving the right side of the face. Initial skin and conjunctival biopsies revealed an accumulation of histologically benign melanocytes within the dermis and conjunctival stroma, respectively. Enucleation was elected 19 months later by the referring veterinarian due to the progression of ocular pigmentation with concurrent marked corneal lipidosis and the suspicion of a scleral mass. On gross and histopathologic examination of the globe, there was marked panuveal melanocytosis with extension into the sclera, bulbar conjunctiva, and connective tissue surrounding the optic nerve, as well as sharply demarcated ipsilateral hyperpigmentation of the facial skin. The findings are characteristic of oculodermal melanocytosis (nevus of Ota), a dermal melanocytic hamartoma presenting as cutaneous facial hyperpigmentation that corresponds to the distribution of the ophthalmic and maxillary branches of the trigeminal nerve, often with ipsilateral ocular involvement.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30686121/