Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with heart tumor causing severe fluid around the heart
By Gonin-Jmaa, D et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·1996·Department of Veterinary Clinical Science, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pericardial effusion in a dog with rhabdomyosarcoma in the right ventricular wall.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old male Labrador retriever was brought in for heart failure symptoms, including weak pulses and fluid buildup in the chest and abdomen. Initially, the cause was unclear, but two days later, he developed severe fluid around the heart, which was putting pressure on it. An ultrasound revealed a tumor in the heart wall, leading to surgery where a biopsy confirmed it was rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer. Unfortunately, the outcome for this dog was not specified, but the diagnosis is important for understanding similar cases.
People also search for: dog heart failure symptoms · Labrador pericardial effusion · rhabdomyosarcoma in dogs · dog tumor treatment options
Abstract
A seven-year-old male labrador retriever presented in right heart failure with weak femoral pulses, and pleural, abdominal and mild pericardial effusion. No diagnosis could be established initially. Two days later, the dog developed severe pericardial effusion causing cardiac tamponade. A tumour in the right ventricular wall was visualised on ultrasonographic examination. An exploratory thoracotomy was performed and biopsies of the mass submitted for histopathological examination. A diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma arising from the myocardium was established. Cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma has been reported in only two dogs. Neither report was associated with pericardial effusion.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8731409/