Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgery using pericardial patch for right atrial hemangiosarcoma
By Morges, Michelle et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2011·VCA Veterinary Specialists of Northern Colorado, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pericardial free patch grafting as a rescue technique in surgical management of right atrial HSA.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old female Vizsla was brought in for surgery after being diagnosed with a mass on her heart and fluid around the heart, which was causing bleeding. During the surgery, the vet removed the mass and used a special patch to repair the heart. Although the dog lost some blood and needed a transfusion, she recovered enough to go home two days later. Unfortunately, she later passed away at home about 260 days later, likely due to cancer spreading. This case suggests that surgery combined with other treatments can help manage heart masses in dogs, even if the outcome isn't always positive.
People also search for: dog heart mass treatment · Vizsla cancer surgery · hemangiosarcoma in dogs · dog blood transfusion recovery
Abstract
A 7 yr old, neutered female vizsla underwent an exploratory thoracotomy after diagnosis of recurrent hemorrhagic pericardial effusion and a right auricular mass. Staging tests were negative for metastasis. The patient underwent a right, fourth intercostal thoracotomy, subtotal pericardectomy, right auricular mass excision, and pericardial free patch graft. The patient experienced blood loss during surgery, which required a packed red blood cell transfusion. The patient experienced transient arrhythmias postoperatively, but was discharged from the hospital 48 hr later. Histopathologic diagnosis of the mass was hemangiosarcoma. The patient was treated with carboplatin single-agent chemotherapy and palliative radiation therapy. The patient died at home, presumably from metastatic disease 260 days postoperatively. Surgical mass removal or debulking along with pericardial free patch grafting may be considered as palliative treatment options for dogs diagnosed with right auricular masses. In this case report, other techniques failed to repair the defect in the heart and a free patch graft offered a good rescue procedure with a favorable outcome without the need for inflow and outflow occlusion when used in conjunction with adjunctive therapies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21498592/