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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Dog with vagus nerve tumor causing coughing and Horner's syndrome

By Yap, Fui & Pratschke, Kathryn·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2016·From the Small Animal Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor of the Vagus Nerve in a Dog.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A 7-year-old female Labrador retriever was brought in for persistent coughing, retching, excessive drooling, and a droopy eye on the left side of her face. After a CT scan showed a mass near her neck, the vet performed surgery to remove a large section of the affected nerve. The tumor was confirmed to be malignant, but thankfully, it hadn't spread to other areas. This case highlights a rare type of tumor affecting dogs, and the surgery was necessary to address the issue.

People also search for: dog coughing and drooling · Labrador retriever tumor treatment · dog surgery for nerve tumor

Abstract

A peripheral nerve sheath tumor was diagnosed in a female, neutered Labrador retriever with a 6 mo history of coughing, retching, ptyalism, and left-sided Horner's syndrome. Computed tomography scan of the neck revealed a mass lesion between the carotid artery and esophagus in the mid-cervical region. Exploratory surgery was performed and an 18 cm section of thickened vagus nerve was excised. Histopathological findings and immunochemistry staining confirmed a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. The tumor showed microscopic signs of malignancy, but there were no macroscopic signs of local extension or distant metastasis. This report documents a peripheral nerve sheath tumor of rare origin in dogs.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26606206/