Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgery and recovery issues in dogs with thymic myasthenia gravis
By Saylor, Sarah E et al.·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2024·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Preoperative management and postoperative complications in 9 dogs undergoing surgical treatment of thymic-associated myasthenia gravis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Nine dogs with a condition called myasthenia gravis (MG), which can cause muscle weakness, underwent surgery to remove thymic tumors. Before surgery, six of the dogs received medication to help manage their MG symptoms. Unfortunately, three dogs faced serious complications after the surgery and were euthanized. However, six dogs were able to go home, and of those, three showed complete recovery from their MG symptoms within about two months after surgery. This study highlights the risks associated with surgery for dogs with thymic tumors and MG, indicating that careful management is crucial.
People also search for: dog myasthenia gravis treatment · thymoma surgery complications in dogs · dog muscle weakness after surgery
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Thymoma-associated paraneoplastic syndromes in dogs and cats include myasthenia gravis, hypercalcemia, exfoliative dermatitis, erythema multiforme, T-cell lymphocytosis, myocarditis, anemia, and polymyositis. Paraneoplastic myasthenia gravis (MG) is the most commonly reported paraneoplastic syndrome in dogs with thymic epithelial tumors. The objective of this study was to examine cases of canine thymic-associated MG treated surgically, with the specific objective of providing an updated clinical picture of the preoperative management, postoperative complications, and outcomes of these cases. ANIMALS: Nine dogs with paraneoplastic MG underwent surgical removal of a thymic epithelial tumor. PROCEDURE: Medical records of dogs with MG that received surgical treatment of a thymic epithelial tumor between January 1, 2012 and October 1, 2022 were obtained from 4 veterinary teaching hospitals. Descriptions of perioperative MG management, complications, and outcomes were reported. RESULTS: Six of the 9 dogs received medical therapy for MG, with either a cholinesterase inhibitor (4 dogs) or a cholinesterase inhibitor and immunosuppressive agent (2 dogs), before surgery. The median duration of medical therapy for MG before surgery was 7.5 d (range: 2 to 60 d). Three of 9 dogs experienced immediate postoperative complications and were euthanized. Six of 9 dogs (66.6%) survived to discharge and 3 of 6 dogs that survived to discharge were alive at the time of writing. At the time of writing, 3 of 6 dogs had complete resolution of clinical signs attributable to MG and 2 of 6 had partial resolution. The median time from surgery to resolution of clinical signs of MG in these dogs was 63 d (range: 2 to 515 d). CONCLUSION: Dogs with thymic epithelial tumors and paraneoplastic MG are at a high risk for perioperative complications. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The findings of this study corroborate previous literature stating that paraneoplastic MG is a poor prognostic indicator for dogs with thymic epithelial tumors, while also highlighting the variation in approaches to clinical management of thymic-associated MG in veterinary medicine and the lack of established protocols guiding perioperative management.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38952759/