Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Swelling and mild lameness from elbow bone growth in a cat
By Tan, Chris et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2010·Double Bay Veterinary Clinic, Australia·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Synovial osteochondroma involving the elbow of a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old spayed domestic crossbred cat was having trouble walking down stairs and had a firm swelling on her elbow. The vet found that her elbow had reduced movement but was not painful. After taking X-rays and examining the mass, they determined it was a benign growth called a synovial osteochondroma. The vet surgically removed the growth, which improved her mobility, and 18 months later, she was still doing well while receiving medication for elbow arthritis.
People also search for: cat elbow swelling · cat not walking down stairs · synovial osteochondroma treatment · cat elbow pain · cat arthritis medication
Abstract
CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 12-year-old spayed domestic crossbred cat presented because she would not walk down stairs. A firm swelling on the medial aspect of the elbow was detected during physical examination. The lesion was not hot or painful on palpation and the lameness was mild, but the elbow had a reduced range of motion compared with the contralateral limb. DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT: Plain radiographs, physical findings, the appearance of the lesion at surgery and histopathological examination of biopsy specimens suggested the mass was a synovial osteochondroma arising from synovial membrane near the medial portion of the elbow joint. Resection of the lesion improved the cat's mobility and overall clinical status. At the time of writing, the cat continued to do well 18 months following surgery and was receiving standard doses of meloxicam for the concurrent elbow osteoarthritis. PRACTICAL RELEVANCE: Practitioners should be alert to the possibility of this benign entity. Misdiagnosis as a chondrosarcoma, for example, might conceivably lead to radical and unnecessary amputation.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20417902/