Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with tricuspid valve heart tumor causing breathing trouble
By Akkoc, A et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary medicine. A, Physiology, pathology, clinical medicine·2007·Department of Pathology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Valvular cardiac myxoma in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 13-year-old female terrier was experiencing long-term breathing problems, fluid buildup in her abdomen, fatigue, and difficulty exercising. Sadly, during a post-mortem examination, a soft mass was found on her heart, specifically on the tricuspid valve, which was identified as a cardiac myxoma (a type of tumor). This case highlights the rarity of such tumors in dogs, especially in this breed. Unfortunately, the dog did not recover, as the findings were made after her passing.
People also search for: dog heart tumor symptoms · terrier breathing problems · cardiac myxoma in dogs
Abstract
Primary and secondary cardiac tumours are extremely rare in humans and domestic animals. This case describes the gross, light microscopical and immunohistochemical examination of a cardiac myxoma arising from the tricuspid valve in a 13-year-old female terrier dog. Clinically, long-term respiratory distress, progressive ascites, fatigue and exercise intolerance were observed in the animal. At necropsy, the right ventricular chamber was mildly dilated and a soft, whitish mass, 0.7 x 1.5 x 2.1 cm in size was observed arising from the ventricular surface of the septal leaflet of the tricuspid valve of the heart. Histologically, the mass was composed of a faintly eosinophilic myxoid matrix and spindle shaped fibroblast-like cells with elongated nuclei and stellate cells. The extracellular matrix was stained with periodic acid Schiff and alcian blue and the tumour cells were reactive with anti-vimentin and anti-alpha-sarcomeric actin antibodies. The authors believe that this is the first detailed description of a myxoma in this breed.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17718808/