A lactating 20-year-old, brown, Arabian mare, weighing about 300 kg, presented for bleeding from one teat and severe swelling of the entire mammary gland. The mare had untreated mastitis 10 months before. Consequently, a gangrenous teat developed after chronic bloody and purulent discharges. The teat was removed surgically by the field veterinarian. At that time, the mammary gland increased in size. Bloody and purulent discharges restarted 10 days previously. Under general anaesthesia, the entire mammary gland was removed. Comedocarcinoma was diagnosed by histopathological assessment. Immunohistochemical staining was performed for pan-cytokeratin and vimentin. Microscopic examination of immunohistochemical stained slides revealed expression of pan-cytokeratin. In conclusion, this report describes clinical, macroscopic, histopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of comedocarcinoma that did not metastasise to regional lymph nodes. Reports in the field of equine oncology contribute to improved general knowledge in equine medicine, contributing to better diagnosis and treatment.

OVER a six-year period (1989 to 1995), 769 bovine surgical patients were treated at the authors' clinic. Among 56 animals with congenital defects, five calves were diagnosed with meningocele. Three underwent successful surgery, the other two were not treated.The first case was a five-day-old female Holstein calf born at term, which presented with a soft painless fluctuating swelling of about 12 cm diameter on the median plane in the frontal region. It was covered with hair and deep palpation disclosed a bony projection and a median 1-5 cm diameter hole. Aseptic puncture by needle permitted drainage of 450 ml red-tinged clear fluid. Further palpation revealed that the skin and subcutaneous tissues of the swelling were thicker than the surrounding skin and that the caudal border of the hole had a semicircular flap-like projection about 2.5 cm wide and 1-5 cm high, projecting rostrally. Corrective surgery was performed under deep sedation with xylazine and local analgesia with 2 per cent lignocaine hydrochloride. The calf was placed in sternal recumbency and the area prepared for aseptic surgery. An elliptical rostrocaudal skin incision was made as for an umbilical hernia repair. The underlying tissues, which had similarity to an internal hernial sac, were separated from the skin by blunt dissection and then resected leaving sufficient tissues to permit simple apposition and to cover the hole and projecting bone. The inner surface of the sac was smooth and glistening. Brain tissue was visible through the defect. The edges were apposed with inverting horizontal mattress sutures of 2-0 chromic catgut. The skin wound was closed by everting mattress sutures of 2-0 braided silk. The suture line was covered with a rolled piece of sterile gauze, fixed in place with three simple interrupted sutures. The entire operative area was kept covered by wrapping the extended corners of a piece of cloth around the neck and muzzle, as a 'four-tailed bandage'. Penicillin and streptomycin were given parenterally for five days. Recovery was uneventful, with no recurrence of the swelling and the skin sutures were removed 10 days after the operation.The second case was a two-day-old male hybrid calf (Holstein x local Iranian) which had a large flaccid swelling in the frontal region. The fluid contents (2-5 litres) were clear and colourless. Further palpation through the skin failed to reveal any hole at the suture line. The openings in the frontal bones over the site of the supra-orbital foramina were large, being 1-5 cm diameter on the left and 2 cm on the right. Corrective surgery was undertaken following acepromazine sedation and local analgesia using a ring block of 2 per cent lignocaine hydrochloride. The inner lining of FIG 1: Congenital cranial meningocele in a 22-day-old male hybrid calf (Holstein x local Iranian). The sac with normal skin and hair is hanging towards the left side, but has its base at the upper part of the median frontal line the sac comprised meninges herniating through a small vertical slit in the frontal suture ...

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Background: Ketofol is a 1:1 mixture of ketamine and propofol that has been proposed for induction and maintenance of anesthesia aiming to provide more cardiovascular stability and less undesirable impacts compared to the use of propofol and ketamine alone. However, it has been associated with exacerbated respiratory depression in dogs. Diminishing the dose of ketofol may improve cardiovascular effects and attenuate respiratory depression. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of adding lidocaine, fentanyl or dexmedetomidine at the required dose and cardiorespiratory variables in dogs undergoing total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with ketofol. In phase I, twelve dogs were induced and maintained with two out of four anesthetic regimens of KET: ketofol (4 mg/kg and 0.3 mg/kg/min, respectively), KLD; ketofol and lidocaine (1.5 mg/kg and 0.25 mg/kg/min, respectively), KFN: ketofol and fentanyl (LD: 5 µg/kg and 0.1 µg/kg/min, respectively) and KDX: ketofol and dexmedetomidine (2 µg/kg and 2 mg/kg/h, respectively). Minimum infusion rate (MIR) of ketofol was determined in this phase. Subsequently, in phase II, other twelve dogs were given the same anesthetic regimens for 60 min similar to the previous phase, except the infusion rate of ketofol. Cardiorespiratory variables were recorded in predetermined interval. Results: In phase I, mean MIR of ketofol for KET, KLD, KFN and KDX were determined to have decreasing manner as 0.35, 0.23, 0.15, and 0.08 mg/kg/min, respectively. In phase II, the times of recovery events were shorter in KFN and KDX than KET and KLD. Notably, HR was significantly higher than baseline during anesthesia in KET and KLD, which also was significantly lower than baseline in KFN and KDX at several time points. Significant higher values of MAP were observed over time in KDX. In all treatments, there was a decrease in respiratory rate and pH as well as an increase in PCO2 during the anesthesia session. Conclusions: It was concluded that despite decreasing the dose of ketofol, none of the added drugs attenuated respiratory depression caused by ketofol.