Primary renal tumors in dogs are generally highly malignant with surgery being the only treatment that improves survival.

Background: Primary renal tumors are diagnosed uncommonly in dogs. Hypothesis: Signs and survival will differ among different categories of primary renal tumors. Animals: Data were collected from the medical records of 82 dogs with primary renal tumors diagnosed by examination of tissue obtained by ultrasound-guided biopsy, needle aspiration, surgery, or at postmortem examination.Methods: This was a multi-institutional, retrospective study.Results:: Forty-nine dogs had carcinomas, 28 had sarcomas, and 5 had nephroblastomas. The dogs were geriatric (mean 8.1 years; range: 1-17) with a weight of 24.9 kg (range: 4.5-80). Tumors occurred with equal frequency in each kidney with 4% occurring bilaterally. Initial signs included one or more of hematuria, inappetance, lethargy, weight loss, or a palpable abdominal mass. Pain was reported more frequently in dogs with sarcomas (5/28). The most common hematologic abnormalities were neutrophilia (22/63), anemia (21/64), and thrombocytopenia (6/68). Polycythemia was present in 3 dogs and resolved with treatment. Hematuria (28/49), pyuria (26/49), proteinuria (24/50), and isosthenuria (20/56) were the most frequently observed abnormalities on urinalysis. Pulmonary metastases were noted on thoracic radiographs in 16% of dogs at diagnosis. Seventy-seven percent of dogs had metastatic disease at the time of death. Median survival for dogs with carcinomas was 16 months (range 0-59 months), for dogs with sarcomas 9 months (range 0-70 months), and for dogs with nephroblastomas 6 months (range 0-6 months).Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Primary renal tumors in dogs are generally highly malignant with surgery being the only treatment that improves survival.

Objective-To compare short-and long-term outcome and complications of chest wall reconstruction in dogs using autogenous, prosthetic, and composite autogenous-prosthetic techniques. Study Design-Historical cohort. Animals-Dogs (n ¼ 44) with spontaneous tumors arising from or involving the chest wall. Methods-Medical records were reviewed for dogs with rib and/or sternal tumors treated by chest wall resection and reconstruction. Signalment, preoperative clinical features, intraoperative findings and complications, reconstruction technique (autogenous muscle flap, prosthetic mesh, or composite autogenous-prosthetic technique), and short-( 14 days) and long-term (414 days) postoperative complications were determined from the medical records and telephone contact with owners and referring veterinarians. Associations between chest wall reconstruction technique and postoperative complications were tested with Cox proportional hazards. Results-Chest wall defects were reconstructed with autogenous muscle flaps (29 dogs), prosthetic mesh (3), and a composite technique of prosthetic mesh and either autogenous muscle or omental pedicle flap (12). Early postoperative complications were recorded in 8 dogs (18.2%) and included seroma (5) and pleural effusion and peripheral edema (3). One dog had a late complication (2.3%) with a mesh-related infection 767 days postoperatively. Overall, complications occurred in 10.3% of autogenous, 25.0% of composite, and 66.7% of prosthetic reconstructions. Chest wall reconstruction with Marlex mesh alone was associated with a significantly increased risk of postoperative complications compared with autogenous reconstruction (P ¼ .027). Reconstruction of sternal defects (3), 2 of which were performed with Marlex mesh alone, was associated with a significantly increased risk of complications compared with lateral chest wall reconstructions (P ¼ .037). Conclusions-Large chest wall defects can be reconstructed with autogenous and composite techniques, but prosthetic mesh should be covered with well-vascularized autogenous muscle or omentum to decrease the risk of postoperative complications. Sternal defects should be reconstructed with rigid techniques. Clinical Relevance-Chest wall reconstruction with autogenous muscle flaps or a combination of autogenous techniques with prosthetic mesh is associated with a low rate of infection and other complications. r