A Rapidly Growing Fibrosarcoma in a Four‐month old Retriever Puppy

Abstract

AT THE TIME the puppy was bought, at 8-weeks old, a small thickening on the dorsal surface of the head in the occipital region was noticed. Five weeks later the owner reported that the mass was increasing in size and shortly after this it was excised. Recurrence was rapid. E X A M I N A T I O NThe animal was examined at 16 weeks of age and appeared healthy and in good condition. A firm oval mass about 3 . 5~2~7 cm in the subcutaneous tissues was present in thc occipital region (Fig. 1). The scar of the operation 3 weeks previously was present and both scar and skin were freely moveable over the underlying mass. Regional lymph nodes were not palpable and radiographs of the skull and thorax showed no abnormality. Haematological values were within the normal range and serum levels of calcium and phosphorus were normal. Serum alkaline phosphatase was 13 K.A. units which is also normal for a dog of this age. OPERATIONUnder methoxyfhorane anaesthesia the mass was excised using diathermy and taking as wide an incision as possible. As the tumour appeared to be attached to the periosteum of the frontal bone this area of attachment was thoroughly curetted.The wound was washed with 1 % cetrimide, in an attempt to destroy any remaining malignant cells, followed by washing in normal saline. The wound was then closed using vertical mattress sutures of braided nylon. Post-operative oedema was marked and a serosanguinous fluid collected subcutaneously. This was drained off on the fifth post-operative day and thereafter healing was satisfactory.Examination of the dog 34 months after operation showed slight skin thickening only over the site of incision and on radiography the lungs appeared normal. S i x 399

Anaplastic and aggressive subcutaneous sarcoma in a seven‐month‐old dog

“…Soft tissue sarcomas are rare in dogs under one year of age (Cullen and others 2002), and only sporadic cases of fibrosarcoma, lymphangiosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) are reported (Owen 1967, Wright 1978, Kim and others 1996, Sagartz and others 1996, Sanders and others 1996, Pires 1997, Diessler and others 2003, Olausson and others 2005). This paper describes a puppy with a rapidly growing multicentric poorly differentiated sarcoma, with localisation to multiple sites including subcutis, lungs, thorax, liver and spleen.…”