Dystocia due to dicephalus monster with kyphosis and arthrogryposis in a cross bred cow: a case report

Abstract

A rare case of dystocia due to dicephalus monster with kyphosis and arthrogryphosis was recorded in a 5-year old crossbred cow presented with history of full term pregnancy, signs of labor since about 48 hrs, and unsuccessful pre-handling using unskilled traction. Vaginal examination revealed the presence of a dicephalic monster fetus with one of the heads severely damaged (broken jaw and damaged eye canthi). Caesarean section was performed and a female fetus with two heads, necks fused caudally, arthrogryposis in all the limbs and kyphosis was removed.

A dicephalus calf: anatomical, pathological and radiographic aspects

“…In the present case, the occurrence of congenital malformations associated with the ingestion of toxic (teratogenic) plants was ruled out due to their absence in the pastures where the animals were kept. Two cases of dicephalus associated with arthrogryposis of the pelvic limbs described in India (12) and in Paraguay (2), which were also not associated with ingestion of M. tenuiflora or any other species known to be teratogenic, corroborate this hypothesis.…”

“…Regarding complete and incomplete dicephalus (diprosopus), some considerations are necessary. In the literature, cases of diprosopus (7,9,14,19,24) are more often reported than complete dicephalus (2,6,12,15). This finding had already been observed in the 1980s, indicating that diprosopus is about three times more common than complete dicephalus (16).…”

“…Anatomical and radiographic descriptions of congenital malformations in farm animals are uncommon and, in the literature consulted, only two cases of bovine dicephalus address the radiographic aspects of this disease (20,26). The other few existing studies deal only with the necropsy findings of the affected animal (2,6,12,15).…”

A case of bovine dystocia secondary to congenital mesothelioma in a calf

“…A case of bovine dystocia secondary to congenital mesothelioma in a calf Hydrops fetalis, or fetal ascites, is the accumulation of fluid within the peritoneum of the fetus prior to birth and when present in full-term calves can result in dystocia (Pandit and Singh 1990;Katiyar et al 2016). The incidence of dystocia due to fetal ascites is likely to be low.…”

“…The ascites observed in hydrops fetalis can be due to either an overproduction of peritoneal fluid, or a lack of sufficient drainage of this fluid, and may occur as a result of a range of congenital abnormalities (Ravikumar et al 2013). One such abnormality is the formation of congenital mesotheliomas in the fetal abdomen (Katiyar et al 2016). Worldwide, reports of congenital mesotheliomas as a cause of bovine dystocia are very rare.…”