Outcome after surgical and conservative treatments of canine peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia: A multi-institutional study of 128 dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To compare demographics and disease characteristics in dogs in which peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia (PPDH) had been diagnosed and report outcomes after surgical treatment (ST) or conservative treatment (CT). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. SAMPLE POPULATION: One hundred twenty-eight dogs (91 ST, 37 CT) in which PPDH had been diagnosed. METHODS: Medical records were reviewed for demographics, perioperative findings, and outcomes. Follow-up was obtained via telephone interview and email correspondence with owners and referring veterinarians. Baseline variables were compared between treatment groups. RESULTS: Dogs treated surgically were younger (P < .001), more likely to be sexually intact (P = .002), more likely to have clinical signs from PPDH vs an incidental diagnosis (P < .001), and more likely to have other congenital abnormalities (P = .003) compared with dogs treated conservatively. Ninety-seven percent of ST dogs were discharged from hospitals. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were reported in 22% and 41% of dogs, respectively, although most complications were classified as low grade (75% and 83%, respectively). Follow-up was available in 87 dogs, at a median of 1062 days. Hernia recurrence was not reported in any surgically treated dog. The deaths of nine dogs (five ST, four CT) could be attributed to PPDH, and long median survival times were observed in both the ST and CT groups (8.2 and 5 years, respectively). CONCLUSION: Preoperative characteristics differed between dogs treated conservatively vs surgically. Surgical treatment was associated with low operative mortality, and both ST and CT dogs had good long-term survival. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A diagnosis of PPDH can confer a good long-term prognosis for both ST and CT dogs.

Presumptive seeding metastasis of pericardial mesothelioma following repeated pericardiocentesis in a dog.

A dog with a history of recurrent pericardial effusion that required repeated pericardiocentesis was presented to the surgical service at the Ontario Veterinary College Health Sciences Centre for thoracoscopic pericardiectomy. Physical examination revealed a subcutaneous mass in the right lateral thorax. Cytology of the subcutaneous mass and histopathology of the pericardium were consistent with mesothelioma. This article details the first reported case of pericardial mesothelioma with suspected extra-thoracic metastasis following pericardiocentesis in a dog.

Implantation métastasique présumée d'un mésothéliome péricardique à la suite de péricardiocentèses répétées chez un chien. Un chien avec une historique d'effusions péricardiques récurrentes qui nécessitaient des péricardiocentèses répétées fut présenté au service de chirurgie du Ontario Veterinary College Health Sciences Centre pour une péricardiectomie thoracoscopique. L'examen physique a révélé une masse souscutanée dans le thorax latéral droit. L'examen cytologique de la masse sous-cutanée et l'histopathologie du péricarde étaient cohérents avec un mésothéliome. Le présent article donne les détails du premier cas rapporté chez un chien de mésothéliome péricardique avec métastase extra-thoracique suspectée consécutive à la suite de péricardiocentèses.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Sonographic features of peritoneal lymphomatosis in 4 cats.

BACKGROUND: The metastatic spread of feline lymphoma to the peritoneum ("lymphomatosis") has been rarely reported in the literature. The sonographic features specific to this rare disease manifestation have not been described and have important treatment and prognostic considerations prompting definitive diagnosis. OBJECTIVES: To describe the ultrasonic features of feline peritoneal lymphomatosis. ANIMALS: Four cats with alimentary lymphoma and peritoneal metastasis confirmed using cytology, histology, or both. RESULTS: The sonographic features described include either a nonobstructive, focally diffuse, and circumferential intestinal mass, or an eccentric, focally diffuse, gastric mass. The intestinal and gastric lesions exhibited hypo-to-anechoic transmural wall thickening with loss of wall layering in association with discrete-to-coalescing plaques or sheets of thickened, hypoechoic tissue throughout the mesentery or omenta. All cases exhibited only small volumes of anechoic free peritoneal fluid. Three of the 4 cats also had multiple small hypoechoic nodular foci on the parietal and/or visceral peritoneal surfaces. Two cats had bilateral renomegaly because of lymphoma invasion (2/4) and 1 cat had local lymphadenopathy secondary to lymphoma invasion (1/4). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Peritoneal lymphomatosis is a rare manifestation of lymphoma metastasis and to date appears to be associated specifically with B-cell alimentary lymphoma.