Nephrectomy in 52 dogs for the treatment of Dioctophyme renale infection - Knowing the enemy to win.

Dioctophyme renale (D. renale) is a nematode that parasitizes the kidney of mammals. Treatment is often surgical, with removal of the affected organ. This retrospective study aims to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical, and surgical aspects, the interval between diagnosis and treatment, the occurrence of pre- and intraoperative complications, and the postoperative survival time of dogs parasitized by D. renale undergoing therapeutic nephrectomy. Records of fifty-two dogs treated in a single hospital service were analyzed. We collected epidemiological data, laboratory results, diagnostic method, anesthetic protocol, surgical technique and time, type of antimicrobial prophylaxis, pre- and intraoperative complications, location and number of parasites, and postoperative survival time. Of the 52 dogs undergoing right nephrectomy by laparotomy, 61.5 % were female and 63.4 % were adults. Although the most common clinical sign was hematuria (25 %), 61.5 % of the patients were asymptomatic. Eosinophilia and increased serum urea were the only laboratory changes found. The interval between diagnosis and surgery was 27.4 ± 23 days and no patient showed changes suggestive of surgical emergency. The most common surgical approach was the right paracostal (61.5 %), and a continuous suture pattern was predominant. Intraoperative complications occurred in 9.6 % of the procedures, varying from mild to severe hemorrhage. Mean postoperative survival was 835.5 ± 428 days. Dioctophymosis was effectively controlled by nephrectomy of the affected kidney, allowing a mean survival of more than 830 days. No serious complications caused by intervals between diagnosis and treatment have been reported. This is the largest retrospective study evaluating dogs infected with D. renale that were surgically treated.

Gasless laparoscopic renal biopsy in canine cadavers: a preclinical study.

In this study we aimed to analyze the feasibility of the gasless renal biopsy technique in canine cadavers. The cadavers were randomly divided into two groups: laparoscopic GCG, in which gasless laparoscopy was performed and GCP, laparoscopy with pneumoperitoneum was performed. The procedures were randomly performed on the right and left kidneys. The total surgical time, procedural steps, and intraoperative complications were recorded. The degree of difficulty of the surgical approaches was evaluated by the surgeon, assistant, and external evaluators. Renal samples were evaluated for quality, number of glomeruli, and proportion of renal cortex. The total operative time was higher in the GCG group than in the GCP group (p < 0.01). Additionally, positioning of the second portal and platform positioning took longer than the other steps. The surgical groups differed from each other in the Likert scale values for almost all the parameters regarding the difficulty of the surgical approaches (p < 0.05), with higher scores in the GCG group than in the GCP group. Based on the video recordings, the GCP group had higher scores than the GCG group for degrees of difficulty of the approach (p < 0.05). Renal histological parameters were similar between the surgical groups and surgical sides. Our study findings indicate that the proposed gasless renal biopsy technique is feasible. The longer operative time and technical difficulties in the gasless approach did not affect the quality of the renal specimens.

Neste estudo objetivamos analisar a viabilidade da técnica de biópsia renal gasless em cadáveres caninos. Os cadáveres foram divididos aleatoriamente em dois grupos: GCG laparoscópico, no qual foi realizada laparoscopia gasless e GCP, onde foi realizada laparoscopia com pneumoperitônio. Os procedimentos foram realizados aleatoriamente nos rins direito e esquerdo. O tempo cirúrgico total, etapas do procedimento e complicações intraoperatórias foram registrados. O grau de dificuldade das abordagens cirúrgicas foi avaliado pelo cirurgião, assistente e avaliadores externos. As amostras renais foram avaliadas quanto à qualidade, número de glomérulos e proporção do córtex renal. O tempo operatório total foi maior no grupo GCG do que no grupo GCP (p < 0,01). Além disso, o posicionamento do segundo portal e o posicionamento da plataforma demoraram mais do que as outras etapas. Os grupos cirúrgicos diferiram entre si nos valores da escala Likert para quase todos os parâmetros relativos à dificuldade das abordagens cirúrgicas (p < 0,05), com escores mais elevados no grupo GCG do que no grupo GCP. Com base nas gravações de vídeo, o grupo GCP obteve pontuações mais altas que o grupo GCG para graus de dificuldade da abordagem (p < 0,05). Os parâmetros histológicos renais foram semelhantes entre os grupos cirúrgicos e os lados cirúrgicos. Os resultados do nosso estudo indicam que a técnica proposta de biópsia renal gasless é viável. O maior tempo operatório e as dificuldades técnicas na abordagem sem gás não afetaram a qualidade das amostras renais.

Laparoscopic nephron-sparing surgery for the treatment of canine dioctophymosis.

This paper reports on two cases of laparoscopic nephrotomy employed in the treatment of canine dioctophymosis, which is considered a unusual procedure and a new treatment proposal heretofore not performed in veterinary medicine. Two patients were treated, one with a history of hematuria and the other with incidental finding of the parasite in the abdominal cavity during elective ovariohysterectomy. Both dogs were subjected to abdominal ultrasound, which produced images indicating the presence of the parasite in the right side kidney, but with partial parenchymal preservation. The patients were therefore subjected to laparoscopic nephrotomy. The surgical procedure was effective in treating dioctophymosis and enabled minimum tissue invasion during surgery, in addition to preservation of the kidney.

A positive association of larval therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy in veterinary wound care.

The treatment of cutaneous wounds is part of the veterinary routine from initial scientific reports due to being regularly present condition. Currently, several types of treatments are available to accelerate the healing process. This report presents the case of a dog with multiple lesions in the thoracic limbs resulting from a car accident, who underwent larval therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The animal was a 2-year-old female mixed breed dog presenting severe skin degloving, fracture in the left thoracic limb (LTL), with abrasion lesions and dislocation in the right thoracic limb (RTL). The animal underwent multiple modality therapies, such as HBOT sessions associated with larval therapy; even after the LTL presented gangrene, this treatment resulted in optimal viability of the non-necrotic tissue adjacent to the gangrene. Due to chronic pain unresponsive to drug control and the presence of a fracture at a location where a possible exoprosthesis was supposed to be fixed, the LTL ended up being amputated. There are several reports of the use of HBOT or larval therapy in traumatized limbs; however, the combination of both therapies has not been previously described in the veterinary literature. Thus, we demonstrate through this report that it was possible to quickly recover the animal with good wound resolution through tissue oxygenation and a healthy granulation bed, both provided by the therapeutic combination.

Ectopic Dioctophyme renale in the thoracic and abdominal cavities associated with renal parasitism in a dog.

Dioctophymosis is the disease caused by the nematode Dioctophyme renale, normally found parasitizing the right kidney of dogs. The absence of symptoms is frequent in parasitized animals. The surgical procedures are commonly performed to treat this disease. This work describes a case involving a canine with renal and ectopic parasitosis in the abdominal and thoracic regions. A mixed-breed female dog, approximately four months old, was diagnosed by ultrasound as for the presence of D. renale in the right kidney and abdominal and thoracic cavities. The animal underwent exploratory celiotomy, nephrectomy of the parasitized kidney, and transdiaphragmatic thoracotomy to remove the thoracic parasite, with a single abdominal surgical wound and excellent postoperative recovery. Several reports of ectopic parasitosis are found, however, the thoracic finding is unusual, and curative therapeutic transdiaphragmatic thoracotomy for dioctophymosis in dogs has not been previously described.

Report of rare case of intense parasitism by 34 specimens of Dioctophyme renale in a dog.

Dioctophymosis is caused by Dioctophyme renale, a nematode that usually affects the right kidney of carnivores. The aim of this study was to report on a case of a dog with progressive weight loss and swollen abdomen that was diagnosed as presenting dioctophymosis. The patient underwent surgical treatment through which 34 nematodes were found, of which 18 were female and 16 were male, with a maximum length of 74 centimeters. The parasites were free in the abdominal cavity and inside the right kidney, and had caused peritonitis, free fluid, severe adherences between the abdominal organs and renal perforation. Parasitic diseases with a high number of specimens of this species are uncommon in dogs. The disease progresses with an inflammatory reaction and consequent formation of adherences and granulomatous tissue. This surrounds the eggs that were eliminated in the abdominal cavity by the free parasites. This disease occurs frequently in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where the patient of this report was living. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the case with the largest number of specimens of D. renale removed from a single dog in vivo.