Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Concomitant Presence of Ovarian Tumors (Teratoma and Granulosa Cell Tumor), and Pyometra in an English Bulldog Female Dog: A Case Report.
- Journal:
- Frontiers in veterinary science
- Year:
- 2019
- Authors:
- Oviedo-Peñata, Carlos A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old female English Bulldog that had not been spayed was brought to the vet with some concerning symptoms. She had been having regular heat cycles every six months, but three months had passed since her last cycle, and she had developed a vulvar discharge for over two weeks. Upon examination, the vet noticed that her gums were slightly pale, she seemed weak, and there was swelling around her vulva along with a thick discharge from her uterus. An ultrasound showed abnormal growths in her ovaries and signs of a condition called pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus. During surgery to remove her ovaries and uterus, the vet found tumors in both ovaries, which were later identified as a granulosa cell tumor in one ovary and a teratoma (a type of tumor that can contain different types of tissues) in the other. The treatment involved removing these tumors, and it highlights the importance of thorough examinations for older, unspayed female dogs to catch such issues early.
Abstract
The diagnosis of ovarian tumors in dogs is usually complicated because the clinical signs can be very discrete and can be easily confused with other diseases. There are few reports of ovarian tumors with different cellular characteristics in the same dog. Our objective was to describe an unusual case of the concomitant presence of ovarian teratoma and granulosa cell tumors in a female dog presenting symptoms compatible with pyometra at clinical consultation.A non-spayed 6-years-old female English Bulldog was attended at the consultation, with no history of previous steroid hormonal treatment. The dog had presented regular estrus every 6 months; 3 months elapsed between the last estrus and consultation. The dog had presented vulvar discharge for more than 2 weeks.the patient presented a slightly pale oral mucosa, decay, vulvar edema, and mucous-purulent uterine discharge. The ultrasound examination revealed the presence of neoformations in the ovaries, and evidence of cystic endometrial hyperplasia-pyometra in the uterus.We performed a ventral ovariohysterectomy. During the surgical procedure, it was found several masses in the left and right ovaries, exhibiting characteristics of other tissues different from ovarian tissue. All samples were sent for histopathological examination. The diagnosis was a granulosa cell tumor in the left ovary and a well-differentiated teratoma in the right ovary.Practitioners must improve the use of diagnostic tools when attending non-spayed dogs at advanced ages (more than 6 years old), which would probably be at high risk of suffering from undetected ovarian tumors, some of them with malignancy behavior.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31993447/