MASTOCYTOMA IN THE PELVIC LIMB OF A DACHSHUND – CASE REPORT

Abstract

Mast cell tumor is the second most common cutaneous neoplasm in dogs, accounting for 20% of tumors, affecting mainly those aged 8-9 years, mainly in regions such as the pelvic limb, abdomen, chest, thoracic limb and head. This tumor causes the release of histamine and heparin 25-50 times greater than in animals with a normal number of mast cells in the body, thus causing reactions such as edema, gastrointestinal ulcers, coagulopathies, hemorrhages, itching, emesis and diarrhea. Techniques such as cytopathology, histopathology or immunohistochemistry can be used for diagnosis, with treatment being based on surgical excision. This work aims to report a case of mast cell tumor in a dog, where it was necessary to perform a complete amputation of the left pelvic limb. An 8-year-old female Dachshund dog was treated, complaining of increased volume in the left pelvic limb where it was lame, the mass was approximately 9 cm and firm in consistency, with suspicion of bone neoplasia, an x-ray and examination were performed. cytology, with the diagnosis being the presence of mast cell tumor. Due to the malignant nature of the neoplasm, it was decided to amputate the pelvic limb, where months after surgery there were no adverse effects or recurrences. In general, mast cell tumors present signs of local inflammation, itching and ulcers; these signs were not found in the animal in this report. The importance of cytopathological examination in rapid diagnosis is noted in this work, and even though the tumor was considered malignant, surgical excision with a wide margin brought curative results without recurrence.