Ameloblastic odontoma in a dog

An ameloblastic odontoma in the right maxilla of a 10-week-old, female Springer Spaniel was treated by extensive curettage. Twelve months after surgery there was no recurrence of the neoplasm.     

Bar suture (toggle pin) vs open surgical abomasopexy for treatment of left displaced abomasum in dairy cattle

Fifty-nine dairy cows with left displacement of the abomasum were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 2 treatments. Twenty-eight were treated by right paramedian abomasopexy via laparotomy, and 31 were treated by percutaneous fixation of the abomasum, using the bar suture or toggle pin technique. Comparisons of the 2 groups, at 4 follow-up examinations, yielded no significant differences in return to normal milk production, return to normal feed intake, mortality, culling rate, tissue reaction at the surgical site, or redisplacement up to 60 days into the subsequent lactation.     

Ventricular wall thickness in the fetal dog.

Ventricular wall thickness of 21 50-to 60-day canine fetuses was determined by direct measurement with calipers. Measurements were made of the left and right ventricular walls and of the interventricular septum, perpendicular to the apico-basilar axis at the location just below the aortic valve, and midway between the coronary sulcus and the apex. Mean determiniations were used to characterize the wall thickne-s at the various levels. The right wall was found to be thickpreciable thickness differences between the septal and left wall at this location. At the level of the midventricular wall, the septal wall thickness exceeded that of the left and right wall. Left and right wall thickness at this level were similar.     

Use of the caudolateral curvilinear osteophyte as an early marker for future development of osteoarthritis associated with hip dysplasia in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between the caudolateral curvilinear osteophyte (CCO) and osteoarthritis associated with hip dysplasia in dogs. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study. ANIMALS: 48 Labrador Retrievers from 7 litters. PROCEDURE: In each of 24 sex- and size-matched pairs fed the same diet, a restricted-fed dog was fed 25% less than a control dog for life. The dogs' hips were evaluated in the standard ventrodorsal hip-extended radiographic projection at 16, 30, and 52 weeks of age and then yearly for life. Histologic examination of hip joint tissues was performed on 45 dogs. RESULTS: Median age at death was 11.2 years. Adjusting for feeding group, dogs with a CCO were 3.7 times as likely to develop radiographic signs of osteoarthritis than those without a CCO. Stratified by diet, 100% of the control dogs with a CCO developed radiographic signs of osteoarthritis and 55% of restricted-fed dogs with a CCO developed radiographic signs of osteoarthritis. The CCO was the first radiographic change seen in 22 of 29 (76%) dogs with osteoarthritis. Overall, 35 of 37 (95%) dogs with a CCO had histopathologic lesions of osteoarthritis. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicate a relationship between a CCO on the femoral neck and subsequent development of radiographic signs of osteoarthritis in Labrador Retrievers evaluated over their life span. A CCO is an important early radiographic indication of osteoarthritis associated with canine hip dysplasia.     

Nasopharyngeal turbinates in brachycephalic dogs and cats

This retrospective study reports the presence and incidence of nasal turbinates in the nasopharynx (nasopharyngeal turbinates) in a population of brachycephalic dogs and cats exhibiting signs of upper respiratory disease. Medical records were reviewed for 53 brachycephalic dogs and 10 brachycephalic cats undergoing upper airway endoscopy. Nasopharyngeal turbinates were identified in 21% of brachycephalic animals, including 21% of dogs and 20% of cats. Pugs accounted for 32% of all dogs in the study population and 82% of dogs with nasopharyngeal turbinates. The presence of nasopharyngeal turbinates may play a role in upper airway obstruction in the brachycephalic airway syndrome.     

Diagnoses and clinical outcomes associated with surgically amputated feline digits submitted to multiple veterinary diagnostic laboratories

Amputation is commonly performed in an attempt to both treat and diagnose conditions affecting the digits of cats. The records of multiple veterinary diagnostic laboratories were searched to identify submissions of amputated digits from cats. Eighty-five separate submissions were reviewed for diagnosis, age, sex, limb of origin, and digits affected; and the original submitting clinics were surveyed to determine clinical outcome. The Kaplan-Meier product-limit method was used to determine the disease-free interval and survival time. Neoplastic disease was identified in 63 of 85 submissions, with exclusively inflammatory lesions composing the other 22 cases. In 60 (95.2%) of the neoplastic cases, a malignant tumor was identified. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most commonly identified malignant tumor (n = 15; 23.8%) and was associated with a median survival time of 73 days. Other diagnoses included fibrosarcoma (n = 14; 22.2%); adenocarcinoma, likely metastases of a primary pulmonary neoplasm (n = 13; 20.6%); osteosarcoma (n = 5; 7.9%); mast cell tumor (n = 4; 6.3%); hemangiosarcoma (n = 5; 7.9%); malignant fibrous histiocytoma (n = 2; 3.2%); giant cell tumor of bone (n = 2; 3.2%); and hemangioma (n = 2; 3.2%). Giant cell tumor of bone has not been previously described in the digits of cats. Various neoplasms can occur in the digits of cats, and submission of the amputated digit for histopathologic diagnosis is essential to determine the histogenesis and predict the clinical outcome.     

Arthroscopic Subchondral Bone Plate Microfracture Technique Augments Healing of Large Chondral Defects in the Radial Carpal Bone and Medial Femoral Condyle of Horses

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of arthroscopic subchondral bone microfracture on healing of large chondral defects in horses. STUDY DESIGN: Short- (4 months) and long-term (12 months) in vivo experimental chondral defect model. ANIMALS: 10 horses, aged 2 to 5 years. METHODS: Each horse had a 1 cm2 full-thickness chondral defect created in both radial carpal bones and both medial femoral condyles. One carpus and one femoral condyle of each horse had the subchondral bone plate under the defect perforated using an orthopedic awl. All horses were exercised, five horses were evaluated after 4 months and five horses after 12 months. Gross, histologic, and histomorphometric examination of defect sites and repair tissues was performed, as was collagen typing of the repair tissue. RESULTS: On gross observation a greater volume of repair tissue filled treated defects (74%) compared with control defects (45%). Histomorphometry confirmed more repair tissue filling treated defects, but no difference in the relative amounts of different tissue types was observed. There was an increased percentage of type II collagen in treated defects compared with control defects and evidence of earlier bone remodeling as documented by changes in porosity. CONCLUSIONS: In full-thickness chondral defects in exercised horses, treatment with subchondral bone microfracture increased the tissue volume in the defects and the percentage of type II collagen in the tissue filling the defects when compared to nontreated defects. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: No negative effects of the microfracture technique were observed and some of the beneficial effects are the basis for recommending its use in patients cases with exposed subchondral bone.