Endoscopic-Assisted Intracranial Tumor Removal in Dogs and Cats: Long-Term Outcome of 39 Cases

Background: The benefits of endoscopic assistance to remove intracranial tumors in small animals are not described.
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of endoscopic-assisted intracranial tumor removal in dogs and cats.
Animals: Thirty-three dogs and 6 cats with intracranial tumors.
Methods: Retrospective study. CBC, serum chemistry profile, coagulation testing, blood typing, and systemic tumor staging, which included 3-view thoracic radiographs and abdominal ultrasound examination, were performed to detect other significant underlying disease in preparation of the animal for surgery. Magnetic resonance imaging was used in 37/39 cases to image the brain tumor. Surgical approach was dictated by the location of the tumor. Histopathologic examination of the tumor tissue was performed in all cases. Animals were followed throughout their postoperative course for complications and survival times. Statistical analysis (Kaplan-Meier curves) was performed to obtain median survival times in dogs with meningiomas.
Results: Use of an endoscope resulted in visualization of residual tumor and potentially more complete removal of the brain tumors. There were no clinically important complications associated with the use of the endoscope. Median survival time was 2,104 days for dogs with forebrain meningiomas surgically removed with endoscopic assistance and 702 days for dogs with caudal brain meningiomas.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: These results demonstrate that the use of an endoscope to assist in brain tumor removal is apparently safe and might result in improved survival times.