| DIAGNOSIS:
A single lateral view of the skull was taken. (Figure 1) There
is mild periosteal irregularity and the normal contour of the frontal bone
is not maintained. The dog was taken to surgery where a linear incision
was made over the mass, revealing a fairly well circumscribed soft tissue
lesion. When the soft tissue mass was removed, a prominent bony protrusion
arising from the frontal bone was noted. A periosteal layer could
not be appreciated over this bone. Resection of the bone was accomplished
with an osteotome and all resected tissues were submitted for histopathology.
HISTOPATHOLOGY:
Osteosarcoma. The prognosis is poor as osteosarcoma’s in juvenile
dogs tend to be very aggressive and metastasize early in the course of
disease. The owners did not elect further therapy.
COMMENT:
Even though this puppy was only 4 months of age, the owners had been
advised of the possibility this would be a neoplasm, especially given this
breed’s predilection for tumor development.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
Thank you to Dr. Melissa Montgomery, Companion Animal Hospital. |
