R. A. S. White

Long-term outcome of 56 dogs with nasal tumours treated with four doses of radiation at intervals of seven days.

A retrospective study was undertaken on 56 dogs treated for nasal tumours by megavoltage radiotherapy with a hypofractionated schedule consisting of four doses of 9 Gy given at intervals of seven days. The dogs were followed until they died or were euthanased. The clinical signs had improved in 53 of the 56 dogs by the end of the treatment schedule. Mild acute radiation side effects were observed in the majority of the dogs but late radiation side effects were rare. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed a median survival time after the final dose of radiation of 212 days. The oneand two-year survival rates were 45 per cent and 15 per cent. Fifty of the dogs were euthanased because the initial clinical signs recurred.

Management of inflammatory polyps in 37 cats

The case records of 37 cats treated for nasopharyngeal or aural inflammatory polyps were reviewed. Thirty of them were managed conservatively with the polyp being removed by traction alone. Long-term follow-up information was available for 22 cats, of which 13 (59 per cent) had no recurrence of clinical signs. The remaining nine cats required recurrent polyps to be removed surgically. Cats with only nasopharyngeal polyps were nearly four times more likely to be cured by traction alone than cats with aural polyps, and none of the cats that was treated with prednisolone after traction suffered a recurrence. Cats with more severe aural signs were more likely to require surgery.

Primary thoracic wall tumours of mesenchymal origin in dogs: a retrospective study of 46 cases

Forty-three of the chest wall tumours in 46 dogs were malignant; five had metastases apparent at the time of presentation, five more had metastases discovered intraoperatively. Surgical resection of the tumours was associated with a significantly better outcome than conservative management. The median survival times after surgery for dogs with osteosarcoma was 17 weeks, for dogs with fibrosarcoma it was 26 weeks and for dogs with chondrosarcoma it was 250 weeks. En bloc excision of primary tumours affecting the chest wall was associated with minimal morbidity, but long-term survival was limited by distant metastases, primarily to the lungs. The tumours recurred in only three dogs. Early, radical surgical excision is recommended in the management of tumours of the chest wall. The prognosis depends on the histologic type of tumour and a histological diagnosis is mandatory before excision.

Invasive treatment of canine nasal aspergillosis with topical clotrimazole

phy in two Siamese kitten littermates. Veterinary Record 138, 548-549 SHAMIR, M., PERL, S. & SHARON, L. (1999) Late onset of cerebellar abiotrophy in a Siamese cat. Journal ofSmall Animal Practice 40, 343-345 SUMMERS, B. A., CUMMINGS, J. F. & DE LAHUNTA, A. (1995) Degenerative diseases of the central nervous system. In Veterinary Neuropathology. St Louis, Mosby. pp 301-305 STOFFEREGEN, D. A., HUXTABLE, C. R., CUMMINGS, J. F. & DE LAHUNTA, A. (1993) Hypomyelination of the central nervous system of two Siamese kitten littermates. Veterinary Pathology 30, 388-391 VILLIERS, E. & DUNN, J. K. (1998) Basic haematology. In BSAVA Manual of Small Animal Clinical Pathology. Eds M. G. Davidson, R. W. Else, J. H. Lumsden. Cheltenham, BSAVA Publications. pp 33-60 WOOD, P. A. (1991) Lysosomal storage diseases. In Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine. Ed J. R. August. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders. pp 497-501 WOODARD, J. C., COLLINS, G. H. & HESSLER, J. R. (1974) Feline hereditary neuraxonal dystrophy. American Journal ofPathology 74, 551-560

Hypobaric intrathecal anaesthesia for partial hemipelvectomy in a dog.

OBJECTIVE To report the intrathecal use of a hypobaric anaesthetic solution for partial hemipelvectomy in a nine-year-old, neutered female, Golden Retriever dog, weighing 34 kg. METHODS Under inhalational anaesthesia, with the dog lying in lateral recumbency and the surgical side uppermost, 1.9 ml of a hypobaric solution containing 3.42 mg of bupivacaine and 0.66 mg of morphine were administered in the subarachnoid space at L5-6 level 30 minutes before surgery. Following the intrathecal injection the dog was maintained for five minutes in a 10 degrees head-down position, then for three minutes in a 10 degrees head-up position. RESULTS Apart from a transient increase in heart and respiratory rates during resection of the sartorius muscle, which was treated with a plasma Target Controlled Infusion (TCI) of fentanyl, spinal anaesthesia provided cardiovascular stability and excellent relaxation of the surgical site. Neither motor blockade nor proprioceptive deficit were apparent in the contra-lateral hind limb at recovery, 200 minutes after injection. Postoperatively, rescue analgesia was not required in the 48 hours following surgery. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE In dogs, the use of intrathecal hypobaric bupivacaine and morphine as a part of a balanced anaesthetic protocol should be considered during unilateral major orthopaedic surgeries of the pelvis and hind limb, as it allowed a reduction in the dose administered compared to isobaric solutions, providing selective spinal anaesthesia, excellent long-lasting analgesia, and rapid recovery of ambulation.