Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Introduction
The neck is a region with various anatomical structures that can be involved by neoplasms. Surgical planning and excision of these tumors are challenging.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of computed tomography (CT) in surgical planning and local staging of soft tissue tumors in the neck.
Methods
Nine dogs were evaluated. CT scans were performed on helical CT pre and post intravenous iodinated contrast. Cytology and/or histologic evaluation of the lesions were performed.
Results
Breed, sex and age of animals, CT characteristics and histological type of tumors are listed (Table 1). Four tumors occur in the glandular tissue (44.44%), three in thyroid and one in salivary gland. Two formations originated from fat tissue (22.22%), and 33.33% include multiple tumor types. CT showed a 22.22% regional lymphadenopathy and 88.89% of the cases the absence of cleavage with adjacent structures. The lipomas were histologically classified as infiltrative; however, CT did not show tumor invasion. One dog presented bone lysis in the fifth cervical vertebra (dog 7). Based on CT findings, six animals underwent surgery.
|
Dog
|
Breed, sex, age
|
CT
|
Cytology/histopathology
|
Surgery
|
|
Attenuation
|
Post contrast enhancement
|
Limits
|
Lymphadenopathy
|
|
1
|
Mixed-breed, F, 13 y
|
Soft tissue heterogeneous
|
Yes
|
Moderately well defined
|
No
|
Plasmacytoma
|
Yes
|
|
2
|
Teckel, F, 7 y
|
Fat homogeneous
|
No
|
Well defined
|
No
|
Infiltrative lipoma
|
Yes
|
|
3
|
Labrador retriever, F, 13 y
|
Fat heterogeneous
|
No
|
Well defined
|
No
|
Infiltrative lipoma
|
Yes
|
|
4
|
Siberian Husky, F, 11 y
|
Mixed (soft tissue + calcification)
|
Yes
|
Moderately well defined
|
No
|
Chondrosarcoma
|
Yes
|
|
5
|
Poodle, F, 5 y
|
Soft tissue heterogeneous
|
Yes
|
Not defined
|
Yes
|
Thyroid carcinoma
|
No
|
|
6
|
Poodle, M, 10 y
|
Soft tissue heterogeneous
|
Yes
|
Not defined
|
Yes
|
Undifferentiated carcinoma
|
No
|
|
7
|
Mixed-breed, F, 10 y
|
Soft tissue heterogeneous
|
Yes
|
Not defined
|
No
|
Hemangiopericytoma
|
No
|
|
8
|
Lhasa apso, F, 10 y
|
Soft tissue heterogeneous
|
Yes
|
Well defined
|
No
|
Bilateral thyroid carcinoma
|
Yes
|
|
9
|
Mixed-breed, F, 12 y
|
Soft tissue heterogeneous
|
Yes
|
Moderately well defined
|
No
|
Salivary gland carcinoma
|
Yes
|
Conclusions
Ultrasonography is a widely used method in the evaluation of soft tissue of the neck; however, the CT assessing the involvement of adjacent structures provided additional information for the surgical planning.