Cuddles Lebana's necropsy results

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Hedgie Girls

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
65
I am going to just type the three areas that they found stuff.

Necropsy : Body condition score: 2.5/5 (1=emaciated and 5=obese)

Body cavities: There was 130 ml of dark red serosanguineous fluid inside the abdominal cavity. The abdominal wall contained two multilobular, encapsulated, red to beige, semi-soft masses measuring up to 2.5x2.0x0.6 cm.

Alimentary system: There was a 1.0x0.5x0.5 cm mass on the stomach great curvature, (close to the pylorus) with features similar to those described in the abdominal wall. Diffusely all liver lobes were pale tan.

Urinary system: The right kidney was moderately enlarged and measured 2.5x1.0x0.5 cm. The left kidney was mildly shrunken and measured 2x0.6x0.4 cm. The cortex of both kidneys contained multifocal to coalescing light brown areas.

Histopathology:

Peritoneal mass (slide C): The inner portion of the peritoneal wall contained an expansile, partially encapsulated, well demarcated, multilobulated, moderately cellular neoplasm. The neoplastic cells were arranged in acini and islands and were supported by a delicate fibrovascular stroma. The neoplastic cells were round to polygonal, with indistinct cell borders, a moderate amount of vacuolated amphophilic cytoplasm and often were arranged in a palisading pattern. The nuclei were round, eccentrically placed, with finely stippled chromatin and 1-2 large, magenta nuclei. The tumor cells exhibited a moderate degree of anisocytosis and anisokaryosis. Mitotic figures were not observed. Multifocally, the neoplasm contained multiple areas with cellular and karyorrhectic debris ( lytic necrosis; most prominent in the center of the acinar-like structures) and extravasated erythrocytes (hemorrhage). In some areas of the mass, the neoplastic cells were arranged in discrete, round to ovoid, follicle-like structures lined by a prominent, single basaloid layer of cuboidal cells with a central region comprised of a solid, densely cellular aggregate of neoplastic cells as described above. These follicle-like structures were surrounded by a moderate amount of fibrous connective tissue and stroma.

Kidneys (slide A): Multifocally in the cortex and medulla (of the left kidney), the tubules were markedly ectatic and filled with hypereosinophilic, homogeneous, amorphous material (protein deposition). At low magnification, the renal medulla with its protein-filled tubules had a thyroid-like (colloid-filled follicles) appearance ("medullary thyroidization"). The tubular epithelial cells were often vacuolated and some had faded nuclei. The glomeruli were variably sized with moderate proliferation of mesangial matrix and marked thickening of the basement membrane of the capillary tufts. The interstitium contained a moderate amount of fibroblast proliferation and a small infiltration lymphocytes. In one of the sections examined, the renal pelvis contained small infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages (pyelitis). The right kidney had mild glomerular changes (thickened basement membranes) and had mild to moderate interstitial fibrosis and lymphocytic nephritis.

Urinary bladder (slide B): The submucosa contained a small infiltration of neutrophils and a few eosinophils. The muscularis layer contained a few scattered eosinophils and a few eosinophils. The muscularis layer contained a few scatter eosinophils and multifocal small infiltrates of lymphocytes.

Liver (slide B): Multifocally a moderate number of hepatocytes contained variably-sized, clear, well-circumscribed, intracytoplasmic vacuoles (interpreted as lipid).

Immunohistochemistry: The following IHC preparation was done on slide C (peritoneal mass): broad-spectrum cytokeratin (epithelial cell maker): Many of the neoplastic cells were moderately to strongly immunopositive.


Here is the rest of the necropsy results:

Bacteriology: Sections of lung and liver were submitted for aerobic culture; the results yielded no growth. No Salmonella spp. were isolated from the tissue pool.

Parasitology: Feces and intestinal content were submitted for fecal floatation; no ova, oocysts, or cysts were observed.


Toxicology:
I was just scanning through the toxicology results for Cuddles and comparing them to Sparkles' toxicology results. I noticed some differences in the Toxicology part I did not list all the results just the ones where there seems to be a difference . Some seem to be at least doubled for one or the other. Does anyone have the normal ranges?

Toxicology results
Mineral analysis
Indent: Sparkles results Cuddles results
Copper 4.9 ppm 8.7 ppm
Iron 127.2 ppm 69.4 ppm
Magnesium 123.6 ppm 215.4 ppm
Manganese 1.6 ppm 2.5 ppm
Molybdenum less than 0.5 ppm 0.9 ppm
Zinc 39.9 ppm 61.4 ppm


Cuddles necropsy continued:
Diagnosis:

1. Peritoneal wall and mesenteric mass, poorly-differentiated carcinoma (N.O.S.; not otherwise specified).
2. Kidney:
a. left, unilateral, tubular ectasia with intraluminal protein, multifocal to coalescing, moderate to marked, chronic; and membranous glomerulonephritis, multifocal, moderate.

b. interstitial nephritis, lymphocytic, multifocal, mild, chronic.

c. interstitial fibrosis, multifocal, mild, chronic.

3. Liver: hepatocellular vacuolar degeneration (hepatic lipidosis), multifocal, moderate.

4. Abdominal cavity, ascites, marked, likely secondary to #2a.

Comments:

The most significant necropsy findings in this hedgehog involved the kidney disease and the peritoneal neoplasm. The ascites was likely associated with the severe kidney disease (glomerulonephritis and fibrosis) and the subsequent protein loss via the renal tubules. The tumors in the abdominal wall and abdominal cavity may also have contributed to the ascites by causing compression/obstruction of lymphatic drainage. The tumor in the peritoneal wall most likely a poorly-differentiated carcinoma; however, the exact origin of the tumor could not be determined. The masses observed at necropsy involved the peritoneal wall and mesentery only. In a few areas, the tumor had some features of a granulosa cell tumor, and in other areas, the tumor resembled a carcinoma with foci of central necrosis.


Does this mean she had two different types of cancers besides kidney disease? I wonder if one of the cancers spread from the ovaries. She was spayed in 2007 with the diagnosis of dysgerminoma with polycystic ovaries and leiomyoma of the uterus. I attached the pictures of her ovaries and uterus.
Hugs

Cyndy
 

Attachments

  • Cuddles' uterus, polycystic ovary 1.jpg
    Cuddles' uterus, polycystic ovary 1.jpg
    29.8 KB · Views: 33
  • polycytic ovary.JPG
    polycytic ovary.JPG
    87.2 KB · Views: 32
Last edited:
Cyndy, I had to go reference what a granulosa cell was. From what I found granulosa cells are part of the sex cord–stromal tumors which would be in the ovary. It could be that she had a cancer that spread, or it could just be that she came up with another type. The results were inconclusive as to where the cancer started.

Necropsy reports can look really horrible as they report on everything they find, and often the bulk of them are secondary-effects of the main problem. She had lots of organs which were failing, not totally surprising if she was battling cancer for a while and it was sapping her body of needed nutrition..

Wasn't Cuddles the one with the heart problem? I don't see anything above that talks about heart failure or did I miss it? What did your vet have to say about the necropsy results?
 
Yes, Cuddles was the one being treated for right-sided heart failure. There was not detailed results under the heart. I was wondering if one of the cancers were from the ovaries which were removed in 2007. That could explain why they could not determine the origins. I could e-mail you privately with those results.

I called the vet's office this afternoon and the vet who sent her out for the necropsy will not be back into the office until Thursday. They are really short staffed with two vets being out on vacation.

Do you know what immunopositive means concerning the neoplastic cells?

Thanks for your help

Cyndy
 
Looks like they were trying to determine the origin of the tumor. If I’m reading it right it looks like one of the abdominal tumors tested positive for the epithelial cell marker. I did a quick search, these are the cells that cover and line the body and its organs. Per the page I was visiting it states the most common cancer of them are carcinomas in humans.

I'd be interested to hear what your vet has to say about the necropsy when he gets back. I'm always interested in learning more about cancer and well on determining what these necropsy reports really mean. And to see how well I read it :).
 
I talked with our vet and he had me call the person who did the necropsy. She said they were trying to find the origin of the cancer. She also said that some of the marker cells indicated one of the cancers originated from the ovaries. But there was no ovaries for her to examine. I had the vet's office fax her a copy of the histopathology from Cuddles' spay today.
 
Do you know what immunopositive means concerning the neoplastic cells?

I may be wrong, but I believe this means that there was some kind of immunoglobins (antibodies) present in this kind of cell, which is (probably) the abnormal cancerous cells. Basically means the cancer had been around a while and your hedgie's immune system was trying to fight it off but it couldn't eliminate the tumour cells
 
Back
Top