Canine Osteosarcoma by G.K. Ogilvie/ Proceedings of the Wsava 2006 Congress

Amputation Surgical treatment of osteosarcoma by amputation is palliative and increases survival by pain relief, thereby delaying euthanasia. Amputation usually eliminates the primary tumor and causes little to no reduction in mobility and quality of life for the dog. Although most clients do not initially embrace the concept that their dog will have three legs, the procedure is very acceptable to caregivers after amputation. In two studies in the United States and Europe, dogs learned to walk well on three legs within a month, which exceeded most clients’ expectations.1,2 It is also our experience, after sending many hundreds of dogs to amputation, that clients are very happy with their decision; the veterinarian should be confi dent in offering amputation to these clients. For lesions in the forelimbs, complete forequarter amputation, including the scapula, provides cosmetically and functionally good results. For distal hindlimb tumors, amputation at the proximal third of the femur is performed. For distal femoral tumors, a hip disarticulation is performed; proximal femoral lesions are treated by hemipelvectomy. In one study, the median survival of 65 dogs treated with amputation was 126 days; only 10.7% of dogs were alive 1 year after surgery.3 A larger study of 162 dogs treated with amputation corroborated these data.6 Surgery of any type is only palliative, and dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma should be given chemotherapy.