Caudal Partial Scapulectomy for the Treatment of Osteosarcoma in a Dog

Zemer, O. 268 INTRODUCTION Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone neoplasia in dogs, accounting for up to 85% of malignancies originating in the skeleton. Other types of primary bone tumors include chondrosarcoma, haemangiosarcoma and fibrosarcoma (1). Amputation of the affected limb in combination with adjuvant chemotherapy is the recommended treatment for primary bone tumors and is tolerated well by most dogs (2). An additional treatment option suitable for some dogs is limb sparing surgery. The goal of limb sparing surgery is to eradicate skeletal neoplasia, relieve pain and maintain limb function while not effecting survival time (1,3,4). Limb sparing surgery is ideal for dogs that are poor candidates for amputation or when amputation of the affected limb is unacceptable to the client. Partial or subtotal scapulectomy is a limb sparing procedure which involves removal of a portion of the scapula while preserving the glenohumeral joint. Fracture of the scapula as a result of partial scapulectomy has not been reported and the use of prosthesis is not required (5). It has been demonstrated that up to 90% of the scapula can be excised with good to excellent function of the forelimb (5,6,7,8). This report is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to describe partial scapulectomy of the caudal aspect of the scapula for the treatment of an osteosarcoma in a dog. Caudal Partial Scapulectomy for the Treatment of Osteosarcoma in a Dog