Summary
A young Dobermann Pincher dog with severe right hind leg lameness was admitted to
our clinic. A complete radiographic examination showed the presence of cystic lesions
in the right tibia and femur and polyostotic fibrous dysplasia was diagnosed.
The distal tibial lesion, associated with an incomplete cortical fracture, was treated
by surgical curettage and drainage of the cyst cavity. The other cystic lesions were
treated conservatively.
Radiological, morphological and histological examinations were then performed to evaluate
the recovery phase. At six months, the surgically treated tibial lesion showed good
ossification of the fibrous tissue. At twelve months, the examination showed complete
healing of the tibial lesion but the femur lesions still had a cystic appearance.
It appeared that surgical curettage of the cystic cavity alone enables recovery to
be achieved in a relatively short period of time.
Fibrous dysplasia in dogs is a seldom reported, condition which usually it has a benign
outcome and mainly involves young subjects during their growth period. It is characterized
by substitution of the bone with fibrous tissue thus favouring the occurrence of spontaneous
fractures.
The diagnosis of this disorder is based on radiographic reports and histological examination.
The lesion can be treated with conservative therapy or by surgery, but the latter
significantly reduced the period of recovery.
Keywords
Canine species - polyostotic fibrous dysplasia - bone cysts
