Total prostatectomy combined with urethral anastomosis in a dog: a case report

Prostate cancer is the most common prostate disease diagnosed in castrated dogs. However, prostate cancer is considered to be quite rare in dog population. The presence of prostate tumours can lead to urethral obstruction. Other clinical signs include asymmetric, painful, hard growths on rectal examination, neurological deficit or lameness of the pelvic limbs and general symptoms such as anorexia, weight loss or difficult urination. The neoplastic process may spread to the neighbouring organs and give metastases to the lymph nodes, lungs and skeletal system. Patient with histopathologically confirmed prostate cancer should be examined for metastases. The prognosis is usually unfavourable because of late diagnosis and the presence of metastases. Therapeutic options include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Complete prostatectomy carries with it many complications and often requires osteotomy of pelvic fusions. For that reason, total prostatectomy is not commonly performed in companion animals; however, it should be considered in cases of early detection with the absence of metastases. This report presents the procedure of a complete prostatectomy in a dog with a pre-pubic anastomosis of the urethra, without osteotomy of the pelvic septum. The anastomosis of the urinary tract was placed outside the abdominal cavity, caudally from the laparotomy wound. The presented technique seems to be appropriate for the treatment of malignant tumours of the prostate gland in dogs.