Anaemia following medical leech therapy for caudal superficial epigastric skin flap salvage in a Shorthaired Chihuahua

A 6.5-year-old 6.1 kg spayed female Shorthaired Chihuahua was referred for surgical removal of a mast cell tumour regrowth on the right caudal thigh. In the right perineal region lateral to the base of the tail, there was a 4 x 5 cm soft tissue mass with focal alopecia in the centre. Complete excision of the mass was achieved with a caudal superficial epigastric skin flap for closure. At 5 days post-operatively, the distal 25% of the skin flap showed evidence of venous congestion. Medical leech therapy was performed, and the flap was salvaged successfully; however, the dog developed acute anaemia due to excessive blood loss and received a packed red blood cell transfusion. The dog recovered uneventfully after transfusion and the skin flap had healed completely at recheck (26 days post-operatively). To the author's knowledge, this was the first report of anaemia requiring blood transfusion after leech therapy in dogs.