Multiple limbal haemangiosarcomas in a border collie dog: management by lamellar keratectomy/sclerectomy and strontium-90 beta plesiotherapy

An eight-year-old, neutered, male border collie dog was presented with a six-week history of left ocular discomfort and a raised, red mass at the lateral limbus. The right eye had been enucleated approximately 12 months previously following suspected trauma when the eye had become red and painful. The mass was excised using superficial keratectomy/sclerectomy and the surgery site was treated with strontium-90 beta radiation. Histopathological findings were consistent with a diagnosis of haemangiosarcoma. Immunohistochemical staining showed uniform expression of CD31 in neoplastic cells, confirming their endothelial origin. Two further treatments with strontium-90 beta radiation were applied to the surgical site at weekly intervals. Twenty-six weeks after surgery, a second, raised, red limbal mass became apparent at the medial limbus of the left eye. Surgical excision and adjuvant strontium-90 beta plesiotherapy were performed as described for the initial tumour. Routine histopathological analysis confirmed haemangiosarcoma at this site. Eighty-six weeks following the initial presentation, no recurrence of ocular haemangiosarcoma was evident.