Veterinary case
A vaginal tumor in a seven-year-old goat
⚠️ This information is provided for awareness only and does not replace an examination by a veterinarian.
🤖 Summary produced automatically from the scientific publication cited at the bottom of the page.
A goat had blood-tinged vaginal discharge, hiding a rather special tumor behind it.
What happened?
A seven-year-old Anglo-Nubian goat was brought in because of recurring blood-tinged vaginal discharge. She had given birth to two kids sixteen weeks earlier without any problems. On arrival she was in good general condition, but the exam revealed a mass protruding from the vagina.
What did the vet find?
The vaginal exam showed a single mass attached by a short stalk, about 3 by 4 centimeters, with a damaged (ulcerated) surface explaining the bleeding. An abdominal and uterine ultrasound showed nothing abnormal, and blood tests were mostly normal, with just a slight drop in red blood cell levels. After the mass was removed, microscopic examination confirmed it was a leiomyoma, a benign tumor arising from smooth muscle cells. Further testing showed that the tumor cells carried receptors for progesterone, the pregnancy hormone, suggesting this hormone may have helped the tumor grow.
What did the vet do?
ℹ️ Treatment given to THIS animal, decided by its veterinarian. It is not a prescription: never apply it without veterinary advice.
The vet performed epidural anesthesia, then removed the mass using an instrument that seals and cuts tissue at the same time, preventing significant bleeding. The goat also received an anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic around the time of surgery to limit pain and infection risk. The vagina was then flushed with sterile saline solution.
What happened next?
There were no complications after the surgery. The surgical site healed well, and five days later the goat went home in good condition. One year later, at a follow-up exam, she was in good overall health and the owners had not seen any return of vaginal discharge.
Advice for the farmer
When a goat has vaginal discharge, it is always worth examining the vagina itself, since a tumor can be the cause, especially in older females.
Source
- Source
- PubMed Central
- Title
- Vaginal leiomyoma in a goat expressing the nuclear progesterone receptor (PGR): a case report.
- Authors
- Trzebiatowski L, Kowalewski MP, Schmid S, Skaar K, Müller J, Wehrend A.
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12917-024-04035-6
- Licence
- CC BY
