Baumwart Chad A, Prado Tulio M, Anderson Megan P, Coffman Elizabeth A, Simpson Katie M, Campbell Gregory A
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2010 Mar 1;236(5):558-61. doi: 10.2460/javma.236.5.558.
An adult sexually intact female Vietnamese potbellied pig was examined because of abdominal distention of 5 months' duration.
The pig was moderately anemic, and its abdomen was greatly distended. A freely movable abdominal mass was detected during palpation and ultrasonographic examination of the abdomen. Examination of abdominal and thoracic radiographs revealed faint, ill-defined, linear and curvilinear mineralized opacities in the region of the mass and that the gastrointestinal tract was displaced craniodorsally. Results of radiographic examination suggested that the cause of distention was a single abdominal mass (possibly a neoplasm).
Surgery was performed, and the mass, which was identified as the right ovary, was removed. The left ovary had a normal appearance, but it was also removed during surgery. The pig was administered a transfusion (314 mL of plasma and 296 mL of packed RBCs) before and during surgery. The mass, which accounted for approximately one-third of the pig's body weight, was identified histologically as an ovarian leiomyoma.
Pigs can safely be administered a transfusion of RBCs and plasma. Ovarian tumors can be removed from Vietnamese potbellied pigs, which allows them to be used as pets or for reproduction when only 1 ovary is affected. Uterine masses in older sexually intact Vietnamese potbellied pigs are more common than are ovarian tumors; thus, complete ovariohysterectomy should be considered when the primary purpose of the pig is to serve as a pet.
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