Approach to an Incompletely Excised Hemangiopericytoma
Hemangiopericytomas are soft tissue sarcomas arising from vessel mural cells called pericytes that act primarily as contractile cells. Hemangiopericytomas are typically found in older large breed dogs and commonly occur on the limbs1. This case report describes a 7-year-old male Great Pyrenees that presented to Cornell University’s Animal Hospital’s Oncology Service for evaluation of an incompletely excised grade 1 hemangiopericytoma over the right lateral brachium. The patient was admitted to Cornell’s Soft Tissue Service for scar revision surgery. Histopathology revealed a mix of fibrous tissue and inflammatory cells, with no evidence of neoplastic cells. Surgical dehiscence was observed 13 days post-operatively and a second surgery to repair the dehiscence was performed at Cornell. A deep tissue culture of the wound revealed infection with multi-drug resistant Enterococcus faecium, which was treated with Chloramphenicol. This report will discuss the presentation, approach, and complications of a scar revision. A brief discussion of the general principles of surgical oncology of soft tissue sarcomas and hemangiopericytomas is included.