33rd Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Introduction

Osteochondrodysplasia is an inherited disease affecting Scottish fold cats, leading to skeletal deformities of distal limbs and tail, lameness, and reluctance to jump and to run. To our knowledge, the use of brachytherapy for treatment of osteochondrodysplasia and long-term associated outcome have never been described.

Case description

A 2-year-old neutered female Scottish Fold cat was referred for chronic left hindlimb lameness. Physical examination revealed a painful and hard swelling on the caudal aspect of the left tarso-metatarsal region with unaltered range of motion. Radiographs and CT-scan showed changes consistent with osteochondrodysplasia: new bone formation around the left tarsal articulations. Palliative brachytherapy consisted of two fractionated doses of 2 Gy performed 48 hours apart.

Results

Clinical signs resolved within 2 weeks after treatment. No signs of lameness and normal activity were reported by the owner and the referring veterinarian over the next 16-month follow-up period.

Discussion/ conclusion

Medical, surgical and external radiation therapies have been described in a few clinical reports for osteochondrodysplasia management. External radiotherapy has been reported to be efficient in relieving clinical signs for up to 72 months post treatment due to the potential anti-inflammatory effect of the radiations. The brachytherapy protocol performed for this clinical case was adapted from external radiotherapy protocols and put in place considering the short distance between skin and the targeted lesions. Based on this case report, brachytherapy may be an effective palliative treatment for osteochondrodysplasia and potentially associated with a good to excellent long term outcome.