Rhabdomyosarcoma (botryoid sarcoma) of the urinary bladder in a Maltese

A urinary bladder tumour was diagnosed in a two-year-old female Maltese with haematuria and pollakiuria on the basis of ultrasonography and pneumocystography findings. The mass was resected, and the bladder was preserved at surgery. Histological and immunohistochemical examination confirmed the tumour to be a rhabdomyosarcoma, which has rarely been reported in small breeds of dog. There was no recurrence of the tumour at the original site in the urinary bladder two months later, when the dog died due to metastasis to the liver. This is believed to be the first report of bladder rhabdomyosarcoma in a Maltese.