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Splenic T-cell lymphoma in a North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
Crystal L Matt1, Christoph Mans2, Grayson Doss2
1Department of Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Background:
Splenic lymphoma is commonly reported in domestic ferrets (Mustela putorious furo), but very rarely reported in wild Mustelidae species, including otters. One report described B-cell splenic lymphoma in an Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinerea) that metastasized and was the primary reasoning for humane euthanasia (Stedman and Mills, 2014).
Case Description:
The current report describes a case of splenic T-cell lymphoma in a captive North American river otter (Lontra canadensis). The otter died several weeks after splenectomy and no evidence of metastasis was found on gross necropsy or histopathological evaluation.
Conclusion:
The splenectomy performed on this individual was presumptively curative for its splenic lymphoma. Extensive myocardial fibrosis was found, and suspected to have caused severe cardiac arrhythmia leading to acute death.
