Tracheal Hemangioma Causing Lung Emphysema and Pneumopericardium in a Rabbit-A Case Report

A pet rabbit (female, 8 years old, and mixed breed) with symptoms of dyspnea, apathy, and weight loss was treated for an acute respiratory infection. Due to the lack of improvement, it was referred to the Imaging Diagnostics Laboratory of the Department and Clinic of Surgery for a computer tomography scan of the thoracic cavity. The examination revealed the presence of air in the pericardial sac, a pneumopericardium, along with pulmonary emphysema. A few minutes after the examination, the rabbit developed circulatory and respiratory failure and died. Necropsy confirmed the presence of a pneumopericardium and pulmonary emphysema, and revealed, in the tracheal lumen, the presence of a tumor histologically consistent with hemangioma. A spontaneous pneumopericardium occurs when air from the respiratory system moves into the pericardial sac. This is the first case of the simultaneous occurrence of tracheal hemangioma and a pneumopericardium in a rabbit.