Percutaneous Cementoplasty in the Palliative, Multimodal Treatment of Primary Bone Tumors of the Distal Aspect of the Radius in Four Dogs PETER BO ¨ TTCHER, Dr med vet, Diplomate ECVS, DOROTHEE KRASTEL, DVM, JOHANNES HIERHOLZER, Dr med, KERSTIN WESTPHALEN, Dr med, STEPHANIE FLORIAN, Dr med vet, GUIDO HILDEBRANDT, Dr med, GREVEL VERA, Dr med vet, Diplomate ECVS, and GERHARD OECHTERING, Dr med vet, Diplomate ECVAA Objective—To (1) evaluate the analgesic effect of percutaneous cementoplasty (PC) in dogs with primary bone tumor (PBT) of the distal aspect of the radius and (2) evaluate the impact on the course of disease by adding PC to a palliative, multimodal treatment protocol in these dogs. Study Design—Prospective pilot study. Animals—Dogs (n ¼ 4) with PBT of the distal aspect of the radius. Methods—Tumor lesions were filled percutaneously with polymethylmethacrylate under flu- oroscopic guidance. Pamidronate was administered once in a week before PC. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy were initiated 2 and 6 weeks after PC, respectively. Force plate analysis was per- formed immediately before 2, and 6 weeks after PC. Survival time was defined from PC to euthanasia. Results—Two dogs had a significant increase in peak vertical force 2 weeks after PC (P ¼ .043) and remained free of lameness for 18 and 20 weeks, respectively. One dog had an acute relapse after an initially lame-free period of 10 days. The remaining dog failed to improve (P ¼ .686). Three dogs developed at least 2 complications including transient worsening of the lameness after PC, cement leakage, wound infection and suspected thromboembolism in combination with cough and anemia. Median survival was 4.8 months (range, 1–5.7 months). Conclusions—PC in combination with pamidronate significantly improved lameness in 2 dogs; however, PC is not risk-free. Deep wound infection, intraarticular cement leakage, and venous thrombosis were the main complications. Clinical Relevance—PC might be a useful addition to established palliative, multimodal treatment protocols in dogs with PBT; however, because of the complications encountered PC warrants further study before routine use can be considered. r Copyright 2009 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons INTRODUCTION P RIMARY BONE tumors (PBT) include osteosarco- ma (OSA), chondrosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, fib- rosarcoma, lymphoma, and plasma cell tumor. 1 OSA is the most common PBT in dogs, accounting for up to 98% of malignancies originating in the appendicular skeleton, with a predilection for the metaphysis of mid- dle-aged, large breed dogs. 2 OSA most often affects the distal aspect of the radius, then the proximal humerus. 3 Limb amputation is the local treatment of choice in con- junction with full-course adjuvant chemotherapy for pre- vention of metastatic disease. 1,4 However, amputation is not always feasible because of concurrent orthopedic or Presented in part at the 16th ECVS Annual Scientific Meeting,Dublin, Ireland, June 27–29, 2007 . Corresponding author: Dr. Peter Bo¨ ttcher, Dr med vet, Diplomate ECVS, Klinik fu¨ r Kleintiere, An den Tierkliniken 23, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. E-mail: boettcher@kleintierklinik.uni-leipzig.de. Submitted March 2008; Accepted December 2008 From the Departments of Small Animal Medicine and Radiotherapy and Radiooncology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; and the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Klinikum Ernst von Bergmann, Potsdam, Germany. r Copyright 2009 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons 0161-3499/09 doi:10.1111/j.1532-950X.2009.00596.x 888 Veterinary Surgery 38:888–901, 2009