An uncommon localisation of a vegetal foreign body in a dog: a case report

Abstract

The goal of this study was to describe the ultrasonographic and computed tomographic appearance of a penile foreign body in a dog for the first time. We describe an unusual penile localisation of a grass seed awn in an 11-year-old mixed-breed dog referred for a computed tomography study after a severe haemorrhage from the penis. A fistulous tract was observed after plain and post-contrast whole-body computed tomography acquisition; the foreign body was localised with ultrasound and removed under ultrasonographic guidance, with the complete healing of the penile lesion. Grass awns are common foreign bodies in dogs and cats and are commonly localised in the ear canal, subcutaneous tissue, interdigital space, eyelid, conjunctiva and nasal or oral cavity. These foreign bodies pose a threat due to their peculiar structure, which facilitates their easy access to the affected area and their transit through the body. Clinical signs are often non-specific, and imaging modalities such as ultrasonography and computed tomography are useful techniques for localisation. Our report demonstrates that the combination of computed tomography and ultrasound techniques was crucial for the exact localisation and mini-invasive retrieval of the grass seed.

Keywords

• grass awn
• diagnostic imaging
• penis
• computed tomography
• ultrasound