Signalment: A 17-year-old male Afghan leopard weighing 125 pounds
Presentation: Apparently healthy and under anesthesia for annual wellness exam and vaccination
Diagnosis: While ausculting (listening) to the heart, a murmur (a changed sound of blood flow) was heard.
Image: An echocardiogram (ultrasound image of the heart) demonstrated normal heart function, but a two-centimeter diameter mass within the ventricle (the lower chamber of the heart, which pumps blood out to the body) was observed.
What Do You Think? Click here for treatment...
Treatment: The growth of the mass will be monitored by future chocardiograms, but
due to the location of the mass, it cannot easily be removed. However, the
leopard is healthy, and blood flow is not impacted, so the mass is likely a benign tumor or thrombus (scarred blood clot).
A scientific approach to veterinary services improves the daily care of exotic animal species—both in the zoo and in their native habitats. See how the zoo’s veterinary staff spends their day, learn more about their research and find answers to common questions about working with animals.
