Sertoli Leydig cell tumour in a bitch, 10 years after spaying. A case report.

In order to sterilize and to sensibly stop oestrus or to prevent recurrence of vaginal hyperplasia and hormonal changes, the ovarectomy or the ovariohysterectomy is the best recommended method. The operation, performed in young dogs reduces the incidence of mammary gland tumours. The relative risk for developing mammary gland tumours drops to 0.5%, when spaying is performed before the first oestrus. Between the first and the second oestrus, the operation reduces the risk to 8%, between the second oestrus and 2.5 years of age the risk is further reduced to 26%. Furthermore, ovariohysterectomy is recommended to treat pyometra and pseudopregnancy (15, 22, 26). The present investigation describes a rare case of a spayed bitch, which showed oestrus 10 years following neutrering. We report the clinical, sonographical, histological and immunohistological findings of an abdominal neoplasm. The causal factors of the neoplasma e. g. embryologic and histogenetic are discussed.