Cranial mediastinal masses are relatively rare in dogs but when observed thymoma is the most common cause followed by lymphoma. Other possible diagnoses include chemodectoma, thyroid carcinoma and hemangiosarcoma. Preoperative assessment is critical in the accurate diagnosis and management of dogs with cranial mediastinal masses. For example, dogs with thymic lymphoma require only medical treatment in the management of their disease whereas dogs with thymoma most often require surgical excision in conjunction with medical therapy. Dogs with thymomas also often present with a variety of paraneoplastic syndromes, most notably megaesophagus and myasthenia gravis. Dogs with these syndromes have a significantly poorer short-term outcome when compared todogs with thymoma that do not have megaesophagus and myasthenia gravis.
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