Name
Extrahepatic Bile Duct Obstruction Secondary to Pancreatic Tumors in a Bearded Dragon
Speakers
Description
Pancreatic neoplasia is uncommon in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps). Cholecystic disease is commonly reported in bearded dragons, but biliary obstruction association with pancreatic neoplasia has not been previously described. Awareness of these conditions is important for clinicians evaluating lizards with coelomic masses or gallbladder enlargement.
A 6-year-old male bearded dragon presented with a five-month history of weight loss and decreased appetite. Physical examination revealed severe emaciation, dehydration, and a palpable firm, mobile, ovoid, mid-coelomic mass effect about 1 cm in diameter. Clinicopathologic testing was unremarkable. Coelomic ultrasonography identified a markedly dilated anechoic gallbladder measuring 1 x 2 cm. Exploratory coeliotomy identified a distended, non-expressible gallbladder, tortuous common bile duct, and an enlarged pancreas containing two firm intraparenchymal masses. Euthanasia was elected due to disease severity, and necropsy was performed.
Histopathology showed severe pancreatic acinar atrophy with two neoplasms: a well-differentiated acinar cell adenoma and an infiltrative islet cell carcinoma, chronic ulcerative cholecystitis, cirrhosis, and marked atrophy of fat. Islet cell carcinoma has been reported in 2017 from three Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis), this is the first reported instance in a bearded dragon. Extrahepatic bile duct obstruction was thought to result from the pancreatic neoplasia.
This case underscores the importance of considering pancreatic neoplasia in the differential diagnosis for gallbladder enlargement and biliary obstruction in lizards and contributes to the limited literature on pancreatic tumors and cholecystic disease in bearded dragons.
Session Type
Lecture (25 Min)