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my leonberger had a radiation and pamidronate infustion last week. By the end of the next day, her leg was swollen at the cancer site, and my dog that was previously not even limping, seemed unable to put weight on that leg. I would be interested to know which treatment you feel may have caused this, as I do not want to repeat this one again.

Hello,

I am presuming your dog has been diagnosed with a primary osteosarcoma of the leg?

Could you tell me what type of radiation therapy was administered? Stereotactic, palliative?

I have not had an acute reaction such as this when using pamidronate. My experience with radiation is limited, but again, I would not expect swelling of the limb to occur so quickly (and really not at all in most cases). My concern would be that it would be due to the cancer itself - if the lesion is quite large, the bone may be fragile and a pathological fracture is a possibility.

Please ensure you speak with your doctors again, as the leg needs to be examined, and further anti-inflammatories or analgesia can be prescribed if needed.

Amy

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Small Animal Oncology
Registered Specialist in Veterinary Oncology
Newcastle Region