Trapezius involved in tumor removal

[lehughes]

Hi Laurie,

I just wanted to see if you could give me some help with one of my clients dogs please?

I am a massage therapist & do what I can with rehab exercise & advice where I can.

My client has an 8 y.o Deerhound cross, Pepper. Generally a well dog with minor arthritic changes in both carpi, not limiting with no lameness. She enjoys a massage approximately once every 4-6 weeks.

Anyway, about 6 weeks ago I noticed a large lump on the cranial surface of her L scapula & advised my client to get this checked by the vet. It turned out to be a very large cancerous tumor. Needless to say, she went straight to surgery to have it removed. It turned out that the tumor had infiltrated the Trapezius to such an extent that the surgeon had to remove the whole trap muscle,

I have seen Pepper following surgery & she has recovered & healed well but has great difficulty using this limb. She doesn't weight bear but can when standing without pain but cannot use it when ambulating. The surgeon says that it will improve.
But I have concerns as Pepper no longer has that muscle how can she? I feel there's such a huge loss of stability & function without it. I know she will compensate as best she can but would value your opinion on how losing the trapezius will impact on her mobility long-term & best ways to support & rehabilitate her. I have tried to research similar scenarios but have not found anything helpful.

Thanking you for your time, knowledge & experience

Kind Regards
JT

[lehughes]

Hi J,

I don’t know of any similar scenarios or papers on this subject… but I can offer my 2 cents.

Firstly, I would wonder if it was trapezius that involved in isolation, or perhaps part of the rhomboids. Rhomboids would be more concerning than Trapezius. Traps are a big player in the human body… but it’s sort of a flimsy muscle in dogs. Rhomboids do most of the work. So, if it is truly just trapezius affected, then rhomboids will take over and the dog will do well! However, I suspect that if the dog is having some issues, that perhaps Rhomboids were compromised as well with the surgical removal.

Okay, so that’s just conjecture… basically, what can be done? This might be a case to send to / work with an animal physio / rehab practitioner just to get extra tools and ideas with the dog right in front of them.
Alternately, I would start with static weight bearing, weight shifting. 3-leg stands. Diagonal leg stands. Side ways walking. Static standing with rear feet elevated slightly. Walking over ground level poles. See if the dog feels more confident with a wrap around the shoulders / torso (any wrap really… it’ll just be proprioceptive).
Then maybe some ‘fun exercises to encourage use - tug of war, catch, play bow for a treat...

Let me know what you’ve tried and how it’s helped… and maybe I can give you more specific suggestions.

Cheers,

Laurie