Idiopathic telangiectasia in a Golden Retriever

A case report of a 12-year-old spayed female Golden Retriever with a 4-mont h history of persistent diffuse erythema involving the right and left anteb rachia is presented. Cutaneous biopsies revealed superficial dermal vascula r dilation and proliferation with moderate epidermal acanthosis. Diagnostic tests failed to reveal an underlying aetiology. Telangiectasia is defined as a permanent dilation of pre-existing blood vessels creating small focal lesions. Generalized essential telangiectasia of humans is common in women of middle-age and can involve entire segments of the body. Lesions predomin antly affect the extremities and can persist for years without any systemic effects. The cutaneous lesions in this case have remained static for 3 yea rs with no manifestation of systemic signs. A diagnosis of idiopathic telan giectasia was made based on the clinical and histological findings in the d og of this report. The lesions described in this dog resemble generalized e ssential telangiectasia of humans.