Intranasal Tumor (Feline)

"Bella", an 11-year-old domestic shorthair cat, suffered from chronic sinus infections, so when her nasal congestion worsened, her owner thought it was a flare-up of the infection. Then changes in her facial appearance were noted and she was brought in for an examination. The nose appeared noticeably wider between the eyes. There was a swelling in the forehead area and also below the right eye. In addition, the third eyelid or nictitans was protruding. Bella was scheduled for skull radiographs.

Above is a lateral view of the skull of a normal cat. Below is a radiograph of Bella's skull. The arrows outline a large area of bone destruction in the nasal and frontal sinus areas.

The first image is a ventro-dorsal (bottom-to-top) radiograph of a normal cat. Below is Bella's skull. The arrows outline a portion of the tumor that has destroyed a portion of the bony arch that forms part of the orbit of the eye.