Fluoroscopically Guided Percutaneous Fine‐needle Aspiration Biopsy of Thoracic Lesions in Dogs and Cats

Forty‐eight fine‐needle aspiration biopsy specimens of intrathoracic lesions were obtained with a Westcott needle by localizing needle placement using TV‐monitored, image‐amplified fluoroscopy and by detecting changes in tactile sensation. Thiryt‐five lesions were pulmonary in origin and 13 were within the mediastinum. Most biospy specimens were obtained with the patients sedated, however, general anesthesia was used in one patient to prevent movement that could have resulted in puncture of a critical structure. The only clinical and radiographic complication from this procedure was pneumothorax, occurring in eight dogs and resulting in one death. Definitive diagnoses were made from tissue obtained from 37 of the 48 lesions sampled for a sensitivity rate of 77.1%. Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy was found to be a simple, safe, and accurate diagnostic technique.