Shope fibroma of the eyelid margin in a domestic rabbit.

Objective: To describe the clinical and histopathologic features as well as response to treatment of a solitary Shope fibroma affecting the eyelid margin of a domestic rabbit.

Animal Studied: A seven-year-old female intact domestic rabbit with a progressively enlarging firm, pedunculated, and encrusted inferior eyelid mass of the left eye of 1-month duration.

Procedures: Under general anesthesia, the crust was removed revealing an ulcerated mass that was excised via a house-shaped resection and submitted for histopathology. Purulent discharge associated with the mass was swabbed for aerobic and anaerobic bacterial culture and sensitivity testing. Histopathology revealed intraepithelial, cytoplasmic leporipoxviral inclusion bodies consistent with Shope fibroma virus. There was no growth on aerobic or anaerobic bacterial culture. The lesion was completely excised, and no recurrence was noted during a 3-month follow-up period.

Conclusions: The solitary nature and clinical appearance of this eyelid margin Shope fibroma are unique. Shope fibroma should be considered a differential diagnosis for eyelid masses in rabbits even in the absence of other cutaneous masses. Thorough systemic evaluation to attempt to distinguish Shope fibroma from malignant myxomatosis should be performed.