Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with rare liver vein connection and portosystemic shunt
By Park, Juhyang et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2025·Department of Veterinary Medical Imaging, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: An Anomalous Connection of the Left Hepatic Vein with the Coronary Sinus in a Selkirk Rex Cat with a Portosystemic Shunt.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 16-month-old male Selkirk Rex cat was taken to the vet for problems with blood in his urine, difficulty urinating, and low urine output. The vet found that he had cystitis (bladder inflammation) along with a bladder stone, but also discovered a rare condition where a blood vessel from the liver was incorrectly connected to the heart. To treat this, the vet performed a procedure to restrict blood flow through the abnormal vessel. This case is notable because such a condition has not been reported in cats before.
People also search for: cat blood in urine · Selkirk Rex urinary problems · cat bladder stone treatment · portosystemic shunt in cats
Abstract
A 16-month-old intact male Selkirk Rex cat was referred for recurrent hematuria, dysuria, and oliguria. Cystitis with a bladder calculus was diagnosed, and an incidental finding of a splenocaval extrahepatic portosystemic shunt with malformation of the left hepatic vein was discovered. Computed tomographic angiography demonstrated the left hepatic vein crossed the diaphragm, coursed along the left side of the caudal vena cava, and drained into the right atrium. Cellophane banding of the portosystemic shunt was performed. An anomalous left hepatic vein is extremely rare in humans, and this is the first report of such an anomaly in the veterinary literature.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40249058/