Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
CT scan signs of double aortic arch causing regurgitation in young
By Shua-Haim, Tomer et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2023·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Computed tomographic features of double aortic arch in six dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of six young dogs, all around 4 months old, were brought in for chronic regurgitation, which means they were frequently bringing up food. They also showed signs of weight loss and coughing. After using a special imaging technique called CT angiography, the vets found that the dogs had a rare heart condition called double aortic arch, which was compressing their esophagus and trachea. Fortunately, all the dogs underwent successful surgery to correct the problem and had only minor complications afterward.
People also search for: dog regurgitation causes · puppy coughing treatment · double aortic arch in dogs · dog surgery recovery · congenital heart defects in dogs
Abstract
Double aortic arch (DAA) is a rare, congenital anomaly in small animals, resulting in a complete vascular ring encircling the esophagus and trachea, and subsequent compression of these organs. Few studies have reported utilizing CT angiography (CTA) for diagnosing DAA in dogs; thus, the imaging features are currently lacking in the literature. The objectives of this retrospective, multicenter, descriptive case series were to report the clinical and CTA characteristics of DAA in surgically treated cases. Medical records and CTA images were reviewed. Six juvenile dogs met the inclusion criteria (median age: 4.2 months; range: 2-5 months). The most common clinical signs included chronic regurgitation (100%), decreased body condition (67%), and coughing (50%). Common CTA features of DAA included a dominant left aortic arch (median diameter: 8.1 mm) and minor right aortic arch (median diameter: 4.3 mm; 83%), an aberrant right subclavian artery arising directly from the right aortic arch (83%), segmental esophageal constriction (100%), and variable degrees of dilation cranial to the heart base, and marked tracheal luminal compression (median percent change: -55%; 100%) and leftward curvature of the trachea at the level of the bifurcation of the aortic arches (100%). All dogs underwent successful surgical correction with only minor postoperative complications. Due to the similarity of clinical and imaging characteristics described to that of other forms of vascular ring anomalies (VRA), CTA is vital for the specific diagnosis of DAA in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37296077/