Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Grass awn causing esophagus tear and artery damage in a dog
By Freitag, Flavia Thaysa Vieira et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2026·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Computed Tomography Findings of Migrating Grass Awn Leading to Esophageal Perforation and Carotid Artery Erosion in a Dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old male Kerry Blue Terrier was brought in because he was lethargic, had a fever, and was coughing intermittently. A large mass was found in his neck, and a CT scan showed that his esophagus was damaged and there was a problem with a nearby artery. It turned out that a grass awn (a type of sharp grass seed) had migrated into his body, causing serious issues. After surgery to remove the grass awn and treat the damage, the dog recovered well.
People also search for: dog coughing and lethargy · grass awn injury in dogs · dog neck mass treatment
Abstract
A 4-year-old male intact Kerry Blue Terrier presented with lethargy, pyrexia, intermittent cough, and a large, firm right ventral cervical mass. Contrast-enhanced head and neck CT revealed a focally expansile, ill-defined, mixed-attenuation lesion with gas bubbles, suggestive of extensive cellulitis and abscessation, in close communication with the cervical esophagus, which appeared focally disrupted. The adjacent common carotid artery was also focally dilated and tortuous. Findings were suggestive of esophageal rupture and secondary carotid artery pseudoaneurysm, likely caused by a penetrating foreign body. Histopathology confirmed the imaging findings and revealed an intralesional grass awn. This paper describes a rare incidence of a migrating grass awn causing esophageal perforation and carotid artery pseudoaneurysm.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41940723/