Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with rare ureter loop and liver blood vessel shunt diagnosed by CT
By Wei, Bingyan et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2025·College of Veterinary Medicine, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Concurrence of Circumcaval Ureter and Congenital Extrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt in a Cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-month-old male Maine Coon cat was brought to the vet because he had been drooling a lot for two weeks. Tests showed high levels of ammonia and bile acids in his blood, indicating liver issues. An abdominal scan revealed a rare condition where his ureter (the tube that carries urine) formed a loop around a major blood vessel, along with a congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt (an abnormal blood vessel that bypasses the liver). The cat underwent surgery to correct these issues, which is a very unusual combination of conditions.
People also search for: cat drooling causes · Maine Coon liver problems · cat surgery for portosystemic shunt
Abstract
A 5-month-old male Maine Coon cat was presented to the hospital with persistent salivation for 2 weeks. Serum biochemistry showed markedly elevated levels of blood ammonia and bile acids. An abdominal computed tomography discovered a shunt from the left gastric to the left phrenic vein, and the right ureter was seen to descend to the level of L4 and L5 normally and then pass dorsally and medially to the caudal vena cava, thus forming a loop. The present case, in which a circumcaval ureter and a congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt were diagnosed concurrently in a cat, was extremely rare and was subsequently confirmed by surgery. Based on the reviewed literature, this is the first case report of the concurrence of a circumcaval ureter and a congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt in a cat.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41171610/