Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with partial pericardial defect causing right ventricle bulge
By Sugimoto, K et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2025·Minamino Animal Hospital, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Congenital partial pericardial defect affecting the right ventricle in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 1.8-year-old male mixed-breed dog was found to have a heart issue before his neuter surgery. X-rays showed an unusual bulging shape around his heart, and further tests revealed a partial absence of the protective sac around the heart (pericardium) affecting the right ventricle. This condition, known as right ventricular herniation, was confirmed with advanced imaging techniques. While the report focuses on diagnostic methods, it highlights the importance of thorough examinations for heart problems in dogs.
People also search for: dog heart problems symptoms · mixed-breed dog heart defect · right ventricular herniation treatment
Abstract
A 1.8-year-old, 7.7-kg male mixed-breed dog was examined before castration surgery. Thoracic radiographs showed a prominent bulging of the cardiac silhouette. Echocardiography revealed a partial absence of the bright pericardial signal in the right ventricular outflow tract. Fluoroscopy revealed a bulging pulsating sac anterior to the right ventricular outflow tract. On contrast-enhanced computed tomography, a balloon-shaped right ventricular lumen protruding in the cranial direction was seen on the cranial side of the right ventricle near the pulmonary infundibulum. Accordingly, right ventricular herniation due to a partial pericardial defect was diagnosed. This report describes cardiac computed tomography in dogs with right ventricular pericardial defects; our findings highlight the usefulness of fluoroscopic examination in diagnosing pericardial defects.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40840406/