Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Enlarged liver artery found in dogs with congenital portosystemic
By Humphreys, William J E et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2024·Small Animal Teaching Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Enlargement of the hepatic artery is present in dogs with a congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt and is independent of shunt insertion into the systemic circulation.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with a congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt (EHPSS) showed an enlarged hepatic artery when examined with CT scans. This enlargement was found to be independent of where the shunt was located in the body. In a study of 112 dogs, those with EHPSS had a significantly larger hepatic artery compared to those without the condition. After surgical treatment, three dogs had follow-up CT scans that showed a reduction in the size of the hepatic artery, indicating that surgery may help normalize this feature.
People also search for: dog portosystemic shunt symptoms · enlarged hepatic artery in dogs · EHPSS treatment options · dog liver surgery recovery
Abstract
The accurate diagnosis of portovascular anomalies has been facilitated by improvements in diagnostic imaging technology. In humans, hepatic arterial blood flow changes in response to the reduction in portal blood flow. The hepatic arterial buffer response characterizes an intrinsic regulatory mechanism in response to reduced portal venous blood flow, which results in hepatic arterial enlargement. At the authors' institution, enlargement of the hepatic artery has been anecdotally observed in a population of dogs with extrahepatic portosystemic shunting, consistent with previous literature that documents variability in hepatic arterial size. In this retrospective, blinded, analytical study, a hepatic artery:aorta (Ha:Ao) ratio was assessed on CT studies from 112 dogs, with (n = 43) and without (n = 69) an extrahepatic congenital portosystemic shunt in order to compare the hepatic artery size independent of body weight between the two populations. A significant increase in the Ha:Ao ratio was documented in dogs with an extrahepatic portosystemic shunt (EHPSS) compared with those dogs with no EHPSS independent of the location of shunt insertion into the systemic circulation (P < .001). Three cases had repeat CT after surgery, and all had Ha:Ao ratio reductions following treatment. The authors propose that this may be an additional imaging feature observed in dogs with an EHPSS.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38318990/