Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with gallbladder nerve growth causing cholecystitis
By Ramírez, G A et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2018·Department of Animal Science, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ganglioneuromatosis of the Gallbladder in a Dog with Cholecystitis and Cholestasis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 2-year-old female mixed-breed dog was brought to the vet because she was showing signs of liver problems, specifically cholestasis, which means her liver wasn't working properly. An ultrasound showed her gallbladder was thickened and had stones. The vet performed surgery to remove the gallbladder, and tests on the tissue revealed a rare condition called ganglioneuromatosis, which involves abnormal nerve growth in the gallbladder. This case is unique because it's the first time this condition has been reported in a gallbladder rather than the intestines.
People also search for: dog liver problems · gallbladder surgery in dogs · cholestasis in dogs · ganglioneuromatosis in dogs
Abstract
A 2-year-old entire female mixed-breed dog was presented with signs of cholestasis. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a gallbladder with a thickened and hyperechoic wall and luminal calculi. Exploratory laparotomy with cholecystectomy was performed and histopathological examination of the specimens from the cholecystectomy demonstrated extensive proliferation of large, prominent nerves containing ganglion cells with no atypia mainly located in the gallbladder mucosa. The neural nature of these components was confirmed by immunohistochemical labelling with antibodies specific for synaptophysin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, S100 protein and neurofilaments. Based on these findings, the lesion was diagnosed as ganglioneuromatosis. Reports of ganglioneuromatosis in animals have so far been restricted to the intestine. This is the first case of ganglioneuromatosis affecting the gallbladder in an animal in which no intestinal involvement was apparent.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30213371/