Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neurologic problems in pugs after liver shunt surgery
By Wallace, Mandy L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2018·From the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Incidence of Postoperative Neurologic Complications in Pugs Following Portosystemic Shunt Attenuation Surgery.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 14 pugs that underwent surgery to correct a liver condition called a portosystemic shunt (where blood bypasses the liver) were monitored for complications. Unfortunately, 4 of these pugs (about 29%) experienced serious neurological issues after surgery, leading to death or euthanasia within a month, while only 1 out of 30 dogs of other breeds faced similar problems. Despite concerns, no signs of a specific brain disease were found during post-mortem examinations. This suggests that pugs may be more vulnerable to severe neurological complications after this type of surgery, and further research is needed to understand why.
People also search for: pug seizures after surgery · portosystemic shunt surgery complications in dogs · pug neurological problems after surgery
Abstract
Postoperative seizures occur in 5-12% of dogs following surgical attenuation of congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts (CEPSS) and are often refractory to treatment. Because pugs are predisposed to necrotizing meningoencephalitis, they may be at higher risk of developing neurologic complications after CEPSS attenuation. We hypothesized that pugs have a higher prevalence of postoperative neurologic complications and that pugs who died due to neurologic complications would have evidence of encephalitis at necropsy. Records were searched for pugs that had undergone surgical correction of a single extrahepatic CEPSS. Fourteen pugs met the inclusion criteria and were compared with a control group of 30 dogs of varying breeds who also underwent surgical attenuation for a single CEPSS. Four of 14 pugs (28.6%) died or were euthanized within 1 mo after surgery for neurologic complications, compared with only 1 of 30 dogs in the control group (P < .029). No evidence of necrotizing meningoencephalitis was seen on necropsy. Pugs may be at an increased risk of developing fatal neurologic complications following surgical attenuation for CEPSS. Further studies are indicated to investigate reasons for this increased risk, as well as to determine any factors that may indicate which pugs are at higher risk.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29131676/