Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgery outcomes for pectus excavatum in kittens using CT scans
By Charlesworth, Timothy M et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2016·Eastcott Referrals, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pectus excavatum: computed tomography and medium-term surgical outcome in a prospective cohort of 10 kittens.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 10 kittens, aged 10-15 weeks, were diagnosed with a condition called pectus excavatum (PE), which causes a sunken chest and can lead to breathing problems. The veterinarians used a special imaging technique called computed tomography (CT) to better understand the severity of the condition and to help decide on the best surgical approach. For those with severe PE, applying a ventral splint for four weeks led to excellent recovery outcomes. This suggests that early intervention can significantly improve the quality of life for affected kittens.
People also search for: kitten pectus excavatum treatment · cat breathing problems · kitten surgery recovery · pectus excavatum splint for kittens
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to report the use of computed tomography (CT) in conjunction with clinical signs to assess the severity of pectus excavatum (PE) in kittens and to guide surgical decision-making; also to report medium-term outcome in a prospective cohort of kittens undergoing surgical correction. METHODS: This was a prospective study of 10-15-week-old kittens (n = 10) diagnosed with moderate/severe PE. RESULTS: CT provides additional information that is useful for selecting patients for surgical correction and for planning the surgery. Traditional radiographic indices (vertebral, frontosagittal) provide reasonable approximations of the CT-determined dimensions but these seem to correlate poorly with the severity of clinical signs. Kittens commonly have lateralised deformities, which are associated with less severe clinical signs, while those with midline deformities are associated with more severe clinical signs. Six of seven kittens with severe PE that had a ventral splint applied for 4 weeks had excellent medium-term outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Restriction of diastolic filling by midline sternal deviation may be an important cause of exercise intolerance in cats with PE. CT can be used to assess affected kittens and to plan surgery when indicated.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26088565/