Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Intrathoracic ectopic liver found in a dog's chest on scans
By Jeong, Jeongyun et al.Ā·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology AssociationĀ·2024Ā·Department of Veterinary Medical Imaging, South KoreaĀ·View original on PubMed ā
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research ā every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work ā
Original publication title: Radiographic and computed tomographic findings of intrathoracic ectopic liver in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old spayed female Maltese was brought in because the vet suspected she had a diaphragmatic hernia, which can cause breathing problems. X-rays showed a mass in her chest, but during surgery, the vet found her diaphragm was intact and her liver looked normal. A CT scan revealed that the mass was actually an ectopic liver (a liver that is in the wrong place) connected to her regular liver. The vet was able to move the ectopic liver back to its proper location, and the dog recovered well after treatment.
People also search for: dog breathing problems Ā· Maltese diaphragmatic hernia symptoms Ā· ectopic liver in dogs treatment
Abstract
A 5-year-old spayed female Maltese was referred due to a suspected diaphragmatic hernia. Radiography revealed a soft tissue mass in the right caudal thorax with loss of diaphragm cupola dome-shape. A diaphragmatic hernia was considered, but surgical exploration revealed an intact diaphragm and unremarkable liver lobes. CT after a surgical inspection showed all intact liver lobes and intrathoracic mass connected to the liver. The intrathoracic mass was retracted to the abdomen by incising the diaphragm. Histopathologic examination revealed hepatocellular vacuolar degeneration, indicating an intrathoracic ectopic liver. Intrathoracic ectopic liver should be included in the differential diagnosis when diaphragmatic hernia is suspected in radiography.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39161222/