Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with chronic draining chest wound caused by gallbladder fistula
By Marquardt, Shelly A et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2012·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spontaneous cholecystocutaneous fistula in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old Vizsla had a chronic draining wound on its chest for two months. After tests, the vet found that the dog's gallbladder was connected to the skin through an abnormal passageway, which was causing the wound. The vet performed surgery to remove the gallbladder and treat the abnormal connection. Twenty-eight months later, the dog showed no signs of the issue returning, and the surgery successfully resolved the problem without needing to remove the entire fistulous tract.
People also search for: dog draining wound on chest · Vizsla gallbladder surgery · chronic fistula treatment in dogs
Abstract
The purpose of this case report was to describe the surgical correction of a cholecystocutaneous fistula in a dog. A 6 yr old Vizsla presented with a 2 mo history of a chronic draining wound on the right ventral thorax. Diagnostics revealed numerous fistulous tracts opening at a single site on the right ventrolateral chest wall, extending caudodorsally through the chest wall and diaphragm to the region of the right medial liver lobe. Exploratory laparotomy revealed the apex of the gallbladder adhered to the diaphragm with a tract of fibrous tissue extending along the diaphragm laterally to the right thoracic wall. Cholecystectomy was performed. The fistulous tract was incised to expose the lumen of the fistula, and the fistula was omentalized. Twenty-eight months after surgery, the dog had had no recurrence of the fistulous tract. Exploratory laparotomy allowed excellent visualization of the intra-abdominal path of the fistula and facilitated the ease of resection of the source. Cholecystectomy resulted in rapid and complete resolution of the fistula without the need for excision of the fistula. Although rare, gallbladder disease should be a differential for chronic fistulous tracts.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22190600/