Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgery fixes double tail and anus in young dog
By Neihaus, Steven A & Peper, Katherine·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2024·1Elite Veterinary Surgery of Florida, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Successful surgical correction of caudal duplication syndrome in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 12-week-old female Chihuahua mix was brought in for evaluation of unusual symptoms, including having two anuses, two vulvas, and two tails. After a thorough examination and imaging, the vet discovered that the dog had a rare condition called caudal duplication, which involved multiple duplicated organs. The treatment involved a complex surgery to remove the extra organs, including parts of the intestines and reproductive system. Five years later, the dog is doing well and shows no signs of any ongoing issues.
People also search for: dog with two tails · Chihuahua mix surgery · caudal duplication syndrome treatment
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of caudal duplication successfully operated with long-term follow-up. ANIMAL: A 12-week-old female Chihuahua mix. CLINICAL PRESENTATION, PROGRESSION, AND PROCEDURES: The dog of this report presented for evaluation of duplicate external organs, including 2 anuses, 2 vulvas, and 2 tails. The dog was clinically normal except for signs of cystitis. Contrast CT identified complete urogenital and anorectal duplication, characterized by duplication of the cecum, descending colon/rectum, urinary bladder, urethra, uterus, and ovaries, with left-sided rectovestibular fistula. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Exploratory laparotomy was performed to remove the left cecum and colon, the left ureter was transected and implanted into the right urinary bladder, the left bladder and urethra were removed, and bilateral ovariohysterectomy removed 4 ovaries and 2 uteruses. Following abdominal closure, the left anus and vulva with remaining portions of distal rectum and urethra, respectively, were removed en bloc with both tails. Long-term follow-up at 5 years showed the dog to be clinically normal. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Caudal duplication is extremely rare in veterinary medicine, and this report details successful surgical correction with good long-term follow-up.
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 →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38056075/