Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with colon bleeding treated by argon plasma coagulation
By Harris, Autumn N et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2016·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Use of endoscopic-assisted argon plasma coagulation for the treatment of colonic vascular ectasia (angiodysplasia) in an adult dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old mixed-breed dog was brought in for intermittent bloody stools and chronic anemia that didn't improve with medication over five years. After a colonoscopy, the vet found abnormal blood vessels in the colon, leading to a diagnosis of colonic vascular ectasia (angiodysplasia). Traditional treatments weren't effective, so the dog underwent four endoscopic-assisted argon plasma coagulation treatments, which successfully stopped the bleeding. Although the dog experienced a complication during treatment that required surgery, he remained free of symptoms for over a year before being euthanized due to unrelated heart disease.
People also search for: dog bloody stools treatment · colonic vascular ectasia in dogs · argon plasma coagulation for dogs
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION: A 10-year-old neutered male mixed-breed dog was evaluated for a 5-year history of intermittent hematochezia and chronic anemia that were unresponsive to medical treatment. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Colonoscopy revealed multifocal areas of coalescing tortuous mucosal blood vessels throughout the colon and rectum. Colonic vascular ectasia (angiodysplasia) was diagnosed on the basis of the endoscopic appearance of the lesions. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: The dog failed to respond to traditional medical treatments for colonic vascular ectasia and required multiple plasma and blood transfusions. The dog received 4 endoscopic-assisted argon plasma coagulation treatments, which resulted in long-term resolution of gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Colonic perforation occurred during the third argon plasma coagulation treatment. The perforation was surgically repaired. The dog remained free from clinical signs of colonic vascular ectasia for > 1 year after the third argon plasma coagulation treatment and was euthanized because of clinical deterioration associated with progressive heart disease. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Endoscopic-assisted argon plasma coagulation treatment is a novel treatment for dogs with colonic vascular ectasia and provided long-term resolution of clinical signs for the dog of this report. In human patients, complications associated with endoscopic-assisted argon plasma coagulation treatment include colonic perforation, which also occurred in the dog of this report.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26885595/