Surgical repositioning with omentalisation of an exposed subcutaneous ureteral bypass shunting port in a cat.

Case summary: A 9-year-old, spayed, female domestic shorthair cat presented with an open wound approximately 1 cm in size with exposure of the left subcutaneous ureteral bypass (SUB) shunting port that was placed approximately 11 months before presentation. Primary closures were attempted twice before local wound management with omentalisation and repositioning of the port. The exposed port was lavaged topically with a polyhexanide and propylbetaine wound irrigation solution before omentalisation and repositioning, resulting in successful retention of the implant. Five months after revision and omentalisation, there was complete coverage and healing of the wound. Relevance and novel information: Adequate topical treatment, repositioning and omentalisation could be a successful treatment option for the uncommon complication of SUB shunting port extrusion secondary to resistant local infection originating from the urinary tract.

Gastroesophageal intussusception and extreme esophageal dilatation secondary to bilateral laryngeal paralysis in a cat.

Gastroesophageal intussusception, extreme esophageal dilatation, and laryngeal paralysis are individually rare clinical entities in cats and the simultaneous occurrence in a single animal has not been described. We describe these 3 conditions occurring concurrently in a geriatric cat, and resolution of the cat's clinical signs after treatment with unilateral arytenoid lateralization. This finding supports the need for thorough history taking and examination in cats with extreme esophageal dilatation to determine if upper respiratory tract abnormalities are present, as appropriate treatment might resolve the esophageal dilatation.

Risk of infection after double locking plate and screw fixation of tibial plateau leveling osteotomies in dogs weighing greater than 50 kilograms.

OBJECTIVE: To compare surgical site infection (SSI) rates after double locking plate and screw fixation (DLP), standard locking plate and screw fixation (LP), and conventional nonlocking plate and screw fixation (NLP) in dogs weighing >50 kg undergoing tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study (January 2003-October 2017). ANIMALS: Two hundred seventy-five dogs weighing >50 kg with cranial cruciate ligament disease treated with TPLO. METHODS: Medical records of dogs weighing >50 kg that underwent TPLO by DLP, LP, and NLP with a minimum follow-up period of 12 months were included. Data collected included signalment, details of any concurrent surgical procedure, type of implant used, use of postoperative antibiotic therapy, occurrence of perioperative complications, and presence of postoperative infection. The probability, risk difference, and relative risk of SSI were estimated for each fixation with a marginal model. RESULTS: Nonlocking plate and screw fixation was used in 114 (41.5%) dogs, LP was used in 128 (46.5%) dogs, and DLP was used in 33 (12%) dogs. Surgical site infection was diagnosed in 48 of 275 (17.5%) dogs. Postoperative antibiotic therapy was used in 74 (64.9%) dogs, 62 (48.4%) dogs, and 32 (97.0%) dogs in the NLP, LP, and DLP groups, respectively. Dogs with NLP, LP, and DLP had postoperative infection rates of 24.5%, 13.3%, and 9.1%, respectively. There were no risk differences for the three groups (Holm-adjusted P > .05). CONCLUSION: No difference in infection rates was detected between DLP, LP, or NLP for TPLO in these dogs weighing >50 kg. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Fixation of TPLO with DLP in dogs weighing >50 kg does not seem to increase the risk of SSI compared with LP and NLP.

Ventral distraction-stabilization in 5 continuous sites for the treatment of cervical spondylomyelopathy in a Great Dane.

OBJECTIVE: To report the combined use of novel and commercially available implants for ventral distraction-stabilization of 5 continuous compressive sites in a Great Dane with cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM). STUDY DESIGN: Case report. ANIMALS: One 4-year-old male Great Dane weighing 78 kg. METHODS: A tetraparetic 4-year-old Great Dane with osseous-associated CSM (OA-CSM) with 5 sites of dorsolateral compression was presented for surgical intervention. Custom designed Fitz intervertebral traction screws (FITS) and a commercially available polyaxial spinal system were used for ventral distraction-stabilization of all lesions. Multiple neurological reevaluations were performed, with the final evaluation at 27 months postoperatively. Preoperative, immediate-postoperative, and 27 month-postoperative computed tomography (CT) images were retrospectively reviewed to compare the vertebral canal dimensions at the affected sites. RESULTS: Multilevel distraction-stabilization technique resulted in improvement of the dog's neurological function by 10 days postoperatively. The vertebral canal measurements were revealed to have improved in over half of the measured variables when the 27-month-postoperative images were compared with the preoperative CT images. Increased vertebral canal dimensions were observed immediately after surgery, and some of these measurements continued to improve by 27 months postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Ventral distraction-stabilization technique with custom-designed FITS and a polyaxial spinal system resulted in both clinical improvement and objective improvement in spinal canal measurements in an OA-CSM-affected Great Dane. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: An indirect decompression technique can eliminate dynamic movements and result in regression of vertebral canal bony proliferation in dogs with OA-CSM.