Laparoscopic cholecystectomy using the subserosal layer dissection technique in dogs: 34 cases (2015-2021).

OBJECTIVES: To describe a standardised subserosal layer dissection technique and evaluate its outcomes in canine laparoscopic cholecystectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of dogs undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy using the standardised subserosal layer dissection technique for the treatment of cholecystolithiasis, cholecystitis, and gall bladder mucocele at a single veterinary hospital from January 2015 to September 2021 were extracted. Operative time, subserosal layer dissection achievement rate, open conversion rate, and complication rate were evaluated. RESULTS: Thirty-four dogs were included. The most common preoperative diagnosis was cholecystolithiasis (n=29). Operative time was 190 minutes (range: 110 to 330 minutes). Subserosal layer dissection of more than 90% of the gall bladder bed was achieved in 27 (79%) dogs. Conversion to open surgery was required in three (8.8%) dogs. There were no cases of intraoperative bleeding, bile duct injury, or reoperation. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study showed that laparoscopic cholecystectomy using the standardised subserosal layer dissection technique could be performed successfully in dogs. Future prospective clinical studies are needed to determine safety and effectiveness of this technique compared to standard techniques.

Hepatocyte-derived canine familiaris-microRNAs as serum biomarkers of hepatic steatosis or fibrosis as implicated in the pathogenesis of canine cholecystolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic cholesterol accumulation in small breed dogs is a leading risk factor for hepatic fatty changes, gallbladder hypomotility, and cholelith development, which, if not discovered early, could lead to life-threatening choledocholithiasis and acute pancreatitis. OBJECTIVE: This study proposed to assess the use of hepatocyte-derived canine familiaris (cfa)-microRNAs (miRNA-122, -34a, and -21) as new diagnostic serum biomarkers of liver steatosis or fibrosis, for which both processes have been implicated in canine cholecystolithiasis. METHODS: Forty client-owned dogs diagnosed with cholecystolithiasis and hepatic steatosis (C+HS) or fibrosis (C+HF) based on ultrasonographic, biochemical, and histopathologic findings, and 20 healthy dogs used as controls were included in the study. Serum cfa-miRNA expression was determined using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS: Serum cfa-miRNA-122 and -34a expression was significantly upregulated in the C+HS (P < .001) and C+HF (P < .01) groups compared with the control group and showed a positive correlation with alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG) levels in the C+HS group. Cfa-miRNA-122 and -34a expression discriminated the diseased groups from the control group better than traditional serum-derived liver biomarkers, as evidenced by areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC-ROC) curve of 0.99 and 0.97 for cfa-miRNA-122 expression in the C+HS and C+HF groups, and 1.0 and 0.96 for cfa-miRNA-34a in the C+HS and C+HF groups, respectively. Cfa-miRNA-21 expression was upregulated only in the C+HF group compared with the C+HS (P < .01) and control (P < .001) groups and showed a positive correlation with serum ALT, AST, TBIL, ALP, and GGT and negative correlation with serum TC and TG levels. Cfa-miRNA-21 expression could also differentiate the C+HF group from the control and C+HS groups with a diagnostic performance superior to that of the conventional serum biochemical variables as evidenced by AUCs of 1.0 and 0.98, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Serum cfa-miRNA-122, -34a, and -21 expression was significantly upregulated in dogs with cholecystolithiasis with hepatic steatosis or fibrosis compared with control dogs. These miRNAs could serve as novel biomarkers for hepatic steatosis or fibrosis, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cholecystolithiasis.