Case of the week 11.8.21
Publication Date: 2021-11-08
History
4 year old female spayed cat. Feral cat living outside, being taken care of by owner for past 4 years
7 images
Findings
Orthogonal radiographs of the thorax and abdomen are available for interpretation.
Thorax: The cardiovascular structures are diminished in size. The lungs, airways, and diaphragmatic margin are normal. No abnormalities are detected in the pleural space.
The imaged skeletal structures are normal; no traumatic skeletal injuries are detected.
The left body wall is markedly thickened.
Abdomen: The left body wall thickening is most severe at the caudal thorax/cranial abdomen. At the level of the caudal ribs, there is a focal defect in the muscular layers of the left abdominal wall. Multiple soft tissue opaque structures extend through this defect into the subcutaneous space, including a large fusiform structure seen cranially, most consistent with the spleen, and multiple elongated/tubular structures located caudally.
A normal spleen is not identified in the abdominal cavity.
There is a small area of fluid streaking in the caudoventral peritoneal cavity. The liver, kidneys, and urinary bladder are identified in the abdomen and are normal.
The imaged skeletal structures are normal; no traumatic skeletal injuries are detected.
Diagnosis
- Traumatic left body wall rupture with herniation of the spleen, intestines, and suspected herniation of the left limb of the pancreas into the subcutaneous space. The concurrent small volume of peritoneal effusion likely represents hemorrhage or a transudate secondary to inflammation. Uroabdomen is considered unlikely.
- Hypovolemia
Discussion
Owners elected for euthanasia.
Notes
The case was initially seen by Drs. Stokowski and Hecht.
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