Diameter of the shunt vessel in dogs with incidental extrahepatic portosystemic shunts

• Published in: Anatomia, histologia, embryologia Vol. 52; no. 5; pp. 815 - 820
• Main Authors: Tanaka, Toshiyuki, Wada, Yusuke, Tomihari, Mizuki, Nishida, Hidetaka, Akiyoshi, Hideo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-09-2023
• Subjects: Shunts; CT; left gastro-phrenic shunt; left spleno-gonadal shunt; liver volume; left gastro-azygos shunt; extrahepatic portosystemic shunt
• ISSN: 0340-2096; 1439-0264
• DOI: 10.1111/ahe.12931

Clinical signs of extrahepatic portosystemic shunts (EHPSS) depend on the amount of blood shunted. In this study, dogs with EHPSS without noticeable clinical signs including 34 left gastro-phrenic, 3 left gastro-azygos and 2 left spleno-gonadal shunts were evaluated. In dogs with EHPSS without noticeable clinical signs, the median maximum diameter of the shunt vessel was significantly smaller compared to PV (p < 0.005). Whenever the diameter of the EHPSS is small in relation to the diameter of the PV, it seems likely that no obvious clinical signs of EHPSS are observed by the owners.