Gastroesophageal reflux and hiatus hernia associated with laryngeal paralysis in a dog

Gastro-oesophageal reflux together with sliding hiatus hernia is reported in a dog, associated with laryngeal paralysis. Diagnosis was made following endoscopy and fluoroscopy. Surgical treatment of the laryngeal paralysis resulted in complete remission of clinical signs.     

Trypanosomiasis and laryngeal paralysis in a dog

Laryngeal paralysis and trypanosomiasis were diagnosed in a 12-year-old Labrador Retriever. Bilateral vocal fold resection and partial excision of the left aryepiglottic fold resolved the dog's respiratory difficulty. Trypomastigotes resembling Trypanosoma cruzi were seen in blood smears during hospitalization. In spite of treatment with nifurtimox and dexamethasone, the dog died. Histologic examination of tissues did not reveal amastigotes of T cruzi or granulomatous myositis previously described in canine trypanosomiasis reported from North America. The lack of granulomatous myositis and amastigotes in muscle is unusual and suggests a strain variation in the behavior of T cruzi.     

Gastroesophageal intussusception in a young German shepherd dog

A gastro-oesophageal intussusception in a female, six-week-old German shepherd dog was treated surgically with success. The dog was presented with acute dyspnoea and signs of shock. After laparotomy, the herniated organs were reduced from the lumen of the oesophagus into the abdomen and an imbrication of the oesophageal hiatus, an appositional fundoplica-tion and a left-sided incisional fundopexy were performed. The dog made an uneventful recovery. Eighteen months after surgery the dog is still alive, with no clinical signs despite the persistent presence of megaoesophagus.     

Extramedullary laryngeal plasmacytoma in a dog

Abstract

CASE HISTORY:?An 8-year-old, female, spayed Border Collie presented with a 3-week history of coughing, choking and haemoptysis.

CLINICAL FINDINGS:?Inspiratory stridor was evident on clinical examination. Cervical radiographs revealed a round soft-tissue mass on the dorsal aspect of the epiglottis. A laryngeal mass was evident on examination under anaesthesia, and an incisional biopsy was obtained. Histopathology revealed a dense proliferation of neoplastic round cells morphologically consistent with plasma cell origin. Immunohistochemisty results were negative for CD3 (T cell marker) and positive for CD79a (B cell marker), resulting in a diagnosis of extramedullary plasmacytoma. The patient was treated with melphalan and prednisolone; clinical signs resolved within 1 week and the mass was no longer evident on laryngoscopy after 1 month of treatment. After 6 months of chemotherapy, the laryngeal mass recurred and euthanasia was requested. There was no evidence of systemic spread on post-mortem examination.

DIAGNOSIS:?Solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma of the canine larynx.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE:?Respiratory extramedullary plasmacytomas are extremely rare with only one laryngeal and two tracheal cases previously reported. This is the first published report of a laryngeal plasmacytoma that recurred despite combination chemotherapy with melphalan and prednisolone.     

Right-sided laryngeal dysfunction in a horse

A two year old Thoroughbred colt was presented after a clinical diagnosis of right sided laryngeal hemiplegia had been made. On endoscopic examination the right arytenoid cartilage was immobile during respiration while the left moved normally. Post-mortem examination revealed an abnormal shape of the cricoid and thyroid cartilages which resulted in absence of the right cricothyroid articulation. The defect was thought to be congenital in origin.     

Bilateral laryngeal paralysis in a dog secondary to laryngeal osseous metaplasia

A 7-year-old spayed female Lurcher was evaluated for a chronic history of increased upper respiratory noise. Advanced imaging including digital radiography and pre- and post-contrast computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed the presence of an ill-defined soft tissue mineralized mass of the ventral larynx. Histopathology demonstrated pleocellular myositis and fasciitis with osseous metaplasia.     

Progressive oropharyngeal dysfunction in a dog

A dog with an acquired, progressive oropharyngeal dysphagia also had a myopathy-neuropathy. It was clinically similar to criocopharyngeal achalasia, and could easily have been confused with it, even with fluoroscopic evaluation. Conservative medical therapy was instituted since cricopharyngeal myotomy could have caused severe aspiration and death. Resolution was apparently due to anti-inflammatory therapy.     

Vesico-ureteral reflux in the dog

Abstract

Extract

Recent interest in the subject of vesicoureteral reflux (regurgitation of the vesical contents into the ureters) in man has lead to many experimental investigations of this phenomenon in dogs (Ross and Thompson, 1963 Ross, G. and Thompson, I. M. 1963. The relationship of non-obstructive reflux and chronic pyelonephritis: An experimental study. J. Urol., 90: 391–394.  [Google Scholar]; Schoenberg et al, 1963 Schoenberg, H. W., Beisswanger, P., Howard, W., Walter, C. F. and Murphy, J. J. 1963. Effect of lower urinary tract infection upon ureteral function. Amer. Coll. Surgeons Surgical Forum, 14: 483–484.  [Google Scholar]; Levers and Metcalfe, 1964 Levers, P. E. and Metcalfe, J. O. 1964. Urethral resistance measurement: Vesicoureteral reflux and age. J. Urol., 91: 368–375.  [Google Scholar]; Schoenberg et al, 1964 Schoenberg, H. W., Beisswanger, P., Howard, W., Walter, C. F. and Murphy, J. J. 1964. Effect of lower urinary tract infection on ureteral function. J. Urol., 92: 107–108.  [Google Scholar]; Scott, 1964(a) Scott, J. E. S. 1964a. An experimental investigation into the effects of prolonged vesico-ureteric reflux. Brit. J. Urol., 36: 391–398.  [Google Scholar]; Scott, 1964(b) Scott, J. E. S. 1964b. An experimental study of urinary infection and vesico-ureteric reflux. Brit. J. Urol., 36: 501–509.  [Google Scholar]; Cass and Lenaghan, 1965 Cass, A. S. and Lenaghan, D. 1965. The influence of posture on the occurrence of vesico-ureteral reflux. Invest. Urol., 2: 523–529.  [Google Scholar]; Mori and Hara, 1965 Mori, Y. and Hara, T. 1965. Vesicoureteral reflux. Part I. Experimental observation on the mechanism of the prevention of vesicoureteral reflux. Mio. Med. Med. J., 14: 245–249.  [Google Scholar]; Sommer and Roberts, 1966 Sommer, J. L. and Roberts, J. A. 1966. Ureteral reflux resulting from chronic urinary infection in dogs: Long term studies. J. Urol., 95: 502–510.  [Google Scholar]; King and Idriss, 1967 King, L. R. and Idriss, F. S. 1967. The effect of vesicoureteral reflux on renal function in dogs. Invest. Urol., 4: 419–427.  [Google Scholar]). Little, however, has been written on the naturally-occurring condition seen in canine clinical practice. In fact, apart from isolated reports from experimental workers (Barksdale and Baker, 1930 Barksdale, E. S. and Baker, W. W. 1930. The effect of denervation of the lower ureter upon the incidence of ureteral reflux in the dog. J. Urol., 24: 263–268.  [Google Scholar]; Scott and de Luca, 1960 Scott, J. E. S. and de Luca, F. G. 1960. Further studies on the uretero-vesical junction of the dog. Brit. J. Urol., 32: 320–323.  [Google Scholar]) it has rarely been seriously considered as a complication of urinary disorders by practising veterinarians.     

Chronic progressive autonomic dysfunction in a dog

A 3.5-year-old intact male American Pit Bull was presented because of urinary incontinence and dysuria. Constipation, followed by diarrhoea, ocular disturbances and finally regurgitation developed over the next 4 years. Autonomic dysfunction was evidenced by clinical presentation, as well as positive ophthalmic pilocarpine test and subnormal Schirmer tear test. Diagnosis, however, was established through histopathological and immunohistochemical examination. Lesions attributable to inflammatory degenerative neuropathy of the autonomic ganglia, which represents one of the various types of human autonomic failure, were detected.     

Improvement in myocardial dysfunction in a hypothyroid dog

An 8-year-old, male, Alaskan malamute was evaluated for a 2-week history of lethargy, inappetence, and distended abdomen. The dog was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism, exhibited facial myxedema and had myocardial dysfunction with ascites and pleural effusion. Myocardial function improved and facial myxedema and effusions resolved with levothyroxine supplementation.     

Neuronal vacuolation, myelopathy and laryngeal neuropathy in a mixed-breed dog

A bilateral and symmetrical neuronal vacuolation associated with spinal cord white matter degeneration and laryngeal neuropathy was observed in a 12-week-old male mixed-breed dog with a history of progressive pelvic limbs ataxia. On clinical examination, signs included inspiratory stridor, spinal ataxia, tetraparesis, and proprioceptive deficits more severe in the pelvic limbs. Examination of the larynx showed bilateral laryngeal paralysis and electromyography revealed fibrillation potentials restricted to the intrinsic laryngeal muscles. Clinical and pathological findings resembled the syndrome of neuronal vacuolation and spinocerebellar degeneration described in Rottweiler dogs. This is the first report of a similar disorder in a dog different from Rottweiler.     

Neurogenic laryngeal paralysis in the dog

Idiopathic laryngeal paralysis in dogs is now a frequently recognised disorder, particularly in certain breeds such as the Labrador retriever, Afghan hound and Irish setter. Since it occurs in the older animal, distinguishing the clinical signs and their significance from lower respiratory tract or cardiac disease can be challenging. At present little is known about its aetiology and therefore the treatment is directed at relieving the clinical signs. Recent work indicates that arytenoid cartilage lateralisation achieves the best results as a method of surgically correcting the laryngeal obstruction. However, it should be remembered that the potential benefits of surgery should be assessed for each individual, taking into account the presence of concurrent disease and lifestyle of the dog.     

Neurological laryngeal paralysis in the dog

Abstract

Extract

It is always satisfying to attempt to explain the clinical signs of a disease from the altered physiology that occurs. In the article Neurogenic laryngeal paralysis in the dog(1 Burbidge, H, Goulden, BE and Jones, BR. 1991. Neurogenic laryngeal paralysis in the dog. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 39: 83–87. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) the clinical signs of laryngeal stridor, increased respiratory rate and exercise intolerance could be explained as follows: