Two healthy cats underwent elective surgical procedures under general anesthesia. One developed severe esophagitis leading to esophageal rupture, mediastinitis, and pyothorax. The other cat developed esophageal stricture, diverticulum formation, and suspected iatrogenic perforation. Both cats had signs of dysphagia and regurgitation beginning a few days after anesthesia. The first cat also had severe dyspnea due to septic pleural effusion and pneumomediastinum. In the second cat, endoscopy revealed diffuse esophagitis, an esophageal stricture, and a large esophageal diverticulum. Rupture of the esophageal wall occurred while inflating the esophagus for inspection. Due to the poor prognosis, both cats were euthanized. Necropsy revealed severe esophageal changes. Postanesthetic esophagitis has been previously described in dogs and cats; however, severe life-threatening esophageal injuries rarely occur as a sequel to general anesthesia. To the authors’ knowledge, esophageal rupture secondary to perianesthetic reflux has never been reported in cats.
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November/December 2011
Case Reports|
November 01 2011
Severe Esophageal Injuries Occurring After General Anesthesia in Two Cats: Case Report and Literature Review
Chiara Adami, DMV, PhD;
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science (C.A., K.G., N.S.) and Department of Veterinary Pathology (S.P.), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland.
Correspondence: [email protected] (C.A.)
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Stefano Di Palma, DMV;
Stefano Di Palma, DMV
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science (C.A., K.G., N.S.) and Department of Veterinary Pathology (S.P.), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland.
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Karine Gendron, DMV;
Karine Gendron, DMV
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science (C.A., K.G., N.S.) and Department of Veterinary Pathology (S.P.), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland.
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Nadja Sigrist, DMV, FVH, DACVECC
Nadja Sigrist, DMV, FVH, DACVECC
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science (C.A., K.G., N.S.) and Department of Veterinary Pathology (S.P.), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland.
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J Am Anim Hosp Assoc (2011) 47 (6): 436–442.
Citation
Chiara Adami, Stefano Di Palma, Karine Gendron, Nadja Sigrist; Severe Esophageal Injuries Occurring After General Anesthesia in Two Cats: Case Report and Literature Review. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 1 November 2011; 47 (6): 436–442. doi: https://doi.org/10.5326/JAAHA-MS-5690
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