SURGICAL APPROACH TO ESOPHAGEAL DUPLICATION CYST IN A DOG: A CASE REPORT

Introduction. Oesophageal duplication cysts are unusual congenital disorders of the foregut. They are infrequent in humans and even less common in domestic animals. We report a case of thoracic oesophageal duplication cyst, treated successfully by surgical resection. Case report. A 7 year old, entire male Rottweiler was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Bologna University, with a history of chronic dysphagia and regurgitation. Endoscopy showed a submucosal bulging mass in the right side of the lower oesophagus and computed tomography revealed a cystic lesion in the caudal mediastinum, probably arising from the oesophagus.With a presumptive diagnosis of oesophageal cancer, abscess or congenital duplication cyst the patient underwent surgery by right lateral thoracotomy at the level of ninth rib. Histologic evaluation confirmed the clinical suspicion of a cystic structure. Histological examination showed a 5 cm diameter cystic lesion containing mucoproteinaceous fluid with a dual muscular layer. The inner layer was composed of cuboidal epithelium. Discussion. In humans oesophageal duplication cysts result from a foregut budding error from the third to the sixth week of embryonic development and they account for 10% to 15% of duplications of all foregut cysts. To the best of our knowledge this is the first reported case of duplication cyst in the thoracic esophageal tract in dogs. Conclusions. Although the diagnosis and treatment of this pathology may be improved, oesophageal duplication cysts respond well to complete surgical excision, therefore surgical treatment is always recommended, like in humans, immediately after diagnosis to avoid complications such as bleeding or aspiration.