Doppler ultrasonographic assessment of closure of the ductus venosus in neonatal Irish wolfhounds.

The normal appearance and closure time of the ductus venosus of 22 neonatal Irish wolfhounds from three unrelated litters were determined by repeated two-dimensional, grey-scale and colour-flow Doppler ultrasound examinations. A left intercostal approach was used to identify the ductus venosus, which appeared as a parallel-sided or cone-shaped vessel connecting a left-sided intrahepatic branch of the portal vein with a confluence of veins on the cranial aspect of the liver. Doppler signals indicative of patent ductus venosus were obtained in nine of nine puppies on day 2, 11 of 17 on day 4, five of 22 on day 6, none of nine on day 9 and none of eight on day 10.