Evaluation of surgical outcome, complications, and mortality in dogs undergoing preoperative computed tomography angiography for diagnosis of an extrahepatic portosystemic shunt: 124 cases (2005-2014).

This study evaluated the safety of preoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA) and its effect on surgical time and clinical outcomes in dogs that underwent surgical correction of a single congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt (CEPSS). Patient data were retrospectively collected from medical records and owner communications for 124 dogs with single CEPSS, undergoing preoperative CTA (n = 43) or not (n = 81) which were surgically treated from 2005 to 2014. The frequency of major postoperative complications was 4.7% and 9.9% for the CTA and no CTA groups, respectively (P = 0.49). Mean ± standard deviation (SD) surgical time for the preoperative CTA group was 84 ± 40 min and 81 ± 31 min for the no CTA group (P = 0.28). We conclude that anesthetized preoperative CTA appears to be a safe method for diagnosis and surgical planning in dogs with single CEPSS, and does not appear to affect surgical procedure time, complication rate, or clinical outcome.