Extrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Diagnosed in Doppler Ultrasonography - Case Report
Portosystemic shunts are vascular communications between the portal venous system and the systemic, that allow the portal blood entering the venous circulation and are classified as intra- or extrahepatic. This study reports the diagnosis, through Doppler echocardiography and emphasizes the method in the study of vascular diseases. A canine, male, Labrador, one year old, with suspected liver disease was referred to the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Passo Fundo - Brazil, for ultrasonographic examination of the abdomen. The evaluation was conducted in Esaote© MyLab 70 device, with multifrequency microconvex transducer. The abdominal cavity was initially inspected in B mode and was seen heterogeneous and hyperechoic microhepatica, moderate amount of free fluid anechoic and other organs preserved. Then the dorsal observation of the abdominal aorta, central caudal vena cava and ventral portal vein through the transverse intercostal cut on the right side, there was the presence of multiple and varied anomalous vessels adjacent to the portal vein and cava caudal vein, next to the liver. As a result, the visualization of a large abnormal vessel, tortuous, with turbulence, communicating the portal vein and the vena cava in color Doppler mode confirmed the deviation portosystemic extrahepatic (Figure 1). In this case, the Doppler echocardiography proved to be an effective tool, affordable, rapid and non-invasive for the diagnosis of extrahepatic portosystemic deviation. Thus, secured the indication of surgical correction of vascular abnormality and control of clinical manifestations.