Esophageal obstruction caused by a left aortic arch and an anomalous right patent ductus arteriosus in two German Shepherd littermates.

Abstract

To present details of surgical management of an unusual vascular ring anomaly in two German Shepherd littermates. Clinical case report. Three-month-old intact male and female German Shepherd littermates. In each dog, the esophagus was obstructed by a vascular ring comprised of the left aortic arch, an anomalous patent right ductus arteriosus, and the pulmonary artery ventrally. Surgical treatment consisted of dividing and oversewing the patent right ductus arteriosus. Neither dog has clinical signs of esophageal disease one year after treatment. This vascular ring anomaly should be considered a possibility in any young dog with esophageal obstruction and a machinery murmur.