A benign esophageal stricture is a ring of scar tissue that narrows the esophageal lumen after the wall has been injured deeply enough to heal by fibrosis. In dogs the injury is most often acid reflux during general anesthesia, so the classic patient is a dog, often female, that starts regurgitating its food a week or more after a routine surgery such as a spay.
Key facts
Esophageal stricture at a glance- Species and system: dog (also cats); gastrointestinal, esophagus.
- Cause: deep esophagitis healing by fibrosis; gastroesophageal reflux under anesthesia is linked to 46% to 65% of benign strictures in dogs, followed by foreign bodies, retained pills (doxycycline, clindamycin) and caustics.
- Classic presentation: regurgitation of solid food, often with liquids still tolerated, starting about 1–3 weeks after anesthesia or another esophageal insult; weight loss.
- Diagnosis: esophagram (ideally under fluoroscopy) and esophagoscopy.
- Treatment: balloon dilation, usually repeated, plus treatment of esophagitis.
- Not zoonotic and not reportable.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 6 tables, 2 figures, 3 self-test questions and 19 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
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