Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Transcaval ureter »

Transcaval ureter is a rarely reported human congenital malformation of the prerenal segment of the inferior vena cava (IVC) not yet reported in veterinary medicine. The objective of this multicenter retrospective case series study was to describe the computed tomography (CT) features of transcaval ureters in dogs and cats. Patients referring to pre- and post-contrast CT exams of the abdomen and presenting this abnormality were retrospectively included. Multiple qualitative features were described for each ureteral abnormality detected. Three cats and two dogs with transcaval ureter were identified consisting of a segmental duplication of the CVC at the prerenal level creating a vascular ring through which the ureter extended, identified as a double-barrel gun sign. The malformation was divided into two types according to the symmetry of the caval branches and location in relation to the aorta, namely, type I symmetrical branches and right-lateral to the aorta, and type II asymmetrically branches and right-dorsal to the aorta. In one case, the malformation was associated with hydroureter and mild pyelectasis. In three cases, the anomaly was incidental and, in the remaining two cases, the clinical significance was uncertain. This is the first study describing the presence of transcaval ureter in dogs and cats. CT was a suitable method for the diagnosis of transcaval and a focal double-barrel gun sign of the CVC is proposed as the hallmark feature of this anomaly. The clinical relevance of this congenital vascular malformation is unclear and needs to be further investigated.

Diseases of the urinary system are regularly encountered in daily veterinary practice. The development of increasingly efficient diagnostic tools is crucial to meet the high-quality requirements of contemporary professional standards. This project had many purposes, aiming to describe pioneering methods, protocols and diagnosis related to imaging of ureters and urinary bladder, chosen as they represent daily diagnostic challenges in daily routine practice. This project consisted of three papers: the first paper is a prospective pilot project concerning quantitative CEUS exam applied to distinguish neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions of the urinary bladder in small animals; the second paper is a multicentric retrospective observational project describing the CT appearance of a novel CVC congenital malformation; the third paper is a retrospective study conducted on canine healthy patients, aimed at assessing the visibility of the ureters on high field MR on T1 and T2 sequences avoiding the use of paramagnetic contrast agents. The results of this project allowed to obtain objectifiable parameters for the distinction of neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions of urinary bladder using quantitative CEUS; we also described the CT appearance of the transcaval ureter, a malfomaration of the CVC never described in veterinary medicine; finally, we described the feasibility of evaluation of normal ureters through high-field MR on T2-weighted sequences, in healthy canine patients. In conclusion, this project allowed to describe new diseases that could affect urinary tract function and contributes to the development of new methods and protocols with the potential to reduce the invasiveness of certain diagnostic procedures related to the urinary tract.