We described the diagnosis and successful treatment of pleural and peritoneal effusion secondary to liver lobe torsion in a dog. A 12-year-old female spayed Borzoi dog was referred for heart failure. Emergency room thoracic and abdominal ultrasound showed a large volume of pleural effusion with mild peritoneal effusion and an abdominal mass. Pleural fluid analysis classified the effusion as exudative. A complete ultrasound revealed mild peritoneal effusion and decreased blood flow to the right liver lobe. Other causes of bicavitary effusion were ruled out based on blood work, ultrasound, echocardiogram, and computed tomography. The patient was taken to surgery and diagnosed with caudate liver lobe torsion and had a liver lobectomy. At the 2-week postoperative recheck, the patient was doing well and there was complete resolution of the pleural effusion. Liver lobe torsion is a rare occurrence in dogs and can be difficult to diagnose. Clinical signs are nonspecific for liver lobe torsion and patients may present in respiratory distress with significant pleural fluid accumulation. When assessing patients with pleural and peritoneal effusion, liver lobe torsion should be considered as a differential diagnosis.

A 9 yr old castrated male mixed-breed dog was presented for acute vomiting. Abdominal radiographs appeared to show a normal positioned stomach with marked gas dilation, which persisted despite frequent suctioning with a nasogastric tube. An abdominal ultrasound showed splenomegaly, malpositioning of the spleen, and the pyloroduodenal junction. A ventral midline celiotomy revealed an organoaxial gastric volvulus, rotating on the gastroesophageal, and pyloroduodenal junctions. The omentum was not overlying the stomach, typically seen in mesenteroaxial gastric volvulus. The body of the stomach was derotated with no evidence of gastric necrosis noted. The spleen was in the right cranial abdomen and returned to its normal anatomic position after derotation of the stomach. The patient recovered uneventfully and was discharged the next day. To the authors’ knowledge, organoaxial gastric volvulus has not been reported in dogs. This is rare in humans but occurs most commonly in children <5 yr of age associated with hernias. The recommended treatment is surgical in majority of cases. As a result of the unusual orientation of the stomach, the diagnosis of gastric dilatation-volvulus was challenging. Organoaxial gastric volvulus demonstrates the need for further imaging and evaluation in cases of persistent gas dilation.

This report describes the clinical signs, diagnostic findings and treatment of a female spayed Domestic Shorthair with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) who presented in shock due to severe gastrointestinal haemorrhage secondary to coagulopathy caused by vitamin K-dependent clotting factor deficiency. Diagnostics revealed a prolonged prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, low trypsin-like immunoreactvity and gross evidence of pancreatic atrophy. Gastrointestinal haemorrhage resolved quickly with transfusion of fresh frozen plasma and vitamin K supplementation. Following treatment with oral pancreatic enzyme supplementation, the cat was found to have resolution of gastrointestinal signs, improved body condition and normalisation of clotting times. Fat-soluble vitamin levels were below the expected range and improved following treatment. This is the second report of coagulopathy in a cat with EPI and the first to describe fat-soluble vitamin deficiency that improved with pancreatic enzyme supplementation.