Ultrasound‐guided placement of pigtail cystostomy tubes in dogs with urethral obstruction

Abstract

Background: Circumstances such as the inability to pass a retrograde urinary catheter or a lack of surgeon availability may prevent immediate relief of urethral obstruction in dogs. In such situations, a cystostomy tube may be placed with ultrasound guidance to allow urinary diversion until further treatment is possible. Key Findings:A case of a 5-year-old male neutered Swiss Mountain dog with an obstructive urolith at the level of the os penis is used to describe the technique. Multiple attempts to pass a urinary catheter under sedation were unsuccessful. A pigtail cystostomy tube was placed with ultrasound guidance to allow urinary diversion. The dog was discharged from the hospital within 2 days after scrotal urethrostomy and the dog made a full recovery. Ultrasound-guided placement of a pigtail cystostomy tube was straightforward and without complications.Significance: Ultrasound-guided placement of a pigtail cystostomy tube may be beneficial as it is not technically challenging, can be performed rapidly, and may avoid the need for general anesthesia. Additionally, ultrasound is readily available and an inexperienced ultrasonographer can easily locate the urinary bladder. This report serves to provide a detailed technique of ultrasound-guided placement of a pigtail cystostomy tube in dogs for emergency urinary diversion. K E Y W O R D Surethral calculi, urinary diversion, urination CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe authors have declared no conflict of interest.

Case report: Utility, complications, and short-term outcomes in three dogs managed with percutaneous pigtail cystostomy catheters for urethral obstruction

“…The first operator in Case 2 did not have prior experience in the procedure, which may have contributed to the unsuccessful attempt. Tubes were not sutured to the abdomen as described in previous studies ( 4 , 5 ), which could have resulted in kinking, increased movement, and subsequent urine leakage.…”

“…These options can be associated with greater nursing burden and patient discomfort, or anesthesia and surgical expertise, respectively. A technique for ultrasound-guided percutaneous placement of a pigtail cystostomy catheter has been described to achieve temporary urinary diversion in a dog ( 4 ). The utility and complications associated with this procedure have been described in cats ( 5 ) but not in dogs.…”

Clinical use and complications of percutaneous cystostomy pigtail catheters in 25 cats

“…The use of the pigtail catheter has been reported in dogs 10,11 and humans 12,13 but has not been fully reported in cats; a small case series describing the use and complications of percutaneous loop cystostomy catheters in cats has been published. 14 Three cats with urethral obstruction secondary to feline idiopathic cystitis were included in this study.…”

Ultrasound guided tube cystotomy in buffalo calves

“…Ultrasonography serves as a useful diagnostic aid in assessing urinary bladder, especially in calves and small ruminants (Braun et al, 1992;Singh et al, 2014) [2,19] . In dogs ultrasound-guided placement of a pigtail cystostomy tube may be beneficial as it is not technically challenging, can be performed rapidly, and may avoid the need for general anaesthesia (Culler et al, 2019) [3] . With this background the present study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound guided tube cystotomy in buffalo calves.…”