Congenital portosystemic shunts in Toy and Miniature Poodles

Three male Poodles (two Toy, one Miniature) were presented to their veterin arians for evaluation of urolithiasis and varying degrees of hepatic enceph alopathy. All three dogs were diagnosed as having intrahepatic shunts and r eferred for surgical correction. In each case, shunts arose from the right branch of the portal vein and were amenable to perivascular dissection caud al to where the vessel entered the hepatic parenchyma and to placement of p erivascular cellophane bands to achieve shunt attenuation. During the same period, a female Miniature Poodle also presented for treatment of a congeni tal portosystemic shunt discovered during evaluation for generalised motor seizures. This animal had an extrahepatic portoazygous shunt that was compl etely ligated. Congenital portosystemic shunts have not previously been ide ntified in Toy and Miniature Poodles at the University Veterinary Centre, S ydney and the anatomical types of shunt seen in this breed have not previou sly been reported in a consecutive series of cases. The three male dogs are noteworthy for a number of reasons: all had intrahepatic shunts, despite b eing small breed dogs; all three presented in a similar fashion, and all ha d shunts of an anatomical type amenable to placement of cellophane bands. O ne male dog died within 12 hours of surgery, the remaining three dogs survi ved and their liver function was normal at follow-up between 2 and 3 months after surgery. Use of cellophane bands for successful attenuation of intra hepatic shunts has not been previously reported.