title: Endoscopic balloon dilation of benign esophageal strictures in dogs and cats.
abstract: Endoscopic balloon dilation of benign esophageal strictures was performed in 18 dogs and 10 cats with a median age of 4 years. Stricture formation was associated with a recent anesthetic episode in 18 patients. Regurgitation was the most common clinical sign and was present a median of 4 weeks before dilation. Most animals had a single stricture; median diameter was 5 mm, and median length was 1 cm. Esophagitis and mucosal fibrosis were detected in 9 patients each. Dilation was performed with progressively increasing diameter balloons, from 6 to 20 mm. After dilation, mucosal hemorrhage was mild to moderate in most patients. Esophageal perforation was the only serious complication and occurred in 1 patient. Postdilation therapy consisted of administration of cimetidine, metoclopramide, sucralfate, and prednisone in most animals. The median number of dilation procedures performed in each animal was 2, with a range of 1-5. The median interval between dilations was 13 days. Stricture diameter markedly increased with subsequent dilations. Median duration of follow-up was 131 weeks. A successful outcome occurred in 88% of patients, with most animals able to eat canned, mashed, or dry food without regurgitation. Mucosal fibrosis was associated with a better clinical response score, while increasing age was weakly associated with fewer dilations. The dilation protocol used in this group of animals was safe and efficacious.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg 24061, USA. mleib@vt.edu
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Leib
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dinnel
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Reimer
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Towell
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Monroe
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D002415:Cats; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D004285:Dogs; D004435:Eating; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D004939:Esophageal Perforation; D004940:Esophageal Stenosis / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000209:etiology; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome