Distal aortic aneurysm presumed to be secondary to an infected umbilical artery in a foal

Abstract

CASE HISTORY: A 3-month-old female Warmblood foal was presented after displaying signs of colic with pyrexia for 5 days.

CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: The foal continued to show signs of colic, frequently passed urine, and was pyrexic with an elevated white blood cell count. The umbilical stalk was thickened but there was no evidence of purulent material. Exploratory laparotomy revealed an enlarged left umbilical artery remnant tightly adhered to the bladder wall. The left umbilical artery continued to an aneurysm involving the distal aorta. The foal was subject to euthanasia and post-mortem examination confirmed a spherical aortic aneurysm, in the dorsal midline caudal to the kidneys that contained a large thrombus. Histopathological examination revealed inflammation and necrosis of the tunica intima and tunica media of the left umbilical artery with suppuration and bacterial colonies evident in the periarterial tissues.

DIAGNOSIS: Infected aortic aneurysm presumably caused by an umbilical artery infection.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A previously undetected umbilical infection appears to have resulted in an unusual delayed complication causing signs of colic in a foal. Veterinarians should be aware of this condition, and the possibility that it may be a cause of signs of colic in foals. Diagnosis based on ultrasonography should be possible, but may require sedation, visceral analgesia and careful examination.

Key Words:

• Aneurysm
• infected
• umbilical artery
• foal

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dave Warburtun of the Hunterville Vet Club for referring this case, the people at Massey University who assisted with the diagnosis, treatment and post-mortem examination and Nadia Blenkiron, Graphic Designer, The Printery, Massey University for the diagram of the arteries and labelling the photographs.

Notes

*Non-peer-reviewed