Congenital Short-Bowel Syndrome in an Adult Dog

Abstract

A 3.5-year-old, neutered male pit bull dog was euthanized following an approximately 1-year history of intractable diarrhea and weight loss of undetermined cause. At necropsy, the dog was emaciated. The ratio of total intestinal length (duodenum to rectum) to crown-to-rump length was 2.5, in contrast to an average of 5.3 (range, 3.7–6.1) in 10 control dogs examined at necropsy. There was diffuse dilation of the intestinal lumen, consistent with congenital intestinal hypoplasia resulting in short-bowel syndrome. Histologically, the intestinal mucosal was hyperplastic, further supporting the diagnosis of short-bowel syndrome. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case of this condition in the veterinary literature.