Infection and extrusion of a subcutaneous access port in a cat: a long-term postoperative complication of a subcutaneous ureteral bypass device

Abstract

Case summary: A 5-year-old domestic shorthair neutered female cat was presented for a wound in the region of the subcutaneous ureteral bypass shunting port with externalisation of the device, 2 years after its initial positioning. The cat had had positive urine bacterial cultures over the previous year and a half without any clinical signs of urinary tract infection. Bacterial cultures of urine and the wound revealed the same bacteria, suggesting a complication caused by infected urine from the implanted system. The wound was successfully treated with surgery and at the time of writing, 3 months later, the cat is healthy with no evidence of recurrence. Relevance and novel information: To our knowledge, this is the first report of a subcutaneous ureteral bypass shunting port extrusion as a long-term major complication of the bacterial infection of the device.