UNILATERAL HYDRONEPHROSIS DUE TO URETER OBSTRUCTION AFTER OVARIO-HYSTERECTOMY IN A FELINE - CASE REPORT

Abstract

Hydronephrosis is characterized by the renal pelvis and calyces distension resulting from total or partial urinary outflow obstruction. Ureter injuries are recognized complications of abdominal surgeries, especially sterilization, due to the frequency which they are performed in cats and dogs and the proximity between the ureter and the uterine stump. Some injuries may be acute or chronic, uni or bilaterally, affecting the urinary tract segment parts. Therefore, diagnosis is very important, especially early on, since it makes immediate management easier and may result in a better prognosis, especially when the disease course gets interrupted or its progression gets slowed. Furthermore, the importance of performing sporadic exams, even without previous clinical history for feline patients, is notorious since the nature of the species to hide clinical signs is well known. To certify the success of the surgery and integrity of the organs, it is very important to perform post sterilization exams. It is also crucial to state the importance of computed tomography for the diagnosis since some obstruction causes, such as blood clot, may not be shown in the ultrasound. Computed tomography is also necessary to differentiate hydronephrosis from many injuries that may affect the kidneys and ureters, like ectopic ureter, obstruction by calculi, and surgical ligature. The present study has the objective of reporting and discussing the laboratory, imaging findings, and clinical state of a patient with unilateral hydronephrosis, with asymptomatic evolution of iatrogenic origin due to obstruction by ureter obliteration after ovariohysterectomy (OVH).