Gastrointestinal ulceration in dogs with portosystemic shunt

Portosystemic shunt (PSS) in dogs is a common abnormality in which blood from the intestines bypasses the liver flowing directly to the systemic circulation through an aberrant vessel. The lack of hepatic detoxication can lead to a fatal outcome. Treatment of choice is a surgical occlusion of the shunt. Gastrointestinal ulceration/ erosion (GUE) has been described as one of the numerous clinical consequences of PSS, As these lesions are a severe complication, and seem to be underestimated, this review presents the current knowledge about GUE in dogs with PSS. Although the pathogenesis of these lesions is not clear and experimental data are scarce, we conclude that proton pump inhibitors should be administered pre- and postoperatively to dogs with PSS to reduce the incidence of GUE and thus increase the recovery rate.