Abstract Background Benign esophageal strictures (BES) can decrease survival in dogs and cats. Little data is available on long-term survival after management. Hypothesis/Objectives To describe the outcome of BES in dogs and cats treated with esophagoscopy-guided balloon dilation. Animals Twenty-eight dogs and 4 cats with BES treated with balloon dilation. Methods Retrospective observational study. Signalment data, BES number and etiology, submucosal injection and triamcinolone acetate dose, PEG-tube placement, and number of dilations were recorded. The owners were contacted to obtain survival data and diet information. Results Median (interquartile range) values for dogs were age, 6.5 years (2.0-8.8); body weight, 7.0 kg (3.0-20.8); number of BES present at initial visit 1 (1-2). Identified causes for BES were peri-anesthetic regurgitation (20 dogs, 3 cats), esophageal foreign body (6 dogs, 1 cat), and vomiting (6 dogs). Dogs underwent a median of 2 (1-3) dilation sessions. Twenty-two dogs and 3 cats received submucosal injections of triamcinolone at a median dose of 0.45 mg/kg (.31-.54). Over the study period, the timing of triamcinolone injections shifted from before balloon dilation to after the procedure. A PEG-tube was placed in 9 dogs and 1 cat. Follow-up data were obtained for 25 dogs and 3 cats. Seven dogs and 1 cat could eat kibbles. Median survival time (MST) for 25 dogs was 2746 days (95% CI: 1860-3297). Conclusions and clinical importance Balloon dilation was apparently associated with prolonged survival in dogs with BES treated at our institution, with a MST 3.2-3.8 times longer than reported in previous studies.
Hebert et al. (Thu,) studied this question.