Computed Tomography Findings of Migrating Grass Awn Leading to Esophageal Perforation and Carotid Artery Erosion in a Dog

A 4-year-old male intact Kerry Blue Terrier presented with lethargy, pyrexia, intermittent cough, and a large, firm right ventral cervical mass. Contrast-enhanced head and neck CT revealed a focally expansile, ill-defined, mixed-attenuation lesion with gas bubbles, suggestive of extensive cellulitis and abscessation, in close communication with the cervical esophagus, which appeared focally disrupted. The adjacent common carotid artery was also focally dilated and tortuous. Findings were suggestive of esophageal rupture and secondary carotid artery pseudoaneurysm, likely caused by a penetrating foreign body. Histopathology confirmed the imaging findings and revealed an intralesional grass awn. This paper describes a rare incidence of a migrating grass awn causing esophageal perforation and carotid artery pseudoaneurysm.