BALLOON EXPANDABLE METALLIC STENT PLACEMENT FOR NASOPHARYNGEAL STENOSIS IN DOGS AND CATS

摘要

Nasopharyngeal stenosis (NFS) is a pathologic condition in which there is a narrowing within the nasopharynx caudal to the choanae, resulting in a variable degree of inspiratory stertor. This can occur as a congenital anomaly similar to choanal atresia or secondary to an inflammatory condition (chronic rhinitis or aspiration rhinitis), surgery, trauma, or a space-occupying lesion. Nasopharyngeal stenosis has only been described in a small number of cases in the veterinary literature. It is seeminglymore commonly reported in cats than dogs. The first successful treatment was described in 1988, who used surgical correction of NFS in 4 cats. Two other reports of surgical success in cats have subsequently been published. Since that time, other minimally invasive interventions have been investigated because of the common recurrence of stenosis after surgery. In 1 dog, balloon dilatation was deemed to be a successful treatment for NFS. Among treated cats, 7 had balloon dilatation, 1 had a metallic stentplaced surgically through the palate, and 1 had a soft catheter sutured into the nasal cavity as a temporary stent. Balloon dilatation is minimally invasive and utilizes interventional technique via fluoroscopy and endoscopy, but can result in re-stricture in a few days to a few weeks. We have found that stenting of this nasopharyngeal region allows for a more permanent fixation and results in both dogs and cats have been extremely promising. We recently reported on 7 cases where balloon expandable metallic stents were placed in dogs and cats for benign stenosis with excellent results. This talk will discuss the procedure, along with our experiences with nasopharyngeal stenting in over 20 does and cat patients.