Intussusception associated with congenital lymphangioma in a dog

A 12-week-old intact male golden retriever dog was referred to our clinic with a history of recurrent diarrhea and rectal prolapse and because of a suspected intussusception. An abdominal ultrasound was conducted to confirm the suspicion of an intussusception. An exploratory laparotomy identified a jejuno-ileo-cecal-colic intussusception that was manually reduced. A 3-centimeter, abnormal cystic lesion was noted to be arising from the mesentery of the distal jejunum and ileum, just orad to the cecum. The cystic lesion and associated intestinal segment were resected, and the histopathologic diagnosis was consistent with a mesenteric lymphatic malformation. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of a mesenteric lymphatic malformation associated with intussusception in a dog. Key clinical message: Our findings suggest that mesenteric lymphatic malformations should be considered when cystic structures are associated with intussusceptions in young dogs.