Question of the Day

This is megaesophagus, as highlighted by yellow arrows on the image above. Megaesophagus can be idiopathic or secondary to other disorders such as myasthenia gravis, heavy metal toxicity, or Addison disease. 

Other causes of megaesophagus include esophagitis and esophageal stricture or diverticulum.

To further evaluate for a primary etiology perform a complete neurologic examination and complete bloodwork including adrenal testing.

The history in this case is consistent with regurgitation, even though the owner describes “vomiting.” Always closely question an owner to distinguish between vomiting and regurgitation as often owners will describe both problems in the same way. A work-up for vomiting in a dog with regurgitation is likely to be low-yield and will likely fail to identify the primary problem.

Image courtesy of Dr Kalumet.