Surgical correction of concomitant cranioventral abdominal wall, caudal sternal, diaphragmatic, and pericardial defects in young dogs.

Seven puppies with concomitant congenital cranioventral abdominal wall, caudal sternal, diaphragmatic, and pericardial defects were treated surgically when they were between 10 and 12 weeks old. Three pups had ventricular septal defects that were not corrected. Diaphragmatic herniorrhaphy without extension of the diaphragmatic defect was performed in 6 pups. In one pup, paracostal extension of the diaphragmatic defect was necessary to decrease tension on the diaphragmatic closure. All pups were healthy at 6-month follow-up examinations, but 2 of 3 pups with ventricular septal defects had moderate generalized cardiomegaly evident on thoracic radiography. Early surgical correction of the congenital defects in these pups was usually simple because there were few or no thoracic adhesions, the dogs were small, the defects were small in 6 of 7 dogs, and the costal arch was pliable in each dog.