Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 Sep;9(5):1953-1958.
doi: 10.1002/vms3.1211. Epub 2023 Jul 19.

A case of epiglottic entrapment in a cat

Diana Victoria Arbona  1 , Chap Pratt  2 , Caitlin Tearney  3 , Stephanie Istvan  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of epiglottic entrapment in a cat

Diana Victoria Arbona et al. Vet Med Sci. 2023 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe a case of epiglottic entrapment in a cat.

Case summary: A 5-month-old male neutered Russian Blue cat was evaluated for progressive stertorous upper airway sounds, acute onset vestibulopathy and abnormal laryngeal anatomy. Endotracheal intubation was only able to be achieved using videoscopic guidance and identified concern for severe nasopharyngeal stenosis. A computerized tomography scan revealed otitis interna, narrowed nasopharynx and no definitive cause for the stertorous breathing. The cat recovered very slowly from anaesthesia due to concern for airway obstruction following extubation. It was discharged the following day and then passed away at home 2 weeks later. Necropsy revealed that the epiglottis was obscured by 2 cm of redundant mucosal tissue extending from the base of the tongue to the larynx resulting in epiglottic entrapment. Also noted was chronic, severe otitis interna and externa. Upper airway obstruction is suspected to be the cause of sudden death.

New or unique information: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of these oropharyngeal anatomic abnormalities in a cat.

Keywords: cartilage; disease; epiglottic; feline; nasopharyngeal.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The cat at initial presentation to the emergency service at a specialty veterinary hospital.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The tongue leading to larynx, no epiglottis visualized. Note tongue defect at proximal portion of image.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The space ventral to arytenoids is visualized where epiglottis should originate but appears to be absent.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Narrow nasopharynx.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Necropsy prior to dissection of tissue obscuring epiglottis (black arrow).
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Necropsy post‐dissection of obstructive tissue revealing the fully formed epiglottis (black arrow).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Ambrosio, A. , & Brigger, M. T. (2012). Pediatric supraglottoplasty. Advances in Oto‐Rhino‐Laryngology, 73, 101–104. - PubMed
    1. Bedford, P. G. (1983). Displacement of the glosso‐epiglottic mucosa in canine asphyxiate disease. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 24(4), 199–207.
    1. Bedwell, J. , & Zalzal, G. (2016). Laryngomalacia. Seminars in Pediatric Surgery, 25(3), 119–122. - PubMed
    1. Boles, C. L. , Raker, C. W. , & Wheat, J. F. (1978). Epiglottic entrapment by arytenoepiglottic folds in the horse. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 172(3), 338–342. - PubMed
    1. Flanders, J. A. , & Thompson, M. S. (2009). Dyspnea caused by epiglottic retroversion in two dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 235(11), 1330–1335. - PubMed

Publication types