Orthopedic conditions, congenital or acquired, are frequent reasons for presentation of companion animals to veterinarians

Objective: To describe the use of synthetic monofilament suture material for closure of left-to-right shunting patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in dogs, and to compare long-term results between nonabsorbable and slowly absorbable synthetic monofilament suture material with a minimum follow-up of at least 5 months. Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, patient files were analyzed for dogs that had surgical ligation of left-to-right shunting PDA between February 2012 and March 2022 at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital, Ghent University. Based on the suture material used, dogs were assigned to the nonabsorbable polypropylene (NON) or slowly absorbable polydioxanone (ABS) group. Recorded data included patient demographics, echocardiographic evaluation, intraoperative parameters, postoperative echocardiographic screening, and long-term clinical examination. Results: 43 dogs were included (23 dogs in the NON group vs 20 dogs in the ABS group). No difference was found between groups regarding age, weight, duct size, surgical time, occurrence of intraoperative hemorrhage, or residual ductal flow. Complete ligation was achieved in 41 of 43 dogs. Postoperative residual ductal flow was detected on echocardiography in 1 dog in each group and progressed from minor at day 1 to trivial or absent at last follow-up. No long-term recanalization occurred in any of the groups. Conclusions: Synthetic monofilament suture materials were successfully used to ligate left-to-right shunting PDA with the incidence of residual ductal flow similar to that reported for silk. No recanalization occurred with the use of resorbable suture material. Clinical Relevance: PDA closure can be safely performed with the use of either polypropylene or polydioxanone suture material.