Esophageal Diverticula in Parma Wallabies (Macropus parma)

Abstract

Four adult, wild caught Parma wallabies (Macropus parma) presented with intermittent, postprandial, midcervical swellings. Esophageal diverticula were discovered in the four animals. One of two wallabies was managed successfully with surgery. A third animal died of other causes. The fourth animal died with possible complications from the diverticulum. This is the first published report of esophageal diverticula in macropods.

Jejunal Pseudodiverticulosis in a Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)

“…Morphologically similar lesions occur in the small intestine of animals and have been described rarely in horses, pigs, sheep, a cat, an elk and a Sumatran orangutan (Cordes and Dewes, 1971;Evers et al, 1996;Murray et al, 2000;Owston et al, 2008;Penades et al, 2010). Congenital true diverticula of the oesophagus have been reported in four Parma wallabies (Okeson et al, 2009). The majority of humans and animals affected by diverticulosis remain asymptomatic, but occasionally local inflammation ('diverticulitis') or generalized peritonitis can result from faecal impaction or rupture of the diverticula, respectively (Lempinen et al, 2004;Gelberg, 2007;Turner, 2010).…”