Presumptive gastric intramural haematoma causing pyloric outflow obstruction in a cat

Abstract A 12‐year‐old cat presented with vomiting consistent with gastric outflow obstruction. Ultrasound examination suggested a mixed echogenicity mass lesion within the wall of the pyloric antrum. Exploratory surgery identified a gastric intramural haematoma. Pyloromyotomy was performed to allow evacuation of the clot and resolution of the obstruction. A sharp plastic ingested foreign body was removed from the lumen of the stomach via a separate full‐thickness gastrotomy. No haemostatic disorder was identified. The presumed cause of the haematoma was local trauma from the ingested foreign body. The cat recovered uneventfully. To the authors’ knowledge, this case represents the first report of gastric intramural haematoma in a cat, and the first in small animals to be associated with pyloric outflow obstruction. Gastric intramural haematoma can mimic neoplasia on ultrasound images and may be an important differential diagnosis when pyloric outflow obstruction is identified.