EXPRESS: Prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of limb-body wall complex (LBWC) in a cat

Case summary A 2-year-old multiparous Persian queen presented with dystocia underwent emergency transabdominal ultrasonography. Two fetuses with detectable cardiac activity were identified, and one showed severe congenital abnormalities, including abdominal wall disruption with evisceration of abdominal organs, pleural effusion with pulmonary compression, and hindlimb deformities. Emergency Caesarean section resulted in delivery of three malformed kittens. Gross examination revealed evisceration of abdominal organs and limb deformities, including arthrogryposis and phocomelia, in all three kittens. One kitten also had severe generalized subcutaneous edema (anasarca), and another had a cervicothoracic cutaneous defect. The anomalies were considered consistent with limb-body wall complex (LBWC), a subtype of complex body wall anomalies (CBWAs). To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first published description of prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of CBWAs in a feline fetus, highlighting the potential value and limitations of prenatal ultrasonography for detecting severe congenital malformations in cats. Relevance and novel information This report describes the prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of limb-body wall complex (LBWC), a subtype of complex body wall anomalies (CBWAs), in a feline fetus. The study demonstrates a clear correlation between prenatal ultrasonographic findings and postnatal gross pathological features, providing valuable evidence for the diagnostic utility of fetal ultrasonography in veterinary obstetrics. Furthermore, it expands the limited veterinary literature on CBWAs and highlights the potential role of prenatal imaging in the early detection and clinical management of severe congenital malformations in cats. The report also contributes comparative insights into the manifestation of LBWC across species.