Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with neck spinal cord blood vessel malformation causing paralysis
By Hayashida, E et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·1999·Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Arteriovenous malformation of the cervical spinal cord in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old female German Shepherd was brought in for symptoms including a droopy eye (Horner's syndrome), weakness on the right side of her body, and difficulty swallowing (mega-esophagus). The veterinarian discovered an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in her cervical spinal cord, which was causing serious circulation issues and leading to her neurological decline. Unfortunately, the condition resulted in severe complications, and the dog's health continued to deteriorate. This case highlights the importance of recognizing unusual neurological symptoms in dogs, as they can indicate serious underlying issues.
People also search for: dog weakness on one side · German Shepherd Horner's syndrome · dog swallowing problems · cervical spinal cord issues in dogs
Abstract
An 8-year-old female German Shepherd dog showed first order Horner's syndrome associated with progressive right-sided hemiplegia and mega-oesophagus. Intramedullary and leptomeningeal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) was identified in the cervical spinal cord. The morphological characteristics were arteriovenous shunting, intramedullary multiple thromboses and haemorrhage, non-inflammatory necrosis of white and grey matter around the shunt, and intervening neural gliosis with neovascularization. These findings suggested that the malformation induced a focal circulatory disturbance within the cervical spinal cord and that fatal thrombosis was responsible for the sudden onset of the nervous signs and progressive neurological deterioration. This is the first report of intramedullary spinal AVM in a dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10373295/