Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with neck disc extrusion and worsening spinal cord damage
By Lin, Annie et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2023·Department of Emergency and Critical Care, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Case report: Clinical and pathological findings in a canine patient with intervertebral disk extrusion resembling progressive myelomalacia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old female spayed dog was brought to the emergency room because she couldn't move her legs and was showing signs of severe weakness. A CT scan revealed that a disk in her neck had slipped out of place, which was causing her symptoms. She underwent emergency surgery but later needed help breathing and her condition worsened. Unfortunately, despite efforts to support her, she was diagnosed with a serious spinal condition called progressive myelomalacia and was euthanized. This case highlights the serious complications that can arise from neck disk issues in dogs.
People also search for: dog neck pain · dog can't walk after surgery · progressive myelomalacia in dogs
Abstract
A 4-year-old female spayed dog presented to the emergency department for non-ambulatory tetraparesis, which progressed to tetraplegia. Computed tomography (CT) confirmed cervical intervertebral disk extrusion at C5-6 extending to C6-7, and an emergency ventral slot was performed. After the procedure, the patient was placed on mechanical ventilation due to respiratory failure. Repeat assessment upon weaning her ventilatory support suggested the patient's neurological status had declined. Based on her deterioration and suspicion of progressive myelomalacia on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), she was euthanized. Post-mortem histopathology of the spinal cord supported the presence of progressive myelomalacia. To the author's knowledge, this is the first case report describing a progressive myelomalacia in a canine patient with cervical intervertebral disk extrusion.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37008363/