Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with neck disc extrusion and worsening spinal cord damage
By Annie Lin et al.·Published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science·2023·Department of Emergency and Critical Care, Neurology, and Diagnostic Imaging, Canada West Veterinary Specialists and Critical Care Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada, CH·View original on DOAJ →
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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 vet because she couldn't move her legs and was getting worse quickly. A CT scan showed that a disk in her neck had slipped out of place, which was pressing on her spinal cord. The vet performed emergency surgery to relieve the pressure, but the dog developed breathing problems and her condition continued to decline. Unfortunately, further tests indicated she had a serious condition called progressive myelomalacia, which affects the spinal cord, and she was euthanized.
People also search for: dog can't walk after surgery · cervical disk extrusion in dogs · 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 DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1122566