Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Urinary and fecal incontinence in two 3-month-old Boxer puppies
By Dell'Apa, Diletta et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2023·Department of Veterinary Science, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Case report: Sacral agenesis in two boxer dogs: clinical presentation, diagnostic investigations, and outcome.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two 3-month-old boxer puppies were brought to the vet because they were having trouble controlling their urination and bowel movements. Upon examination, the vet found that both puppies had an unusual tail and lacked normal reflexes in their rear end, indicating a spinal issue. X-rays and scans showed that they had a rare condition called sacral agenesis, where some of the bones in their lower spine were missing. Unfortunately, this condition is serious and can lead to ongoing problems, but the exact cause remains unclear as no genetic issues were found.
People also search for: boxer puppy urinary incontinence · dog spinal problems · sacral agenesis in dogs · boxer puppy fecal incontinence · dog tail abnormalities
Abstract
Two boxer dogs from the same litter were presented at 3 months of age for urinary and fecal incontinence. Both dogs had an abnormal tail consisting of a small stump, an atonic anal sphincter, and absent perineal reflex and sensation. Neurological evaluation was indicative of a lesion of the cauda equina or sacral spinal cord. Radiology and CT scan of the spine displayed similar findings in the two dogs that were indicative of sacral agenesis. Indeed, they had 6 lumbar vertebrae followed by a lumbosacral transitional vertebra, lacking a complete spinous process, and a hypoplastic vertebra carrying 2 hypoplastic sacral transverse processes as the only remnant of the sacral bone. Caudal vertebrae were absent in one of the dogs. On MRI, one dog had a dural sac occupying the entire spinal canal and ending in a subfascial fat structure. In the other dog, the dural sac finished in an extracanalar, subfascial, well-defined cystic structure, communicating with the subarachnoid space, and consistent with a meningocele. Sacral agenesis-that is the partial or complete absence of the sacral bones-is a neural tube defect occasionally reported in humans with spina bifida occulta. Sacral agenesis has been described in human and veterinary medicine in association with conditions such as caudal regression syndrome, perosomus elumbis, and Currarino syndrome. These neural tube defects are caused by genetic and/or environmental factors. Despite thorough genetic investigation, no candidate variants in genes with known functional impact on bone development or sacral development could be found in the affected dogs. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report describing similar sacral agenesis in two related boxer dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37303726/