Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with spinal nerve swelling causing weakness treated with surgery
By Ródenas, Sergio et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2013·Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Chronic hypertrophic ganglioneuritis mimicking spinal nerve neoplasia: clinical, imaging, pathologic findings, and outcome after surgical treatment.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old male Yorkshire terrier was brought in because he was having trouble moving his legs, showing signs of weakness and difficulty walking. After imaging tests, the vet found that a swollen spinal nerve was pressing on his spinal cord, which could have been mistaken for a tumor. The dog underwent surgery to remove the swollen nerve, and a biopsy confirmed it was due to chronic inflammation, not cancer. Thirteen months later, he was doing well and showed no signs of the previous issues.
People also search for: dog weakness in legs · Yorkshire terrier spinal cord issues · dog surgery for spinal nerve problem
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To report the clinical, imaging, pathologic findings, surgical planning, and long-term outcome after surgery in a dog with neurologic deficits because of a hypertrophic ganglioneuritis that compressed the spinal cord. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical report. ANIMAL: An 8-year-old male intact Yorkshire terrier. METHODS: The dog had ambulatory tetraparesis and neurologic examination was consistent with a C1-C5 myelopathy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed enlargement of the left C2 spinal nerve causing compression of the spinal cord. The main differential diagnosis was spinal nerve neoplasia with compression and possibly spinal cord invasion. On ultrasonography, there was enlargement of the spinal nerve and fine needle aspiration did not show evidence of neoplasia. Fascicular biopsy of the spinal nerve was consistent with enlargement because of chronic inflammation (hypertrophic neuritis). RESULTS: Hemilaminectomy followed by durotomy and rhizotomy allowed resection of an intradural-extramedullary mass that was the enlarged left C2 spinal nerve. Histopathology was consistent with a hypertrophic ganglioneuritis. Thirteen months later the dog remained free of clinical signs. CONCLUSION: Hypertrophic neuritis affecting the spinal nerves may be misdiagnosed as spinal nerve neoplasia that in dogs is usually malignant with a poor prognosis. Focal spinal nerve lesions with compression of the spinal cord evident on MRI may be inflammatory and are not necessarily a neoplastic condition.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23153012/