Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with spinal cord tumor causing paralyzed back legs
By Michaels, Jennifer et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2015·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical Features of Spinal Cord Hemangioblastoma in a Dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 2-year-old male Yorkshire terrier was brought in for worsening weakness in his back legs over the past month. The vet found that he couldn't feel pain in his legs and had significant issues with movement. An MRI revealed a tumor in his spinal cord, so the vet performed surgery to remove it. Nine months later, follow-up imaging showed no signs of the tumor returning, and the dog was able to walk again, although he still had some weakness.
People also search for: dog back leg weakness · Yorkshire terrier spinal cord tumor · dog hemangioblastoma treatment
Abstract
A 2-year-old male, intact Yorkshire terrier presented with a 1-month history of progressive paraparesis. Neurological examination revealed paraplegia with absent deep pain perception, decreased right pelvic limb withdrawal reflex, and lumbar pain consistent with an L4-S2 neurolocalization. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a single, well-demarcated, intramedullary mass centered over the L3-4 disk space. A hemilaminectomy was performed, and the mass was removed en bloc. Histopathological evaluation was consistent with a hemangioblastoma. Follow-up MRI 9 months after surgery showed no evidence of tumor recurrence, and the dog was ambulatory paraparetic at that time. This case is consistent with a previous histopathological report of spinal cord hemangioblastoma in a dog and provides additional clinical information regarding diagnosis, treatment, and outcome associated with this tumor type.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26664967/