Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Best treatment for dogs with severe long-term spinal disc disease
By Joaquim, Jean G F et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2010·Bioethicus Institute, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison of decompressive surgery, electroacupuncture, and decompressive surgery followed by electroacupuncture for the treatment of dogs with intervertebral disk disease with long-standing severe neurologic deficits.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with severe back problems due to intervertebral disk disease (IVDD) were treated with either surgery, electroacupuncture, or a combination of both. The dogs had been showing serious neurologic issues for more than two days. After treatment, those who received only electroacupuncture showed the best recovery, with 15 out of 19 dogs improving significantly. In comparison, only 4 out of 10 dogs who had surgery alone showed similar improvement, while 8 out of 11 dogs who had surgery followed by electroacupuncture had intermediate results.
People also search for: dog back pain treatment · intervertebral disk disease surgery dogs · electroacupuncture for dogs with IVDD
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of decompressive surgery (DSX), electroacupuncture (EAP), and DSX followed by EAP (DSX + EAP) for the treatment of thoracolumbar intervertebral disk disease (IVDD) in dogs with severe neurologic deficits of > 48 hours' duration. DESIGN: Retrospective case series and prospective clinical trial. ANIMALS: 40 dogs between 3 and 6 years old and weighing between 10 and 20 kg (22 and 44 lb) with long-standing (> 48 hours) clinical signs of severe neurologic disease attributable to thoracolumbar IVDD. PROCEDURES: Thoracolumbar medullar injury was classified on the basis of neurologic signs by use of a scale ranging from 1 (least severe) to 5 (most severe). The DSX dogs (n = 10) were retrospectively selected from those that underwent DSX for the treatment of thoracolumbar IVDD. In addition, 19 dogs received EAP alone and 11 dogs underwent DSX followed by EAP (DSX + EAP). Outcome was considered a clinical success when a dog initially classified as grade 4 or 5 was classified as grade 1 or 2 within 6 months after the end of treatment. RESULTS: The proportion of dogs with clinical success was significantly higher for dogs that underwent EAP (15/19) than for dogs that underwent DSX (4/10); the proportion of dogs with clinical success for dogs that underwent DSX + EAP was intermediate (8/11). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: EAP was more effective than DSX for recovery of ambulation and improvement in neurologic deficits in dogs with long-standing severe deficits attributable to thoracolumbar IVDD.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20513202/