Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Durotomy surgery effect in dogs with back disc herniation and no hind
By Takahashi, Fumitaka et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2020·YPC Tokyo Animal Orthopedic Surgery Hospital, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of durotomy in dogs with thoracolumbar disc herniation and without deep pain perception in the hind limbs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with severe back problems caused by herniated discs in the spine were treated with a surgery called hemilaminectomy, and some also had an additional procedure called durotomy. The dogs that received durotomy had a better chance of walking again, with 56.9% regaining their ability to move compared to 38.5% in the group that only had hemilaminectomy. Additionally, none of the dogs that had durotomy developed a serious condition called progressive myelomalacia, which can occur after spinal surgery. This suggests that adding durotomy can improve recovery and prevent complications in dogs with these types of spinal injuries.
People also search for: dog back surgery recovery · dog herniated disc treatment · dog spinal surgery complications
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of durotomy as an adjunct to surgical decompression in dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation (TL-IVDH) and loss of deep pain perception (DPP) in the hind limbs. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: Dogs (n = 116) with TL-IVDH and loss of DPP treated with hemilaminectomy. METHODS: Signalment, surgical site, recovery rate, incidence of progressive myelomalacia (PMM), time elapsed from onset of paraplegia of the hind limbs to surgery (TPS), and the length of area of hyperintensity of the spinal cord on magnetic resonance T2-weighted images compared with L2 vertebral body length (LHT2) were compared between dogs treated with hemilaminectomy alone and those treated with adjunct durotomy. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to test the association between outcomes and the external view of the spinal cord parenchyma after durotomy. RESULTS: The percentage of dogs regaining ambulation was greater when durotomy was performed (56.9%) than when dogs were treated with hemilaminectomy alone (38.5%; P = .04). In the hemilaminectomy group, 14 dogs died of suspected PMM, while no PMM was detected in the durotomy group. Durotomy, breed, surgical site, and LHT2 influenced recovery. No association was detected between age, sex, body weight, and TPS and recovery. CONCLUSION: Performing a durotomy in combination with decompression improved the return to function and prevented PMM in our clinical setting. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Surgeons should consider durotomy in dogs with TL-IVDH and loss of DPP in hind limbs to improve surgical outcome.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32166788/