Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Treating a brain blood vessel problem in a dog with liquid
By Culp, William T N et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2021·Department of Veterinary Surgical & Radiological Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer to treat an intracranial arteriovenous malformation in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old neutered male German shepherd was brought in because he was lethargic, blind, and had bulging eyes. An MRI revealed a rare condition called an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in his brain, which was causing these symptoms. The vet treated him by injecting a special substance into the blood vessels to block the abnormal connections. He recovered well and was discharged the next day, although he later needed both eyes removed due to complications. After 31 months, his owners reported he was active, had a good appetite, and seemed pain-free, showing that the treatment was successful.
People also search for: dog blindness treatment · German shepherd eye problems · arteriovenous malformation in dogs · dog brain surgery recovery
Abstract
A 6-year-old neutered male German shepherd dog was evaluated for obtundation, blindness, and bilateral exophthalmos. A magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain was performed and identified an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) with several feeding arterial branches, and venous drainage through the cavernous sinus. Venous vessels rostral to the AVM were severely distended and extended into the retrobulbar spaces. Liquid embolization by injection of ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer was performed from access points in the maxillary arteries and internal carotid arteries. No intraprocedural complications were encountered, and the dog was discharged the next day. Bilateral enucleation eventually was performed because of exposure keratopathy. At 31 months post-embolization, owners reported that the dog was doing very well clinically with high activity level and normal appetite, and the dog also appeared to be pain free. Although intracranial AVMs are very rare in companion animals, successful treatment using liquid embolization is possible and should be considered.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33955582/