Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Craniotomy surgery outcomes in dogs and cats with brain lesions
By Niebauer, G W et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1991·Department of Clinical Studies, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of craniotomy in dogs and cats.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 26 dogs and 5 cats underwent craniotomy (brain surgery) to treat various brain tumors and injuries. Most of these pets had intracranial tumors, with many being meningiomas, while others had traumatic skull fractures or needed biopsies for chronic brain inflammation. After surgery, the average survival time was about 212 days, with some pets living longer depending on their specific condition. Notably, the surgery itself did not significantly increase the risk of death, and most pets recovered well without major complications.
People also search for: dog brain tumor surgery · cat meningioma treatment · craniotomy recovery in pets
Abstract
Over a reporting period of 5 years, craniotomy was performed in 26 dogs and 5 cats with various intracranial lesions. X-ray computed tomography was performed in all animals prior to surgery. Twenty dogs and all cats had intracranial neoplasms; of these, 14 were meningioma, and 11 represented a wide variety of brain tumors and skeletal tumors. Three dogs were treated surgically for traumatic, open-skull fractures with cerebral damage, and 3 underwent biopsy to evaluate chronic inflammatory brain disease. The overall medium survival time was 212 days, the 1-year survival rate was 39%, and the 2-year survival rate was 20%. Dogs and cats with meningioma survived a mean 198 and 485 days, respectively, with 1-year survival rates of 30% for dogs and 50% for cats. The overall median survival time for animals with tumors other than meningeal intracranial neoplasms was 414 days, with a 1-year survival rate of 40%. The death of 19% of all animals could be related to the combination of advanced brain disease and surgery. Because fatality seldom occurred as a direct result of surgery, morbidity and mortality associated with craniotomy in pet animals can be seen as acceptably low. In 29 of 34 craniotomies, dura mater defects were left unsutured and no adverse effects were seen.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1995585/