Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with lumbar spinal nerve tumor causing hind leg weakness
By Rao, Deepa et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2010·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Granular cell tumor in a lumbar spinal nerve of a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 2-year-old Great Dane was brought to the vet after experiencing worsening weakness in the back legs for about two and a half weeks. The dog was unable to walk and showed signs of pain in the lower back. Imaging tests revealed a larger mass on the spinal nerve and a smaller mass in the spinal canal, both of which were identified as granular cell tumors. These tumors were causing the neurological symptoms. Treatment options would typically involve surgical removal, but the specific outcome for this dog isn't detailed in the study.
People also search for: Great Dane back leg weakness · dog spinal tumor treatment · why is my dog unable to walk
Abstract
A 2-year-old Great Dane dog with a 2.5-week history of progressive paraparesis was presented to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Neurologic examination revealed nonambulatory paraparesis with reduced to absent withdrawal hind-limb reflexes and lumbar pain. Magnetic resonance imaging and gross pathology confirmed a larger regional lumbar mass and a second smaller extradural mass within the spinal canal. The left lumbar mass was associated with extensive hemorrhage; dissection showed a dark-red, soft, well-circumscribed mass measuring 2 cm x 1.5 cm x 0.5 cm within the left fourth lumbar spinal nerve. Histopathological evaluation with immunohistochemistry revealed sheets of round to polygonal cells with diffuse granular cytoplasm demonstrating diastase-resistant periodic acid-Schiff reactivity and positive immunoexpression of S100 and neuron-specific enolase. The smaller extradural mass within the spinal canal exhibited similar morphology. Based on gross, histological, and immunohistochemical evidence, the masses were diagnosed as granular cell tumor.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20622241/