Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog paralyzed after spinal tap shows spinal cord bleeding
By Cook, Laurie & Drost, Wm Tod·Published in Topics in companion animal medicine·2019·The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hemorrhagic Myelomalacia in a Bichon Frise Following Lumbar Spinal Tap-A Case Report.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old spayed female Bichon Frise was brought to the vet with back pain and weakness in her back legs that had been worsening for about two months. After several tests, including an MRI, the vet couldn't find a clear cause for her symptoms. Unfortunately, after an attempt to collect spinal fluid, the dog became unable to move her back legs and lost feeling in them. Further imaging revealed bleeding near her spinal cord, and surgery showed severe damage to the spinal cord tissue. This case highlights a rare but serious complication that can occur after a spinal tap.
People also search for: Bichon Frise back pain · dog spinal tap complications · dog paralysis treatment
Abstract
A 10-year-old spayed female Bichon Frise presented to the neurology service for back pain and pelvic limb weakness for approximately 2 months duration. Neurologic examination revealed T3-L3 and L4-S3 myelopathies with multifocal spinal pain. Magnetic resonance imaging of the vertebral column revealed multiple mild disc protrusions but no obvious cause for the neurologic deficits. Attempts to collect cerebrospinal fluid from the lumbar spine and cerebellomedullary cistern were unsuccessful. Following anesthesia, the dog was noted to be paraplegic with flaccid pelvic limb muscle tone and absent nociception. Repeat magnetic resonance imaging the following day revealed suspect hemorrhage ventral to the spinal cord cranial to the site of the lumbar spinal tap. Exploratory hemilaminectomy revealed purplish discoloration of the dura. Durotomy was performed and severe myelomalacia of the spinal cord was noted. To the author's knowledge, this is the first reported case of myelomalacia suspected secondary to lumbar spinal tap in a dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30808497/