Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spinal tumors in dogs and cats - what to know about treatment and
By Besalti, Omer et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary science·2016·Department of Surgery·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Imaging and surgical outcomes of spinal tumors in 18 dogs and one cat.
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with a spinal tumor after showing signs of weakness and difficulty walking. The tumor was confirmed through MRI and was identified as a meningioma. The dog underwent surgery to remove the tumor, and while most dogs did not experience a decline in their neurological condition post-surgery, one dog with a different type of tumor did have some complications. Overall, the surgery helped improve the quality of life for the dogs that were treated, highlighting the importance of MRI for accurate diagnosis and the potential benefits of surgical intervention for spinal tumors.
People also search for: dog spinal tumor symptoms · dog meningioma treatment · dog surgery for spinal problems
Abstract
Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, histological appearances and surgical outcomes of 18 dogs and one cat with spinal tumors are presented. Medical records of the cases admitted for spinal disorders were reviewed, and cases of spinal tumors that were diagnosed by MRI and confirmed by histological examination were included in this study. T1 weighted, T2 weighted and contrast enhanced T1 weighted images were taken and interpreted to evaluate the spinal tumors. The tumors were diagnosed as: meningioma (n = 6), ependymoma (n = 1), nerve sheath tumor (n = 4), metastatic spinal tumor (n = 3), osteosarcoma (n = 2), osteoma (n = 1), rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 1), and nephroblastoma (n = 1). Thirteen cases underwent surgical operation and the remaining six cases were euthanized at the request of the owners. The neurological status of the surgical cases did not deteriorate, except for one dog that showed ependymoma in the early period after the operation. These results indicate the potential for surgical gross total tumor removal of vertebral tumors to provide better quality of life and surgical collection of histological specimens for definitive diagnosis. For effective case management, dedicated MRI examination is important to accurate evaluation of the spinal tumors, and surgical treatment is useful for extradural and intradural-extramedullary spinal tumors.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26645333/