Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Imaging and surgical outcomes of spinal tumors in 18 dogs and one cat.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary science
- Year:
- 2016
- Authors:
- Besalti, Omer et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Surgery
Plain-English summary
This study looked at the medical records of 18 dogs and one cat that had spinal tumors, which were confirmed through MRI scans and tissue samples. The types of tumors included meningiomas, nerve sheath tumors, and others, with some being more aggressive than others. Thirteen of these pets had surgery to remove the tumors, and their condition generally did not get worse afterward, although one dog did have some issues after surgery. The findings suggest that surgery can help improve the quality of life for pets with these tumors, and that MRI is crucial for accurately assessing the situation. Overall, the treatment worked well for most of the pets that had surgery.
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: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26645333/