Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spinal cord blood flow changes after durotomy in dogs with disk
By Blaser, Andrea et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2012·Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Influence of durotomy on laser-Doppler measurement of spinal cord blood flow in chondrodystrophic dogs with thoracolumbar disk extrusion.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of chondrodystrophic dogs with spinal cord issues from thoracolumbar disk extrusion underwent surgery to relieve pressure on their spinal cords. During the procedure, researchers measured blood flow in the spinal cord before and after the surgery. They found that while blood flow increased immediately after the surgery, it dropped back to previous levels shortly after washing out the area. This suggests that the surgical technique used did not lead to a lasting improvement in blood flow for these dogs.
People also search for: dog spinal cord surgery · chondrodystrophic dog disk extrusion · spinal cord blood flow in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To assess influence of durotomy on spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) in chondrodystrophic dogs with thoracolumbar disk extrusion. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. ANIMALS: Chondrodystrophic dogs with thoracolumbar disk extrusion (n = 11). METHODS: Diagnosis was based on neurologic signs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, and surgical confirmation. Regional SCBF was measured 3 times intraoperatively by laser-Doppler flowmetry: (1) before surgical decompression; (2) immediately after decompression by hemilaminectomy-durotomy; and (3) after 15 minutes of lesion lavage. A standardized hemilaminectomy and durotomy performed by the same neurosurgeon, was used to minimize factors that could influence measurement readings. RESULTS: A significant increase in intraoperative SCBF was found immediately after spinal cord decompression and durotomy in dogs but SCBF returned to previous levels or lower after 15 minutes of lavage. Changes in SCBF were not associated with duration of clinical signs; neurologic status, degree of spinal cord compression, or signal intensity changes as assessed by MRI. CONCLUSION: Durotomy does not increase SCBF in dogs with disk extrusion associated spinal cord compression.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22091905/