Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lameness from lumbosacral synovial cyst in German Shepherds
By Schmökel, Hugo & Rapp, Martin·Published in Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T·2016·Hugo Schmö·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Lameness caused by an extradural lumbosacral foraminal synovial cyst in three German Shepherd Dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Three German Shepherd Dogs were brought in for chronic limping and pain in their lower back. After imaging tests, they were diagnosed with a synovial cyst, which is a fluid-filled sac that was pressing on their nerves. The dogs underwent surgery to remove the cyst and surrounding tissue, and all three showed significant improvement and were pain-free during follow-up visits.
People also search for: German Shepherd limping back pain · synovial cyst surgery dogs · dog back pain treatment
Abstract
Three German Shepherd Dogs that were presented for investigation of chronic unilateral hindlimb lameness and pain in the lumbosacral region were diagnosed with an intraspinal, extradural synovial cyst and reactive fibrosis protruding into the foramen of the lumbosacral articulation using magnetic resonance imaging and histology. This extradural mass compressed the nerve root in the foramen and the cauda equina. During a dorsal laminectomy and unilateral partial foraminotomy, the cyst and the fibrotic tissue were removed with the aid of a 2.4 mm 30° arthroscope for visualization of the foramen. The fibrotic tissue surrounding the cysts was in all cases confluent with the annulus of the intervertebral disc. The histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of a synovial cyst in all three cases by finding inflamed synovial membrane in the samples from the wall of the cyst as well as reactive fibrosis and cartilaginous metaplasia in the surrounding tissue. The three patients improved after the surgery and were pain free during the follow-up evaluations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26511526/