Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Long-term pain after back surgery in dogs with disk herniation
By Zidan, Natalia et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2020·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Long-term postoperative pain evaluation in dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disk herniation after hemilaminectomy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 40 dogs with spinal cord injuries caused by a herniated disk underwent surgery and were monitored for pain levels over a year. Initially, these dogs showed significantly lower pain sensitivity at the surgery site compared to healthy dogs, but most returned to normal levels within six months. However, about 15% of the dogs continued to experience chronic pain even a year after surgery. This highlights the importance of ongoing pain assessment for dogs recovering from spinal surgery to help guide treatment options.
People also search for: dog back surgery recovery · chronic pain in dogs after surgery · intervertebral disk herniation treatment in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chronic neuropathic pain is a common complication in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) but has not been investigated in dogs. OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability of measuring spinal mechanical sensory thresholds (MSTs) in dogs and to compare MSTs of healthy dogs and dogs with SCI caused by acute thoracolumbar intervertebral disk extrusion after hemilaminectomy over a 1-year period. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: Thirty-two healthy and 40 SCI dogs. METHODS: Dogs were divided into group 1 (healthy Dachshunds), group 2 (healthy dogs including several breeds), and SCI group. The MSTs were measured using algometry at an incision (thoracolumbar) and control site. Dogs in group 1 were tested once; those in group 2 were tested for 5 consecutive days; and SCI dogs were tested on days 7, 14, 28, 42, 180, and 365 postoperatively. The MSTs were compared among days in healthy and SCI dogs and between SCI and healthy dogs using mixed effect models. P < .05 was considered significant. RESULTS: At the incision site of SCI dogs, MST was significantly lower than in healthy dogs for 42 days postoperatively, but not subsequently. However, 4/27 dogs had control site MST below the reference range 1 year after surgery. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Mechanical sensory thresholds normalize by 6 months after surgery in most dogs with SCI. Approximately 15% of SCI dogs may develop chronic neuropathic pain. Improving long-term pain assessment of SCI dogs is important for offering treatment options and advising owners.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32462728/