Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with neck compression after surgery for cervical spine disease
By Wilson, E R et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1994·Department of Small Animal Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Observation of a secondary compressive lesion after treatment of caudal cervical spondylomyelopathy in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old Doberman Pinscher was brought in for an unsteady walk and weakness in all four legs. After tests, the vet found a compressive lesion in the neck and performed surgery to relieve the pressure. Although the dog showed some improvement initially, the symptoms returned two weeks later and worsened, leading to the difficult decision to euthanize the dog six weeks after the surgery. Further examination revealed a new compressive lesion near the surgical site, indicating that complications can arise from treatment for neck issues in dogs.
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Abstract
In a 7-year-old Doberman Pinscher with an atactic gait, neurologic examination revealed tetraparesis, conscious proprioceptive deficits, and rigid ventral flexion of the neck. Radiography and myelography revealed a ventral, extradural, dynamic compressive lesion between C6 and C7. Distraction decompression was performed, using cancellous bone screws and methylmethacrylate. After initial improvement, clinical signs recurred 2 weeks after surgery and progressed until the dog was euthanatized 6 weeks after surgery. Postmortem myelography revealed an extradural compressive lesion adjacent to the implant, between C5 and C6. Secondary compressive lesions induced by surgical or biomechanical alterations of the cervical portion of the spine may be complications of treatment of caudal cervical spondylomyelopathy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7698941/