Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Outcomes for dogs treated medically or surgically for wobbler syndrome
By da Costa, Ronaldo C et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2008·Department of Clinical Studies, Canada·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Outcome of medical and surgical treatment in dogs with cervical spondylomyelopathy: 104 cases (1988-2004).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 104 dogs diagnosed with cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM, also known as wobbler syndrome) received either medical or surgical treatment to manage their symptoms. Owners reported that about 81% of the dogs who had surgery showed improvement, while 54% of those treated with medication improved. However, the overall outcomes and survival times were similar for both treatment options, with many dogs living around 36 to 48 months after treatment. This suggests that medical treatment can be just as effective as surgery for managing CSM in dogs.
People also search for: dog wobbler syndrome treatment · cervical spondylomyelopathy in dogs · dog surgery vs medication for CSM
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare outcomes and survival times for dogs with cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM; wobbler syndrome) treated medically or surgically. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: 104 dogs. PROCEDURES: Medical records of dogs were included if the diagnosis of CSM had been made on the basis of results of diagnostic imaging and follow-up information (minimum, 6 months) was available. Ordinal logistic regression was used to compare outcomes and the product-limit method was used to compare survival times between dogs treated surgically and dogs treated medically. RESULTS: 37 dogs were treated surgically, and 67 were treated medically. Owners reported that 30 (81%) dogs treated surgically were improved, 1 (3%) was unchanged, and 6 (16%) were worse and that 36 (54%) dogs treated medically were improved, 18 (27%) were unchanged, and 13 (19%) were worse. Outcome was not significantly different between groups. Information on survival time was available for 33 dogs treated surgically and 43 dogs treated medically. Forty of the 76 (53%) dogs were euthanized because of CSM. Median and mean survival times were 36 and 48 months, respectively, for dogs treated medically and 36 and 46.5 months, respectively, for dogs treated surgically. Survival times did not differ significantly between groups. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In the present study, neither outcome nor survival time was significantly different between dogs with CSM treated medically and dogs treated surgically, suggesting that medical treatment is a viable and valuable option for management of dogs with CSM.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18922055/