Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pain relief with epidural catheter during spine surgery in a dog
By Melissa A. Piper et al.·Published in Veterinary Record Case Reports·2024·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Perioperative epidural catheter analgesia as a component of a multimodal analgesic approach in a dog with thoracic hemivertebrae and kyphosis undergoing thoracic vertebral stabilisation
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old male French bulldog was brought in for urinary and fecal incontinence, along with weakness and coordination issues in his back legs. An MRI showed problems in his spine, including constrictive myelopathy and vertebral malformations. He underwent surgery to stabilize his spine, and the veterinary team used an epidural catheter to manage pain during recovery. Remarkably, after the surgery, he didn’t need any additional pain relief and was able to go home within a day. Five months later, his condition had not worsened, indicating a successful outcome.
People also search for: dog back leg weakness · French bulldog spine surgery recovery · dog urinary incontinence treatment
Abstract
A 4‐year‐old, male, neutered French bulldog weighing 13.5 kg presented with urinary and faecal incontinence, progressive, non‐painful paraparesis and pelvic limb proprioceptive ataxia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a T12 constrictive myelopathy in association with multiple thoracic vertebral malformations, and mildly impinging thoracic intervertebral disc protrusions. Additionally, there was a sacral axial defect and degenerative lumbosacral stenosis. Surgical treatment comprised bilateral dorsal vertebral stabilisation of T9–T13. This case report summarises the peri‐anaesthetic management, which included an ‘in‐plane’ ultrasound‐guided placement of an epidural catheter at the level of L3–L4 and advancement cranially to T12 as a component of a multimodal analgesic regimen. Following the cessation of postoperative epidural bupivacaine administration, the patient remained comfortable without requiring rescue analgesia, and was discharged within 24 hours of surgery. At the latest recheck 5 months after surgery, the dog's neurological status remained static. This technique and application remain unexplored in existing veterinary literature.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5f6ab6401e83846faca410ce26fd7a382d3a51a9