Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Recurrence of neck disc herniation in 55 dogs after surgery
By Berthomé, Clémence et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2025·Faculté, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Recurrence of cervical intervertebral disc extrusion in 55 dogs after surgical decompression with or without prophylactic fenestration.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of small dogs with cervical intervertebral disc extrusion (C-IVDE), which can cause neck pain and mobility issues, underwent surgery to relieve pressure on their spinal cords. Some dogs had additional surgery to prevent future disc problems, while others did not. The results showed that 25% of the dogs without the preventive surgery had a recurrence of their disc issues, while none of the dogs that received the preventive surgery had a recurrence. Although the surgery took longer for those that had the preventive procedure, both groups had similar rates of complications. This suggests that adding the preventive surgery could help reduce the chances of C-IVDE coming back without increasing risks.
People also search for: dog neck pain surgery · cervical intervertebral disc extrusion treatment · small dog spinal surgery recovery
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prophylactic fenestration (PF) of adjacent intervertebral discs decreases the recurrence rate (RR) of cervical intervertebral disc extrusion (C-IVDE) in small dogs undergoing ventral slot (VS) decompression, and whether PF increases perioperative complication risk. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, multi-institutional cohort study. SAMPLE POPULATION: A total of 55 dogs. METHODS: Medical records of a mixed population of small dogs (<20 kg) treated with VS for C-IVDE with a minimum one-year follow-up were reviewed. During surgery, dogs underwent either single-site PF, multiple-site PF, or no PF. Perioperative complication rate and RR were compared between PF and non-PF groups using generalized linear models. Surgical time and neurologic grade (presurgery, post-surgery, at first recheck) were compared with Mann-Whitney test and chi-squared tests. RESULTS: A total of 55 dogs were included (PF: n = 18; non-PF: n = 37). Neurologic grades were similar at all timepoints. Median time to first recheck was 14 days (range: 5-56). Median follow-up time was 1380 days (range: 365-2777). Recurrence occurred in 25% of dogs (14/55), all in the non-PF group. Prophylactic fenestration was associated with a lower RR (p < .001). Surgery duration was longer in the PF group (158.0 ± 13.5 min) versus non-PF (118.0 ± 6.8 min, p = .017), but complication rates were similar (18.2%, p = .838) between groups. CONCLUSION: Recurrence of C-IVDE is more likely to occur at non-PF group than PF-group in a heterogenous population of small breed dogs. Prophylactic fenestration was not linked to increased complication risk. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Prophylactic fenestration might be safely considered to prevent C-IVDE recurrence.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40600629/