Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dogs with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis treated by dorsal
By Suwankong, N et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T·2008·Small Animal Clinic·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Review and retrospective analysis of degenerative lumbosacral stenosis in 156 dogs treated by dorsal laminectomy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 156 dogs, mostly German Shepherds, were treated for degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLS), a condition causing pelvic limb lameness and lower back pain. Imaging tests like MRI and CT scans showed that most of these dogs had compression of the spinal nerves. During surgery, many had disc protrusions that were causing the pain. After the surgery, about 79% of the dogs showed improvement, and most owners reported their pets felt better up to five years later.
People also search for: dog back pain treatment · German Shepherd lameness · DLS surgery recovery · dog spinal surgery success rate · signs of dog nerve compression
Abstract
The medical records of 156 dogs with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLS) that underwent decompressive surgery were reviewed for signalment, history, clinical signs, imaging and surgical findings. The German Shepherd Dog (GSD) was most commonly affected (40/156, 25.6%). Pelvic limb lameness, caudal lumbar pain and pain evoked by lumbosacral pressure were the most frequent clinical findings. Radiography showed lumbosacral step formation in 78.8% (93/118) of the dogs which was associated with elongation of the sacral lamina in 18.6% (22/118). Compression of the cauda equina was diagnosed by imaging (epidurography, CT, or MRI) in 94.2% (147/156) of the dogs. Loss of the bright nucleus pulposus signal of the L7-S1 disc was found on T2-weighted MR images in 73.5% (25/34) of the dogs. The facet joint angle at L7-S1 was significantly smaller, and the tropism greater in GSD than in the other dog breeds. The smaller facet joint angle and higher incidence of tropism seen in the GSD may predispose this breed to DLS. Epidurography, CT, and MRI allow adequate visualization of cauda equina compression. During surgery, disc protrusion was found in 70.5% (110/156) of the dogs. Overall improvement after surgery was recorded in the medical records in 79.0% (83/105) of the dogs. Of the 38 owners that responded to questionnaires up to five years after surgery, 29 (76%) perceived an improvement.
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/18536857/