Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pugs with spinal cyst surgery have good short but poor long-term
By Alisauskaite, Neringa et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2019·Department of Small Animal Surgery·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Short- and long-term outcome and magnetic resonance imaging findings after surgical treatment of thoracolumbar spinal arachnoid diverticula in 25 Pugs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 25 Pugs, aged 2 to 11 years, underwent surgery for a condition called spinal arachnoid diverticula (SAD), which can cause serious back problems. While 80% of these dogs showed improvement shortly after surgery, 86% experienced a decline in their condition over the long term, with many showing signs of the problem returning. Follow-up MRI scans revealed that some dogs had new or recurring issues related to the original condition. Overall, this suggests that while surgery can help in the short term, Pugs may not have a good long-term outcome after treatment for SAD.
People also search for: Pug back problems · spinal surgery for dogs · Pug recovery after surgery · spinal arachnoid diverticula in dogs · long-term outcomes for Pugs after surgery
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a successful outcome after surgical management of spinal arachnoid diverticula (SAD) in up to 82% of cases. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that Pugs have favorable short-term and poor long-term prognosis after surgical treatment of thoracolumbar SAD. The aim of the present investigation was to describe clinical findings, short- and long-term outcomes, and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in Pugs with thoracolumbar SAD. ANIMALS: Twenty-five client owned Pugs with 12-month follow-up information after surgical treatment of thoracolumbar SAD. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective case series. All medical records were searched for Pugs diagnosed with SAD. Data regarding signalment, history, surgical procedure, outcome, histopathology, and follow-up MRI results were extracted. RESULTS: Mean age at presentation was 7.32 (range 2-11) years, 80% were males. Short-term outcome was available in 25 dogs, and improvement was confirmed in 80% of dogs. Long-term outcome was available in 21 dogs, and deterioration was confirmed in 86% of cases, with late-onset recurrence of clinical signs after initial postsurgical improvement affecting 85% of Pugs. A moderate correlation (r = 0.50) was found between duration of clinical signs and outcome. In 8 dogs with deteriorating clinical signs, follow-up MRI revealed regrowth of the SAD in 2 cases, new SAD formation in 2 cases, and intramedullary T2W hyperintensity/syringomyelia in 6 cases. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: This study suggests that Pugs with thoracolumbar SAD do not have a favorable long-term prognosis after surgical treatment for reasons yet to be determined.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30844093/