Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with spinal cysts causing back pain that went away on its own
By Bonelli, Marília de Albuquerque & da Costa, Ronaldo Casimiro·Published in BMC veterinary research·2019·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spontaneous regression of extradural intraspinal cysts in a dog: a case report.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old dog with lumbosacral pain was found to have multiple fluid-filled cysts in its spine after an MRI. Over a follow-up period of 3.5 years, most of these cysts shrank significantly, with an average size reduction of nearly 60%. The largest cyst remained but did not grow larger. The dog was managed with medication, and the improvement in the cysts was unexpected, as spontaneous regression of these types of cysts had not been previously reported in dogs.
People also search for: dog back pain · dog spinal cyst treatment · lumbosacral pain in dogs · dog MRI results · dog cysts in spine
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Extradural intraspinal cysts are fluid accumulations that appear to be associated with increased motion at vertebral joints. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the spontaneous regression of lumbar and lumbosacral cysts (presumably synovial cysts) and the unusual occurrence of an S1-2 extradural intraspinal cyst in a dog. The dog presented with lumbosacral pain. Six extradural intraspinal cysts were observed on high-field magnetic resonance imaging from L5-6 to S1-S2. The cysts between L5-6 and L7-S1 ranged from 0.12 to 0.44cmat their largest area. The largest cyst was located at S1-2 (left), measuring 0.84 cmat its largest view. The dog was medically managed. A follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scan was obtained 3.5 years after the first imaging. All cysts except the one at S1-2 had reduced in size. Mean reduction in size was 59.6% (35-81%). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, we report a case with multiple extradural intraspinal cysts that underwent spontaneous regression of all but one cyst during a 3.5-year follow-up period. Whether this is a single occurrence, or is part of the natural history of these cysts in the lumbosacral region of dogs, remains to be established. Spontaneous regression of intraspinal cysts had not been described in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31694633/