Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with spinal cord tumor causing limb weakness treated with surgery
By Neary, Casey P et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2014·Bush Veterinary Neurology Service·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Synovial myxoma in the vertebral column of a dog: MRI description and surgical removal.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old male mixed-breed dog was brought in with a two-week history of weakness in all four legs, making it difficult for him to walk normally. An MRI revealed a mass in the spine that was pressing on the spinal cord, causing these symptoms. The mass was surgically removed, and the diagnosis was a synovial myxoma, a rare type of tumor. After the surgery, a follow-up MRI showed that the mass was completely removed, and the dog was expected to recover.
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Abstract
A 12 yr old castrated male mixed-breed dog presented with a 2 wk history of progressive tetraparesis. Neurologic deficits included a short-strided choppy gait in the thoracic limbs and a long-strided proprioceptive ataxia in the pelvic limbs. Withdrawal reflexes were decreased bilaterally in the thoracic limbs. Signs were consistent with a myelopathy of the caudal cervical/cranial thoracic spinal cord (i.e., the sixth cervical [C] vertebra to the second thoracic [T] vertebra). A mass associated with the C6-C7 articular facet on the left side was identified on MRI of the cervical spinal cord. The lesion was hyperintense to spinal cord parenchyma on T2-weighted images, hypointense on T1-weighted images, and there was strong homogenous contrast enhancement. Significant spinal cord compression was associated with the lesion. The mass was removed through a C6-C7 dorsal laminectomy and facetectomy. Histopathology of the mass was consistent with a synovial myxoma of the articular facet. A postoperative MRI showed complete surgical resection. Albeit rare, synovial myxomas should be included in the list of differential diagnoses for neoplasms affecting the vertebral columns in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24659730/