Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with brain air pockets after head trauma treated with surgery
By Haley, Allison C & Abramson, Carley·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2009·Gulf Coast Veterinary Surgery and Neurology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Traumatic pneumocephalus in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 17-month-old dog was brought to the vet because it was having trouble moving all four legs, a condition known as tetraparesis. The dog had previously suffered a head injury when it was just 2 months old. After a thorough examination and a CT scan, the vet found air trapped in the dog's skull, which can happen after trauma. To treat this, the vet performed emergency surgery to remove the trapped air and any infected material. Eight weeks later, the dog showed no signs of neurological issues and had fully recovered.
People also search for: dog tetraparesis treatment · dog head injury recovery · why is my dog having trouble walking
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION: A 17-month-old dog was evaluated because of progressive tetraparesis. The dog had a history of craniofacial trauma at 2 months of age. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Results of a neurologic examination were suggestive of a lesion localized to the medulla. Computed tomography revealed extensive pneumocephalus extending throughout the ventricular system and into the cranial cervical subarachnoid space. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Because of the deterioration in the dog's clinical condition, an emergency bilateral transfrontal craniectomy was performed. A large amount of pyogranulomatous material was found intraoperatively. Neurologic and computed tomographic abnormalities were no longer evident during a recheck examination 8 weeks after surgery. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings suggested that pneumocephalus should be considered in the differential diagnosis for dogs with neurologic signs of an intracranial abnormality, particularly if the dog has a history of craniofacial trauma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19442025/