Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vertebral fixation does not improve recovery in small dogs with neck
By Kikuchi, Yuki et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2023·1YPC Tokyo Animal Orthopedic Surgery Hospital, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Vertebral fixation does not affect recovery or recurrence of cervical intervertebral disc herniation in small dogs (< 15 kg).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A small dog weighing less than 15 kg was diagnosed with cervical intervertebral disc herniation (C-IVDH) and underwent surgery called ventral slot decompression (VSD) to relieve pressure on the spinal cord. Researchers found that adding vertebral fixation (VF) during the surgery did not improve recovery or reduce the chances of the condition coming back. However, dogs that were older or had more severe symptoms before surgery tended to recover less well. Overall, dogs with C-IVDH can have a good recovery whether or not VF is used during surgery.
People also search for: small dog cervical disc herniation treatment · dog spinal surgery recovery · intervertebral disc disease in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare the prognosis of small dogs with cervical intervertebral disc herniation (C-IVDH) when treated with ventral slot decompression (VSD) alone or with concomitant vertebral fixation (VF). ANIMALS: Small dogs (n = 303) weighing < 15 kg diagnosed with C-IVDH and treated with VSD. PROCEDURES: We recorded signalment, cervical myelopathy grade, surgical site, use of VF, degree of adjacent disc degeneration, recovery, recurrence, recurrence site, and postoperative course, including the time elapsed from recovery to recurrence. We examined factors associated with recovery and recurrence during the 30-month postoperative period using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: VF did not affect recovery (P = .79). However, nonchondrodystrophic breeds had poorer recovery (OR, 5.89; P = .023) than chondrodystrophic breeds, and a higher preoperative cervical myelopathy grade (grade 3 or 4) was associated with poorer recovery (OR, 7.09 or 3.46, respectively; P = .019 or .042, respectively), compared with grade 1. VF did not affect recurrence (P = .79); however, increasing age was associated with recurrence (OR, 1.79; P = .001). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In small dogs weighing < 15 kg, there was no difference in postoperative recovery and recurrence rates after VSD with or without concomitant VF. Therefore, in small dogs with C-IVDH, even if the slot volume is increased to remove sufficient disc material during VSD, a good prognosis can be achieved with or without VF.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37257831/