Case report: Clinical and pathological findings in a canine patient with intervertebral disk extrusion resembling progressive myelomalacia

Annie Lin; Rachel Lampe; Carsten Bandt; Miranda Vieson; Jae Yoon Park

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1122566

Case report: Clinical and pathological findings in a canine patient with intervertebral disk extrusion resembling progressive myelomalacia

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Mar 16:10:1122566. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1122566. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Annie Lin¹, Rachel Lampe¹, Carsten Bandt¹, Miranda Vieson², Jae Yoon Park¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency and Critical Care, Neurology, and Diagnostic Imaging, Canada West Veterinary Specialists and Critical Care Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
² Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States.

Abstract

A 4-year-old female spayed dog presented to the emergency department for non-ambulatory tetraparesis, which progressed to tetraplegia. Computed tomography (CT) confirmed cervical intervertebral disk extrusion at C5-6 extending to C6-7, and an emergency ventral slot was performed. After the procedure, the patient was placed on mechanical ventilation due to respiratory failure. Repeat assessment upon weaning her ventilatory support suggested the patient's neurological status had declined. Based on her deterioration and suspicion of progressive myelomalacia on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), she was euthanized. Post-mortem histopathology of the spinal cord supported the presence of progressive myelomalacia. To the author's knowledge, this is the first case report describing a progressive myelomalacia in a canine patient with cervical intervertebral disk extrusion.

Keywords: IVDE; cervical disc extrusions; mechanical ventilation; myelomalacia; ventral slot.

Publication types

Case Reports