Comparison of recovery times and complication rates between a modified slanted slot and the standard ventral slot for the treatment of cervical disc disease in 20 dogs

Case report: Double adjacent ventral slot in two medium-sized breed dogs

Two medium-sized, 7-year-old dogs, with no previous history of pain, presented with acute neurologic symptoms consistent with intervertebral disk disease. Both cases had CT, where cervical pathology was identified. In one dog, the diagnosis was singular extensive cervical disk herniation with possible epidural hemorrhage and in the other, the diagnosis was multiple-site cervical disk herniation. The first dog, a Shar-Pei, underwent treatment with two standard adjacent ventral slots between the C4-C5 and C5-C6 intervertebral disk spaces and a fenestration between the C3 and C4 intervertebral disk spaces. The second case, a beagle, underwent a double adjacent standard ventral slot between the C5-C6 and C6-C7 intervertebral disk spaces. Both dogs recovered uneventfully after the surgery and showed no signs of recurrence during a 2-year follow-up period. This is the first detailed report of the use of a double adjacent ventral slot as a treatment for spinal decompression in medium-sized dogs with multiple-site spinal cord compression.

Slanted slot was the most resistant to failure of ventral slot techniques tested in rabbit cervical vertebrae

The ventral slot technique is used to relieve neural compression secondary to intervertebral disc degeneration or disease. In the present study, the biomechanical properties of three different ventral surgical procedures in the rabbit C6–C7 vertebral motion unit (VMU) were assessed and compared with the intact C6–C7 VMU. The ventral slot procedure (slanted, full, or mini; n = 8/group) was performed on these cervical vertebrae. Normal spine torsion and flexion values were compared to those of spines subjected to slanted, full, and mini slot surgery. The slanted slot spines were the most stable, maintaining 70% of normal cervical spine strength, compared to 26% with the full slot and 30% with the mini slot. Regarding torsion, slanted slot spines showed 74% stability compared to the normal cervical spine, while the full slot and mini slot spines showed 58% and 62% stability, respectively. Flexion values were lower after all versions of the ventral slot procedure than in the normal spine, with the greatest flexion difference occurring after the full slot procedure (21% of the normal flexion value). The flexion values also differed significantly between the slanted and full spine groups, and all operated spines showing roughly 60% torsion rates compared with normal spines. The slanted slot maintains more stability in rabbit cervical spine than the other procedures. To our knowledge, this was the first study to examine biomechanical failure differences between the distinct versions of this ventral slot procedure.

Non-ambulatory dogs with cervical intervertebral disc herniation: single versus multiple ventral slot decompression

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the proportion of non-ambulatory dogs with cervical intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) in a private clinic and to compare signalment and outcome between those that underwent single or multiple ventral slot decompression (VSD).

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

METHODS

After screening 43,378 medical records (January 2010-September 2016), those of 185 dogs with non-ambulatory tetraparesis or tetraplegia along with cervical IVDH that had undergone single (123) or multiple (62) VSD were included in this study. Data on signalment, preoperative neurological status, location of affected intervertebral disc(s), time to ambulation and short-term outcome were compared between single and multiple VSD groups.

RESULTS

The proportion of non-ambulatory dogs with IVDH was 35.3%. The prevalence of non-ambulation was higher in male dogs (0.56%) than in female dogs (0.26%; P < 0.001) and in neutered dogs than in unneutered dogs (0.51% and 0.27%, respectively, P < 0.001). After surgery, 96.2% of the dogs reached ambulatory status. Dogs with multiple IVDH were older than those with single IVDH. Sex, neutering status or size did not affect the outcome or ambulation status postsurgery. The Pekingese was the most commonly affected breed in both groups. There was no difference in the time to reach ambulation and the presence of neurological deficits after surgery between dogs that underwent single and multiple VSD.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort, dogs undergoing multiple VSD had a good postoperative outcome, and their short-term functional recovery was equal to that of dogs undergoing single ventral slot compression.

Updates in the management of the small animal patient with neurologic trauma

Neurologic trauma, encompassing traumatic brain injury (TBI) and acute spinal cord injury (SCI), is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality in veterinary patients. Acute SCIs occurring secondary to trauma are also common. Essential to the management of TBI and SCI is a thorough understanding of the pathophysiology of the primary and secondary injury that occurs following trauma. This article reviews the pathophysiology of this primary and secondary injury, as well as recommendations regarding clinical assessment, diagnostics, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapy, and prognosis.

Doença do disco intervertebral cervical em cães: 28 casos (2003-2008)

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar cães com doença do disco intervertebral (DDIV) cervical atendidos no Hospital Veterinário Universitário (HVU) da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) entre janeiro de 2003 e outubro de 2008 e obter informações a respeito de raça, sexo, idade, sinais neurológicos, resposta ao tratamento cirúrgico, complicações, tempo de recuperação funcional após a cirurgia e ocorrência de recidiva. Hiperestesia cervical foi observada em todos os cães (n=28). Quanto ao grau de disfunção neurológica foram verificados: grau I (8/28[28,5%]), grau II (3/28 [10,7%]), grau III (5/28[17,8%]) e grau V (12/2 [42,8%]). A duração dos sinais neurológicos antes da cirurgia em sete cães (25%) permaneceu por até 15 dias, em 14 cães (50%) entre 15 e 30 dias e nos outros sete cães (25%) por mais de 30 dias. A recuperação satisfatória e sem recidiva foi observada em todos os cães submetidos ao tratamento cirúrgico e que sobreviveram (n=21). Pode-se concluir que a DDIV cervical em nossa rotina acomete principalmente cães adultos, machos, de raças condrodistróficas e não condrodistróficas, incluindo as de grande porte; a hiperestesia cervical é a principal manifestação clínica; a técnica de fenda ventral promove recuperação funcional satisfatória e sem recidiva; as principais complicações trans-operatórias são a hemorragia do plexo venoso, a bradicardia e a hipotensão; e a duração dos sinais clínicos não interfere no tempo de recuperação pós-operatória dos cães.