Original surgical treatment of thoracolumbar subarachnoid cysts in six chondrodystrophic dogs

Abstract

BackgroundSubarachnoid cysts are rare conditions in veterinary medicine, associated with spinal cord dysfunction. Most of the 100 cases of subarachnoid cysts described since the first report in 1968 were apparently not true cysts. Reported cysts are usually situated in the cervical area and occur in predisposed breeds such as the Rottweiler. The purpose of this retrospective study, from May 2003 to April 2012, was to describe the distinctive features of thoracolumbar spinal subarachnoid cysts, together with their surgical treatment and outcome in 6 chondrodystrophic dogs.ResultsFive Pugs and 1 French Bulldog were examined. Images suggestive of a subarachnoid cyst were obtained by myelography (2/6) and computed tomography myelography (4/6), and associated disc herniation was observed in 3/6 dogs. A hemilaminectomy was performed. The protruding disc eventually found in 5/6 dogs was treated by lateral corpectomy. The ventral leptomeningeal adhesions observed in all dogs after durotomy were dissected. No or only mild post-operative neurological degradation was observed. Follow-up studies (7 months to 4 years) indicated good outcome and no recurrence.ConclusionsAll the thoracolumbar subarachnoid cysts described in these 6 chondrodystrophic dogs were associated with leptomeningeal adhesions. Good results seemed to be obtained by dissecting and removing these adhesions. A protruding disc, found here in 5/6 dogs, needs to be ruled out and can be treated by lateral corpectomy.

Short‐ and long‐term outcome and magnetic resonance imaging findings after surgical treatment of thoracolumbar spinal arachnoid diverticula in 25 Pugs

“…Specific outcome in Pugs is reported in few studies . Improvement after surgical management of SAD is reported in 66%‐75% of cases, with follow‐up periods ranging from 2 months to a few years .…”

“…Specific outcome in Pugs is reported in few studies . Improvement after surgical management of SAD is reported in 66%‐75% of cases, with follow‐up periods ranging from 2 months to a few years . Follow‐up of longer than 6 months is reported only in 6 cases, whereas follow‐up of 12 months or longer is reported in 4 Pugs after surgical management of SAD .…”

“…Marsupialization association with outcome was not statistically evaluated in previous studies, but the procedure was encouraged in a few previous publications . On the other hand, other authors suggest that leptomeningeal adhesion dissection is a more important positive outcome predicting factor, but currently there is no supporting data.…”

“…Medical and surgical treatments of SAD are described in dogs . Surgical treatment has a better outcome in comparison to medical management .…”

“…Success rates of surgical management of thoracolumbar SADs in various breeds are up to 82% . In Pugs, mostly surgical management of SAD with various results is reported . Successful outcome after surgical treatment of SAD reaches up to 75% in Pugs .…”