The assessment of the usefulness of hemilaminectomy without fenestration in the treatment of thoracolumbar disc disease in chondrodystrophic dogs

Abstract

The aim of the publication is to assess the effectiveness of the treatment of type I disc extrusion according to Hansen by using the method of hemilaminectomy without fenestration. The evaluated clinical material comprised 36 chondrodystrophic dogs in which 38 surgical procedures were performed. All dogs were administered corticosteroid during the operation. Dachshunds made up to 79% of patients. In 34 cases grainy mass was extracted from the vertebral canal. In two cases it was plaster-like mass and in other two - granulo-chondral. Most often (12 cases) the prolapse of the nucleus pulposus was observed between the first and second lumbar vertebra. There was one case of the postoperative pyogenic infection of the wound. Recovery was observed in all dogs with 3(rd) grade clinical signs, 1 out of 18 dogs with 4(th) grade and 8 out of 13 dogs with 5(th) grade of dysfunction severity. The recovery time of the dog depended in the statistically significant way on the severity of symptoms and the grade of the present disease (p < 0.00005). There did not appear to be any statistically significat relationship between the recovery time and the duration of symptoms pre operatively (p=0.42), the time of non-ambulatory status (p=0.27) and the breed of the dog (p=0.81).