Canine Thoracolumbar Intervertebral Disk Disease: Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Treatment*
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3 CE CREDITS CE Article Canine Thoracolumbar Intervertebral Disk Disease: Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Treatment* ❯❯ John F. Griffin IV, DVM Abstract: Thoracolumbar intervertebral disk disease (IVDD) is a common, important cause of ❯❯ Jonathan M. Levine, DVM, paraspinal hyperesthesia, pelvic limb ataxia, paraparesis, paraplegia, and urinary and fecal in- DACVIM (Neurology) continence in dogs. A companion article reviewed pathophysiology, epidemiology, physical ex- ❯❯ Sharon C. Kerwin, DVM, amination, and emergency medical therapy. This article addresses the diagnosis, prognosis, and MS, DACVS treatment of dogs with thoracolumbar IVDD. ❯❯ Robert C. Cole, DVM, DACVR horacolumbar intervertebral disk better positioning and higher-quality radio- Texas A&M University College Station, Texas disease (IVDD) is a broad term, graphs but may not be necessary. Survey Tencompassing disk degeneration radiography can be conducted under anes- and clinical neurologic disease due to disk thesia immediately before myelography and herniation. Canine IVDD is the most com- can identify the primary site of disk hernia- mon cause of thoracolumbar myelopathy tion in 51% to 61% of cases; its ability to with paraspinal hyperesthesia.1,2 A thor- identify secondary sites of disk herniation ough understanding of diagnostic modali- is less reliable.2,6 Surgical outcome is poorer ties, prognosis, and treatment options is in dogs treated surgically on the basis of At a Glance crucial to medical decision making and survey radiography alone compared with comprehensive care. dogs that undergo myelography.7 Diagnostic Evaluation Radiographic signs suggestive of inter- Page E1 Diagnostic Evaluation vertebral disk herniation include narrowing Definitive Treatment The preanesthetic evaluation of dogs with or wedging of the disk space, decreased Page E4 suspected disk herniation should include size of the intervertebral foramen, reduced P r o g n o s i s a complete blood cell count, serum chem- space between articular facets, and min- Page E6 istry panel, urinalysis, and thoracic radi- eralized disk material in the vertebral Postoperative Care ography in geriatric dogs to evaluate canal or overlying intervertebral foramen6 Page E8 cardiovascular structures and rule out (FIGURE 1). Spondylosis deformans, while Pharmacotherapy for pulmonary metastatic nodules. A urine potentially associated with disk protrusion, Neurogenic Bladder culture should be obtained in dogs with is not seen with increased frequency at Dysfunction urine retention, regardless of whether sites of disk extrusion.8 Survey radiography Page E10 pyuria is present.3–5 does not confirm the presence of spinal cord compression or localize lesions accu- Radiography rately enough for surgery. Surgical localiza- Vertebral column radiography should be tion must be established by myelography, performed in all dogs with suspected IVDD. computed tomography (CT), or magnetic Vertebral column radiography is helpful resonance imaging (MRI). Because these in ruling out diskospondylitis, trauma, or tests are expensive, require anesthesia, vertebral neoplasia. Anesthesia allows for and may have side effects, they are gener- *A companion article, “Canine Thoracolumbar Intervertebral Disk Disease: Pathophysiology, Neu- rologic Examination, and Emergency Medical Therapy,” is also available on CompendiumVet.com. CompendiumVet.com | March 2009 | Compendium: Continuing Education for Veterinarians® E1 ©Copyright 2009 Veterinary Learning Systems. This document is used for internal purposes only. Reprinting or posting on an external website without written permission from VLS is a violation of copyright laws. FREE CE Canine Thoracolumbar IVDD: Diagnosis FIGURE 1 ally reserved for surgical candidates and cases in which other medically treatable etiologies have been excluded. Myelography Myelography has been the mainstay of local- ization of spinal cord compression caused by intervertebral disk herniation in veteri- nary medicine.9–13 Myelographic and surgi- cal findings have a strong correlation, with myelography correctly identifying the site of Lateral survey radiographic image showing narrowing of the space intervertebral disk herniation in 85.7% to 98% between articular facets at L1–L2 and L2–L3. Note the appearance of of cases.14–16 Myelography also aids in deter- mineralized opacity in the vertebral canal dorsal to the L1–L2 intervertebral disk mining the lateralization of disk extrusions space (arrow). The intervertebral foramen at L2–L3 is difficult to see. causing myelopathy.17 Compressive lesions may be seen on myelography in dogs with back pain alone as a clinical sign of intervertebral FIGURE 2 disk herniation.18 Compared with CT and MRI, myelography is relatively inexpensive and does not require specialized equipment. The major disadvantages of myelography are side effects and artifacts caused by epidural contrast injec- tion. Myelographic contrast media can cause asystole, seizures, and renal failure and aggra- vate spinal cord dysfunction.19–21 Artifacts that can confound the evaluation of myelograms include epidural, central canal, and subdural filling and direct parenchymal injection.22 In Lateral myelographic image of the dog in Figure 1. Note the dorsal a comparison of CT, survey radiography, and deviation of the ventral contrast column at the L1–2 and L2–L3 intervertebral myelography for the evaluation of vertebral disk spaces. The dorsal contrast column above the L2–L3 disk space is also and spinal cord tumors, myelography outper- attenuated. formed CT in classifying intradural lesions.23 Myelographic findings suggestive of extra- FIGURE 3 dural spinal cord compression secondary to disk herniation include dorsal deviation of the ven- tral subarachnoid contrast column and thinning of the dorsal contrast column dorsal to a disk space on the lateral view2,15,16 (FIGURE 2). On the ventrodorsal view, this appears as attenuation of one or both lateral subarachnoid contrast columns2,15,16 (FIGURE 3). In acute cases, an intramedullary pattern secondary to severe cord swelling may mask the radiographic signs of disk extrusion,24 causing attenuation of both contrast columns on the lateral and ventrodorsal projections. In these situations, Ventrodorsal myelo- careful evaluation for slight axial deviation graphic image of the dog of a contrast column or comparison with the in Figure 1. Note the bilat- survey radiographs may indicate the origin of eral attenuation of the con- the disk extrusion. In addition, oblique radio- trast columns and the axial deviation of the left contrast graphic projections (left ventral–right dorsal column, suggesting a left- and right ventral–left dorsal) are useful when sided disk herniation. the lateral and ventrodorsal projections only E2 Compendium: Continuing Education for Veterinarians® | March 2009 | CompendiumVet.com FREE Canine Thoracolumbar IVDD: Diagnosis CE show cord swelling. If the disk material is FIGURE 4 located significantly lateral to midline, oblique views may show a classic extradural pattern, whereas the traditional views may only show attenuation of the contrast columns.24 Computed Tomography CT allows for assessment of extradural spi- nal cord compressive lesions.25 Herniated disk material appears on CT images as a hetero- geneous, isoattenuating-to-hyperattenuating extradural mass, depending on the mineral content of the herniated disk material.25,26 With chronicity, herniated disk material may become more homogenous and hyperattenuating as the mineral content increases25,26 (FIGURE 4). Epidural hemorrhage typically appears slightly more attenuating than the spinal cord. CT is not very effective at differentiating structures Transverse CT images of a left-sided intervertebral disk extrusion at within the dura.23 T12–T13 (arrows). (A) Soft tissue window. (B) Bone window. CT may be combined with myelography to allow visualization of the subarachnoid space, improve accuracy in differentiating intramed- not correlate with histopathologic degenera- ullary from extradural causes of spinal cord tion in dogs.30,31 In one study, MRI was 100% swelling, and definitively determine the loca- sensitive and 79% specific for detecting disk tion of herniated disk material. The advantages degeneration in nonchondrodystrophoid dogs of CT include few side effects and the ability compared with histopathology.31 The lack of to view reformatted images. CT is useful in specificity was caused by MRI findings sug- demonstrating gross morphologic changes in gesting nuclear and annular degeneration in the disk, such as mineralization, but is not a few histologically normal disks. As disk helpful in assessing subtle changes suggestive degeneration almost always precedes disk of disk degeneration.27 herniation, normal MRI findings generally confirm the absence of disk herniation at Magnetic Resonance Imaging that site.28 MRI allows early recognition and classifica- MRI is helpful in the classification of tion of disk degeneration with minimal intra- disk herniation as extrusion, protrusion, or observer and interobserver variability.28,29 The bulge.28,32 Disk extrusion (Hansen’s type I normal canine intervertebral disk has a clear IVDD) is defined as complete rupture of the demarcation between the annulus fibrosus annulus fibrosus with translocation of the and nucleus pulposus, with the nucleus pul- nucleus pulposus into the vertebral canal.28,32 posus on T2-weighted images appearing as an Disk protrusion (Hansen’s type II IVDD) is ovoid area of high signal intensity compared caused by rupture