Case report

Early recurrence of thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion after surgical decompression: a report of three cases

Øyvind Stigen , Nina Ottesen and Karin H Jäderlund

Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, PO Box 8146, 0033 Oslo, Norway

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Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2010, 52:10doi:10.1186/1751-0147-52-10

Published:	5 February 2010

Abstract

Thoracolumbar disc extrusions were diagnosed in three chondrodystrophic dogs with paraparesis of up to three days duration. All cases were managed by hemilaminectomy and removal of extruded disc material. In one dog, fenestration of the herniated disc space was also performed. Initially neurological function improved or was unchanged, but from two to ten days postoperatively clinical signs of deterioration became apparent. In all the dogs, recurrence of disc extrusion at the same location as the initial extrusion was diagnosed by computer tomography and at a second surgery abundant disc material was found at the hemilaminectomy site between the dura and an implanted graft of autogenous fat.