Assessment of the usefulness of the fenestration method in cases of disc extrusion in the cervical and thoraco-lumbar spine in chondrodystrophic dogs

The aim of this paper was to assess the effectiveness of treatment of Type I (according to Hansen) intervertebral disc extrusion using the fenestration method. The evaluated clinical material included 37 chondrodystrophic dogs in which multiple fenestration (from 2 to 6 intervertebral spaces) was performed. Dachshunds comprised 86.5% of patients. All dogs were administered corticosteroids during the operation. A mass similar to a slightly jelly-like yogurt, cottage cheese or plaster-like consistency was extracted. In one case a post-surgical pyogenic infection of the wound occured. In two cases, a deterioration in the neurological state followed the fenestration procedure of the cervical spine. In one case of thoraco-lumbar spine fenestration, a deterioration of clinical state was found. Recovery was observed after disc extrusion from the cervical spine in 8 out of 11 dogs, from the thoraco-lumbar spine in 12 out of 14 dogs with the 2nd grade clinical signs and in 11 out of 12 dogs with the 3nd grade clinical sings. In 6 dogs, recurrence of first or second grade clinical signs occurred, but only half of them had to undergo treatment. The probability of dog recovery did not depend on the degree of symptom intensity in a statistically significant way (p=0.11) or on the duration of the disease before the surgical treatment (p=0.87).