Diagnosis and surgical removal of brain abscesses in a juvenile alpaca.

CASE DESCRIPTION A 1-month-old female alpaca was examined because of progressive clinical signs consistent with an intracranial lesion. CLINICAL FINDINGS Clinical signs included signs of depression, lethargy, tetraparesis, and neck weakness. Two large isointense intracranial masses could be seen on T1-weighted magnetic resonance images. On T2-weighted images, the masses contained concentric rings of hypointense and hyperintense material. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME 2 abscesses were removed via a craniotomy that incorporated removal of the sagittal crest and surrounding skull and transection of the sagittal sinus. The bony deficit was replaced with polypropylene mesh. The alpaca recovered within 2 weeks and was fully integrated into the herd within 1 month after surgery. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Findings indicated that surgical removal is a feasible means of successfully treating intracranial abscesses in juvenile alpacas.