Intervertebral Disk Surgery. In: Veterinary Focus 17(3); 2007

Introduction In veterinary medicine, intervertebral disk surgery is limited to the herniated intervertebral disk which may be situated at any level of the vertebral column, with surgical treatment differing according to the level. At the cervical level of the vertebral column, a ventral corpectomy is the technique of choice as the hernia is most often ventral. When the hernia is lateralized, a hemilaminectomy is more suitable. Thoraco-lumbar herniated intervertebral disks are nearly always ventral or ventrolateral and their treatment is based on a lateral approach. If it is a Hansen type I (Figure 1), a foramino-pediclectomy is preferably chosen over a hemilaminectomy. This is more destabilizing as an articular process has to be sacrificed. If it is a type II, a lateral corpectomy (Figure 2) is preferred. Finally, a lumbo-sacral hernia requires a classical dorsal approach by laminectomy except if it is foraminal or extra-foraminal. In these two particular cases, a transiliac technique, endoscope assisted or not, is effective. Pierre Méheust, DVM Vetoceane, Nantes-Vertou, France