Ten patients with prior spinal cord trauma were examined preoperatively by metrizamide computed tomography (CT) and were studied subsequently by intraoperative spinal sonography. On comparing intraoperative sonography with metrizamide CT, it was found that metrizamide CT tends to overestimate the size and number of posttraumatic cysts, that areas of myelomalacia on metrizamide CT correspond to ...

BACKGROUND Ascending/descending myelomalacia (ADMM) is a severe complication of thoracolumbar intervertebral disk herniation (TL-IVDH) in dogs. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To investigate the prevalence and risk factors for ADMM in nonambulatory dogs with surgically treated TL-IVDH. ANIMALS Six-hundred and fifty-two client-owned dogs evaluated for TL-IVDH that underwent decompressive spinal surger...

The initial experience concerning the use of magnetic resonance imaging in 94 patients who had sustained chronic cord injury showed its specific advantages over traditional imaging modalities. A variety of 84 cord abnormalities were identified including myelomalacia in 47%, cord cysts in 37%, focal atrophy in 11 % and cord transection in 5%. Canal stenosis was seen in twenty-five patients, ...

INTRODUCTION New research shows shown that erythropoietin has neuro-protective effects. In preclinical trial and human clinical trials, it was demonstrated that erythropoietin is effective treatment for spinal cord injury. Early administration of medications after injury increases the hope of attenuating secondary damage and maximizing an improved outcome. CASE PRESENTATION A 42-year-old fema...

Introduction Dogs presenting as paraplegic without nociception due to a thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion provide difficult decision both the clinician and owner. The prognosis when performing surgical decompression remains guarded. Aside from significant extradural compression, these dogs often have secondary spinal cord injury, which has shown be an important factor in determining l...

Background  A case report of acute unilateral hemidiaphragm paralysis and resultant dyspnea due to cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is described. Case Report  An 82-year-old man presented with a nonproductive cough, chest congestion, hoarseness, and shortness of breath on ambulation. The patient underwent cardiac catheterization, which revealed extensive stenosis of the major cardiac arter...