Recurrence of cervical intervertebral disc extrusion in 55 dogs after surgical decompression with or without...

To determine whether prophylactic fenestration (PF) of adjacent intervertebral discs decreases the recurrence rate (RR) of cervical intervertebral disc extrusion (C-IVDE) in small dogs undergoing ventral slot (VS) decompression, and whether PF increases perioperative complication risk.

Retrospective, multi-institutional cohort study.

A total of 55 dogs.

Medical records of a mixed population of small dogs (<20 kg) treated with VS for C-IVDE with a minimum one-year follow-up were reviewed. During surgery, dogs underwent either single-site PF, multiple-site PF, or no PF. Perioperative complication rate and RR were compared between PF and non-PF groups using generalized linear models. Surgical time and neurologic grade (presurgery, post-surgery, at first recheck) were compared with Mann-Whitney test and chi-squared tests.

A total of 55 dogs were included (PF: n = 18; non-PF: n = 37). Neurologic grades were similar at all timepoints. Median time to first recheck was 14 days (range: 5-56). Median follow-up time was 1380 days (range: 365-2777). Recurrence occurred in 25% of dogs (14/55), all in the non-PF group. Prophylactic fenestration was associated with a lower RR (p < .001). Surgery duration was longer in the PF group (158.0 ± 13.5 min) versus non-PF (118.0 ± 6.8 min, p = .017), but complication rates were similar (18.2%, p = .838) between groups.

Recurrence of C-IVDE is more likely to occur at non-PF group than PF-group in a heterogenous population of small breed dogs. Prophylactic fenestration was not linked to increased complication risk.

Prophylactic fenestration might be safely considered to prevent C-IVDE recurrence.