Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cervical vertebral canal endoscopy in a horse with cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy.
- Journal:
- Equine veterinary journal
- Year:
- 2012
- Authors:
- Prange, T et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding had been showing signs of neurological problems, like difficulty coordinating his hind legs, for about seven months. When the vet examined him, he had trouble moving all his legs, especially the back ones. X-rays showed severe arthritis in the neck area between two vertebrae, and further imaging revealed a significant narrowing of the spinal canal at a different level. During a special procedure to look inside the spinal canal, the vet found that the space around the spinal cord was very tight, which indicated long-term pressure on the cord. Unfortunately, after the procedure, the decision was made to euthanize the horse, and tests confirmed serious damage to the spinal cord due to this pressure.
Abstract
A 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding presented with a history of neurological signs, including incoordination in his hindlimbs, of about 7 months' duration. On initial examination, the horse exhibited ataxia and paresis in all limbs with more severe deficits in the hindlimbs. Cervical radiographs displayed severe osteoarthritis of the articular processes between C5 and C6. On subsequent cervical myelography the dorsal contrast column was reduced by 90% at the level of the intervertebral space between C5 and C6. Cervical vertebral canal endoscopy, including epidural (epiduroscopy) and subarachnoid endoscopy (myeloscopy), was performed under general anaesthesia. A substantial narrowing of the subarachnoid space at the level between C6 and C7 was seen during myeloscopy, while no compression was apparent between C5 and C6. Epiduroscopy showed no abnormalities. After completion of the procedure, the horse was subjected to euthanasia and the cervical spinal cord submitted for histopathological examination. Severe myelin and axon degeneration of the white matter was diagnosed at the level of the intervertebral space between C6 and C7, with Wallerian degeneration cranially and caudally, indicating chronic spinal cord compression at this site. Myeloscopy was successfully used to identify the site of spinal cord compression in a horse with cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy, while myelography results were misleading.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21696435/