Cervical vertebral canal endoscopy in a horse with cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy.
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.
© 2011 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2011-06-23 PubMed ID: 21696435DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2011.00395.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Case Reports
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research investigates a case of a horse suffering from incoordination in his hindlimbs due to issues with the spine. The study utilized cervical vertebral canal endoscopy to identify spinal cord compression, which contradicted the misleading results of cervical myelography.
Background and Initial Examination
- A 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding presented neurological signs including incoordination in his hindlimbs persisting over approximately 7 months.
- Initial examination revealed ataxia and paresis in all limbs, with more severe deficits noted in the hindlimbs.
- Cervical radiographs displayed severe osteoarthritis of the articular processes between the C5 and C6 vertebrae.
Cervical Myelography and Canal Endoscopy
- Cervical myelography was performed showing a 90% reduction in the dorsal contrast column at the level of the intervertebral space between C5 and C6.
- Contradicting the myelography results, cervical vertebral canal endoscopy (including both epiduroscopy and myeloscopy) revealed substantial narrowing of the subarachnoid space at the level between C6 and C7, while no compression was observed between C5 and C6.
- Epiduroscopy showed no abnormalities in the examined regions.
Post-Procedure Examination and Conclusions
- After the procedures, the horse was euthanized and a histopathological examination was conducted on the cervical spinal cord. Severe myelin and axon degeneration of the white matter at the level of the intervertebral space between C6 and C7 was discovered. Wallerian degeneration both cranially and caudally indicated chronic spinal cord compression at the site.
- Despite the misleading myelography results, myeloscopy was successfully used to detect and confirm the site of spinal cord compression, attributing the horse’s sustained hindlimbs incoordination to cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy.
Cite This Article
APA
Prange T, Carr EA, Stick JA, Garcia-Pereira FL, Patterson JS, Derksen FJ.
(2011).
Cervical vertebral canal endoscopy in a horse with cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy.
Equine Vet J, 44(1), 116-119.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2011.00395.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, MI, USA. timo.prange@gmail.com
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Cervical Vertebrae / pathology
- Endoscopy / methods
- Endoscopy / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horses
- Male
- Spinal Stenosis / diagnosis
- Spinal Stenosis / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Dohle E, Beardall S, Chang A, Mena KPC, Jovanović L, Nath U, Lee KS, Smith AH, Thirunavukarasu AJ, Touzet AY, Norton EJ, Mowforth OD, Kotter MRN, Davies BM. Human spinal cord tissue is an underutilised resource in degenerative cervical myelopathy: findings from a systematic review of human autopsies. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 2023 May;165(5):1121-1131.
- Hurcombe SD, Morris TB, VanderBroek AR, Habecker P, Wulster K, Hopster K. Cervical Epidural and Subarachnoid Catheter Placement in Standing Adult Horses. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:232.
- Akter F, Yu X, Qin X, Yao S, Nikrouz P, Syed YA, Kotter M. The Pathophysiology of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy and the Physiology of Recovery Following Decompression. Front Neurosci 2020;14:138.
- Rijckaert J, Pardon B, Van Ham L, Joosten P, van Loon G, Deprez P. Magnetic motor evoked potentials of cervical muscles in horses. BMC Vet Res 2018 Sep 24;14(1):290.
- Carmalt JL, Scansen BA. Development of two surgical approaches to the pituitary gland in the Horse. Vet Q 2018 Dec;38(1):21-27.
- Ros KB, Doveren A, Dreessen C, Pellmann R, Beccati F, Zimmermann E, Distl O. Radiological Methods for the Imaging of Congenital Malformations of C6-T1, the First and Second Sternal Ribs and Development of a Classification System, Demonstrated in Warmblood Horses. Animals (Basel) 2023 Dec 2;13(23).
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