34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

Disc associated cervical spondylomyelopathy primarily affects large and giant-breed dogs. It is characterised by compression of the spinal cord and/or nerve roots that can lead to neurological symptoms. Surgical intervention, specifically distraction- stabilisation, is commonly used to address the pathology, but subsidence, the gradual loss of distraction at the surgical site, can hinder the success of the surgical approach. The main objective of this study is to establish a CT protocol for assessing the extent of subsidence in affected animals and develop a consistent method for quantifying the degree of subsidence in affected animals.

Methods:

Computed tomography exams were examined through multiplanar reconstruction to assess the length of the surgical segment immediately post-surgery (d0) and at follow-up (d1). Measurements were acquired by two blinded boarded specialists (neurologist and radiologist). A threshold of 1.5 mm was set to diagnose subsidence

Results:

19 dogs were included in the study. Subsidence was diagnosed in 6/19 patients by the radiologist and in 7/19 patients by the neurologist. There was a discrepancy in the measurements recorded by the two observers. The median difference between d0-d1 measurements was statistically significant for both observers (p < 0.05). The agreement between the two operators was good for both time points (d0 = 0.88, d1= 0.85).

Conclusions:

Statistical analyses revealed significant differences between post-operative and follow-up measurements, confirming the presence of subsidence in dogs undergoing surgery for CSM. Good agreement was observed between the two operators at both time points, highlighting the reproducibility of the designed CT method