Acute Spinal Injuries in Cats

Category: Neurology Club

Presenter:

Dr Laurent Garosi DVM Dip ECVN MRCVS
RCVS & European Specialist in Veterinary Neurology
Head of Neurology/Neurosurgery- Davies Veterinary Specialists

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About The Webinar

Ischemic myelopathy, acute disc herniation and exogenous spinal trauma are common acute spinal injuries in cats. Ischemic myelopathy should be suspected in cats with acute onset of non-progressive signs of a focal or multifocal myelopathy. Being a non-compressive spinal cord disease, affected cats are classically non-painful on palpation/manipulation of the spine. The neurological signs vary according with the neuroanatomical localisation and are usually lateralised. Intervertebral disc disorder is not as a common presentation in cats as it is in dogs. Both acute intervertebral disc extrusion and chronic intervertebral disc protrusion (Hansen type I and II respectively) have been reported, since long time, to be present in cats. The majority of cats reported had type I disc degeneration (intervertebral disc extrusion). Exogenous spinal trauma is an important cause of spinal cord dysfunction in cats and usually results from road traffic accident or fall from height. Thirty to eighty three per cent of spine and spinal cord exogenous trauma cases can be associated with other concomitant injuries. Therefore it is important to thoroughly evaluate these cats with suspicious spinal trauma because of the possible concomitant injuries and prioritise them accordingly.

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