Intraoperative Ultrasound in Brain Surgery.

This study describes the essential components and the technique of intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS), including probe selection and techniques used to produce quality images. Case examples are given to illustrate the value and the accuracy of IOUS in intracranial surgery of companion animals. IOUS has proven an invaluable addition to intracranial surgery, especially in real-time localization of the mass, identifying borders between mass and normal cerebral tissue, and identifying vascular supply to the mass.

Complications in Intracranial Surgery of Companion Animals.

The most common complications of intracranial surgery in companion animals chiefly consist of brain swelling, hemorrhage, seizures, and worsening of neurologic status, aspiration pneumonia, and anesthetic death. Further dividing these into intraoperative and postoperative complications, postoperative are more common. Preventative measures can include careful surgical planning, cerebro-protective anesthetic regimes, seizure prophylaxis, and postoperative sedation/pain management that allows for an early return to function and ambulation and an adequate and accelerated nutrition.

Perspectives on pharmacologic strategies in the management of meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin in dogs.

There are many non-infectious inflammatory diseases, assumed to be immune-mediated in origin, recognized to affect the nervous system in canine patients. Concentrating on meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin, we will discuss the medications used to treat the underlying disease process, focusing on their adverse effects, therapeutic monitoring when necessary and effectiveness. The literature overwhelmingly supports the use of a steroid/ Cytosar or steroid/ cyclosporine treatment protocol with the steroid tapered after the acute phase of the disease, leaving the secondary medication to control the disease long term.

Detailed anatomic description of the lateral, transzygomatic approach to the middle fossa and rostral brainstem and its use in three dogs.

Objective: To describe a craniectomy using a lateral, transzygomatic approach to the middle fossa and rostral brainstem, and to report clinical outcomes and complications in three dogs.

Animals: Two cadaver dogs and three client-owned dogs. Two of the client-owned dogs with middle fossa lesions, and one with a rostral brainstem lesion.

Case report: Surgical removal of an intradural and intramedullary brainstem foreign body in a young German Shepherd.

A young, female German Shepherd was presented for evaluation of a progressive, mildly ambulatory tetraparesis with severe neck pain. All segmental reflexes were intact, and the paresis was more severe on the right thoracic and pelvic limbs. Diagnostic imaging (radiographs and computed tomography) revealed 2 metallic linear foreign bodies lodged at the right side of the cervicomedullary junction.

CSF from a puppy with a cerebral vascular hamartoma.

A 9-week-old puppy with refractory seizures and a dome-shaped head presented to the Mississippi State College of Veterinary Medicine Specialty Center for suspected hydrocephalus. Computerized tomography (CT) findings included transtentorial herniation and an intra-axial mass with dystrophic mineralization. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed an increased nucleated cell count of 1100/μl (RI < 5/μl), erythrocyte count of 2.

Intraoperative Ultrasound Applications in Intracranial Surgery.

The methods and use of intraoperative ultrasound in 33 canine and five feline patients and its ability to localize and identify anatomical structures and pathological lesions in canines and felines undergoing intracranial surgery are described from a case series. All were client-owned referral patients admitted for neurologic evaluation, with an advanced imaging diagnosis of an intracranial lesion, and underwent surgical biopsy or surgical removal of the lesion. Medical records, retrieval and review of imaging reports, and characterization of findings for all canine and feline patients show that intraoperative ultrasound guidance was used in intracranial procedures during the period of 2012 and 2019.

The One Health Consortium: Design of a Phase I Clinical Trial to Evaluate M032, a Genetically Engineered HSV-1 Expressing IL-12, in Combination With a Checkpoint Inhibitor in Canine Patients With Sporadic High Grade Gliomas.

As the most common and deadly of primary brain tumors, malignant gliomas have earned their place within one of the most multifaceted and heavily-funded realms of medical research. Numerous avenues of pre-clinical investigation continue to provide valuable insight, but modeling the complex evolution and behavior of these tumors within a host under simulated circumstances may pose challenges to extrapolation of data. Remarkably, certain breeds of pet dogs spontaneously and sporadically develop high grade gliomas that follow similar incidence, treatment, and outcome patterns as their human glioma counterparts.

Suprascapular nerve decompression for treatment of neuropathy in a bucking bull.

Case Description: A 3-year-old 639-kg (1,406-lb) American bucking bull was examined because of a 4-day history of right forelimb lameness that began after the bull sustained an injury to the right shoulder region while exiting the chute during a rodeo.

Clinical Findings: A 10 × 10-cm soft tissue swelling was present over the right shoulder region. Ultrasonographically, the contour of the scapular spine, bicipital bursa, bicipital tendon, and greater tubercle of the humerus appeared unremarkable; the swelling appeared to be a hematoma overlying the distal aspect of the scapula.

Acute cerebrovascular event in a dog with polycythemia vera.

A 1-year-old neutered male Labrador retriever mixed breed dog was referred for peracute onset of ataxia and seizures. Hematocrit at presentation was 84%. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed a lesion in the right caudate nucleus consistent with infarction.

Foramen magnum decompression surgery in 23 Chiari-like malformation patients 2007-2010: outcomes and owner survey results.

Chiari-like malformation (CLM) with syringomyelia (SM) in dogs is particularly prominent in the Cavalier King Charles spaniel breed, but has also been reported in several other small breed dogs. Over a period of 3 years, 23 canine patients were treated surgically for CLM-SM. Surgery consisted of foramen magnum decompression, durotomy, duraplasty, and free autogenous adipose tissue grafting (fat graft).

Constrictive myelopathy secondary to hypoplasia or aplasia of the thoracolumbar caudal articular processes in Pugs: 11 cases (1993-2009).

Objective: To report thoracolumbar caudal articular process malformations with secondary constrictive fibrosis of the spinal cord in Pugs.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 11 Pugs with neurologic dysfunction resulting from constriction of fibrous tissue secondary to thoracolumbar caudal articular process malformation and 5 Pugs with no neurologic dysfunction.

Compressive myelopathy of the cervical spine in Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis).

Cervical subluxation and compressive myelopathy appears to be a cause of morbidity and mortality in captive Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis). Four cases of cervical subluxation resulting in nerve root compression or spinal cord compression were identified. Three were presumptively induced by trauma, and one had an unknown inciting cause.

A modified ventral approach to the atlantoaxial junction in the dog.

Objective: To describe and evaluate a surgical technique using a modified ventral approach for stabilization of the atlantoaxial (AA) junction in dogs with AA subluxation.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: Dogs (n=5) with AA subluxation.