Ventral distraction-stabilization in 5 continuous sites for the treatment of cervical spondylomyelopathy in a Great Dane.

Objective: To report the combined use of novel and commercially available implants for ventral distraction-stabilization of 5 continuous compressive sites in a Great Dane with cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM).

Study Design: Case report.

Animals: One 4-year-old male Great Dane weighing 78 kg.

Methods: A tetraparetic 4-year-old Great Dane with osseous-associated CSM (OA-CSM) with 5 sites of dorsolateral compression was presented for surgical intervention. Custom designed Fitz intervertebral traction screws (FITS) and a commercially available polyaxial spinal system were used for ventral distraction-stabilization of all lesions. Multiple neurological reevaluations were performed, with the final evaluation at 27 months postoperatively. Preoperative, immediate-postoperative, and 27 month-postoperative computed tomography (CT) images were retrospectively reviewed to compare the vertebral canal dimensions at the affected sites.

Results: Multilevel distraction-stabilization technique resulted in improvement of the dog's neurological function by 10 days postoperatively. The vertebral canal measurements were revealed to have improved in over half of the measured variables when the 27-month-postoperative images were compared with the preoperative CT images. Increased vertebral canal dimensions were observed immediately after surgery, and some of these measurements continued to improve by 27 months postoperatively.

Conclusion: Ventral distraction-stabilization technique with custom-designed FITS and a polyaxial spinal system resulted in both clinical improvement and objective improvement in spinal canal measurements in an OA-CSM-affected Great Dane.

Clinical Significance: An indirect decompression technique can eliminate dynamic movements and result in regression of vertebral canal bony proliferation in dogs with OA-CSM.