Excisão cirúrgica de um osteocondroma de raiz nervosa da cauda equina de cão / Surgical excision of an osteochondroma in a nerve root of the cauda equina of a dog

ABSTRACT

Background: Spinal neoplasms are classified into extradural, intradural/extramedullary or intramedullary. Intradural/extramedullary tumors include meningiomas and nerve sheath tumors, which arise from meninges or peripheral nerves around the spinal cord. Clinical signs are related to dysfunction of the involved nerve and include pain, nerve root signature and atrophy. Osteochondromas are benign tumors located within the bone, on its surface or in extra-osseous regions, when they are classified as soft tissue osteochondoma. The aim of this study is to describe a case of an osteochondroma in a nervous root of the cauda equina in a dog, whose surgical resection allowed the resolution of the clinical signs.Case A 12-year-old, male, Labrador Retriever dog, was presented with a 40-day history of progressive, painful, pelvic limb paresis, with no improvement when treated with analgesics and acupuncture. Neurological abnormalities included paraparesis, sometimes worse in the left pelvic limb, that was carried flexed at the level of the stifle, hindlimb atrophy, decreased interdigital reflexes and pain in the lumbar spinal region, mainly over L6 vertebra. Results of blood count and serum biochemical analysis were unremarkable. Computed tomography (CT) of the lumbosacral area was performed and the evaluation of images in transverse and reconstructed dorsal and sagittal planes allowed the visualization of a hyperattenuating and calcified round structure with 8 mm x 6 mm, in the left side of vertebral canal, at the level of caudal epiphysis of L6. Lumbosacral (L7-S1) CT abnormalities, as subchondral sclerosis, mild disc margin bulging, spondylosis deformans and foraminal proliferation were also observed but were considered clinically insignificant.[...](AU)