HERNIATED CERVICAL DISC - SECOND SURGERY POSSIBLY NEEDED

[Shocktartt]

My dog Gizmo is a 10 year old male pitbull mix who weighs about 40 lbs. About 2 months ago he started having neck pain on and off and long story short, eventually a ventral slot surgery was recommended as the best option for him to be pain free. He had compression of his spinal cord at the C2-C3 vertebrae and had the procedure done about 2 weeks ago. He was sent home on rimadyl, tramadol, gabbapentin, and cephalexin. I noticed towards the end of the first week that he started having some twitching in his neck and he still cried out in pain here and there and still kept his neck somewhat low for the most part. At his follow up visit to have his staples removed, the rehabilitation vet recommended adding methocarbamol for the muscle spasms and increased his gabbapentin and tramadol. She also wanted to try to put him on prednisone so I had to stop the rimadyl for at least 3 days before I could start the prednisone. After a day and a half without rimadyl, Gizmo's spasms seemed to get worse, he was tense and stiff and didn't want to move. Last night his crying was awful and he was shaking nonstop so I brought him back to the vet this morning so he could get some IV pain meds. The new surgeon who saw him today recommended he get another MRI because he was worried that either he still had some compression on the cord or that he might have ruptured another disc. I'm hoping that he just has a lot of inflammation and pain still and that the rimadyl was helping that but the vet said if he still has compression or another disc has ruptured, that he should have a second surgery. Has anyone gone through having to have a second surgery on their dog so soon after the first? I don't have the second MRI results yet but I'm scared to make him go through another surgery so soon after the first and am wondering if there are any other options for him at this point that someone has tried.
Thank you
Rachel

[CarolC]

There is a message thread about this same situation. Possibly you could try posting a reply in the thread to see if anyone who already posted there might come back with additional information.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16485

You could also send private messages directly to any of the members who posted in that thread (assuming they have their accounts set to receive private messages). Just click the little icon by their name, possibly some of them might reply, it's worth a try. Very best wishes to you and your dog.

[Amoore20]

Hello,


My dog has had three episodes of ruptured disc and only one surgery. My dog is on valium so the muscle twitching has stopped. But you have to make sure the dosage is not too strong. It sounds like your dog needs rest. And I would talk to the vet about giving him valium. It just sounds like a lot is going on with the dog and he or she is stressed out from all the medications. I am not a doctor but the fact that the dog is twitching suggests none of those medications keep him calm. Just my opinion.


Amy

[Amoore20]

Hello Again,


I also suggest ice packs. It numbs the area and helps them sleep. Also, I put a nice fluffy blanket under her chin so she does not have the burden of holding her own weight.
Amy

[Shocktartt]

thanks for the advice amy. fortunately gizmo didn't require a second surgery but he ended up back in the vet hospital for 5 days for pain management due to a large amount of inflammation. he came back home like a new dog though. they adjusted his medications - increasing the gabbapentin, and methacarbamol, and put him on prednisone and amantadine. this combination seemed to do the trick and its now been a couple weeks and he's almost back to his old self, with the exception of being a little clumsy at times. he's now being weened off the predisone, he's off the methacarbamol and we'll begin to lower the doses of tramadol and gabbapentin next week. he never cries anymore, he can do a full shake with no problem and he's just about done with his crate rest. it seemed grim at the point of my original post and i definitely was questioning if the original surgery was the right choice but seeing him now, i know it definitely was.

[Amoore20]

That's super!

[Shocktartt]

Gizmo started developed weakness in his front legs over the last month or two. He had an MRI done today which showed a cyst adjacent to the site of his original ventral slot surgery that was filled with some fluid. Apparently after the ventral slot surgery, the vertebrae collapsed down on each other and rubbing from movement at the site caused a cyst to develop. As the cyst gets bigger, it puts pressure on his cord causing the weakness in his front legs. Apparently they treat this with prednisone which he's been on since the surgery in July and I can't seem to be able to ween him off. A higher dose of prednisone for a few days apparently reduces the inflammation and compression and he is much more coordinated. The neurologist said we could continue to control this with medication, or do a disc distraction where they go in and create a space between the discs using screws and cement. She also said she was finding out from Dr. Adamo, the creator of the artificial disc, if it's possible to put an artificial disc in an area where a ventral slot was done previously. She said that is somewhat experimental though. Has anyone had this happen to their dog? My neurologist is great but she said this is only the second dog that she's ever had have the vertebrae collapse on each other like this. Gizmo is 12 years old and I don't know if it's in his best interest to put him through another big surgery but at the same time, I hate the fact that he's been on prednisone for so many months.
Any advice is appreciated.

[Amoore20]

Hello,


My dog is a 12 year old beagle. I remember her last surgery and I would not subject her to that again. If you can afford to do it, I guess it is worth a try. But personally, I would seek a second opinion from a holistic vet and see if there is something that can be administered for the cyst to dissolve with less side effects.

Amy

[Shocktartt]

Hi Amy
Thanks for the advice. His condition is called syringohydromyelia. Right now he's doing well because he has a few days of higher steroids which is the medical treatment for it and must have shrunk it a bit. If he were younger there would be no question that I would do the surgery but maybe i will try a few rounds of acupuncture and laser to see if that helps... It's just so frustrating that he fell in the smaller percentage of unsuccessful ventral slot surgeries...

[Amoore20]

Hi,


I'm hoping your dog's condition improves so the cyst shrinks. When my dog is like that I carry her to the bathroom outside and she has a carriage I put her in. I put cold compresses on her back to ease the inflammation. And about ten days into it I alternate cold and warm compresses. The cold acts like anesthesia. And she stays in a crate where she can not move around and only come out to go to the bathroom. Over time, I give her more freedom. We have had three episodes like this so she knows the drill. Right now she is sitting on the couch which is a no no but their so stubborn....

She has a holistic vet for alternative medicine. I think at some point I will get her acupuncture once a month. But her vet gave her something to dissolve a a cyst under her skin. You might contact one just to hear what THEY think. I'm not a fan of steroids use.




Regards,
Amy