Acute onset quadriparesis as a sequela to an oropharyngeal stick injury

Abstract

A three-year-old male neutered crossbred dog was referred for investigation of acute onset quadriparesis, which had occurred following an oropharyngeal stick injury. Myelography revealed a right-sided extradural lesion overlying the C5/6 intervertebral disc space. A dorsolateral hemilaminectomy was performed at this site and two fragments of wood were removed from the vertebral canal adjacent to the spinal cord. The dog was ambulatory with right-sided forelimb monoparesis within a week of surgery and improved further following discharge. Three months following surgery, the dog was exercising freely with only mild right forelimb lameness.

The impact of surgical timing and intervention on outcome in traumatized dogs and cats

“…Penetrating trauma has been frequently reported in veterinary medicine, with multiple retrospective studies examining oropharyngeal trauma, gunshot wounds, and bite wounds with survival rates ranging from 38% to 100% . Examining reports on penetrating trauma is made difficult by the vast differences in the type and severity of trauma created by different mechanisms (eg, gunshot wounds vs. bite wounds) and specific recommendations for surgical timing should be considered separately when possible.…”

Migrating sewing needle in the cervical vertebral canal in a dog

“…Migration of plant material to the CNS is rare (Johnston and Summers 1971, Leskovar and others 2003, Dennis and others 2005, Granger and others 2007, Mateo and others 2007, Sutton and others 2010, Whitty and others 2013). Other foreign materials that can reach the CNS and cause pathology in small animals are sticks (Brockman and Trout 1991, Pratt and others 1999, Rayward 2002, Potanas and others 2011, Tanaka and others 2012), porcupine quills (Daoust 1991, Schneider and others 2010, Sauvé and others 2012), or needles (McCandlish 1978). …”

“…Clinical signs associated with foreign bodies in the vertebral canal can be caused by direct injury to the spinal cord by the foreign material, or related to haemorrhage, infection or granuloma formation secondary to the intruding material (Johnston and Summers 1971, Brockman and Trout 1991, Pratt and others 1999, Rayward 2002, Leskovar and others 2003, Dennis and others 2005, Granger and others 2007, Mateo and others 2007, Platt and others 2007, Hicks and Bagley 2008, Smith and Fitzpatrick 2009, Joslyn and others 2010, Schneider and others 2010, Sutton and others 2010, Potanas and others 2011, Tanaka and others 2012, Whitty and others 2013). Needles are very thin and of an inert material, so direct injury of the spinal cord should be theoretically minimal.…”

Surgical removal of a microchip from a puppy’s spinal canal

“…Reports of foreign bodies within the spinal canal are scant within the veterinary literature and mostly involve migrating plant material (10)(11)(12)(13)(14). A case of microchip implantation in the cervical spinal cord, which resulted in death, was recently reported in an alpaca (15).…”