Ventral Slot Surgery to Manage Cervical Intervertebral Disc Disease in Three Cats

Abstract

Ventral slot surgery can be used to achieve effective cervical spinal cord decompression with a good long-term outcome in the management of feline cervical intervertebral disc herniation. To avoid creating an excessively wide slot with the potential for postoperative complications including vertebral sinus haemorrhage, vertebral instability or ventral slot collapse, careful surgical planning was performed with preoperative measurement of the desired maximum slot dimensions.

Prevalence, clinical presentation and MRI of intervertebral disc herniations in cats

“…The mean age of the cats in our study was 8.7 years, which is in agreement with the mean age of all the published feline IVDH cases thus far (8.3 years). 7–38 This occurrence in mature cats has been reported previously, 30,35 and is consistent with several post-mortem studies on feline intervertebral disc degeneration and herniation that found an increased occurrence of this condition in older animals. 1–4 When considering each type of IVDH separately, previously reported cats affected by IVDP and IVDE had a similar mean age (8.6 years), 7–14,16,18–23,25–27,29–36,38 wher...…”

“…Only 185 cats clinically affected by IVDH have been reported in the past 50 years, most of them described from 2011 to date. 24–29,33–38 Moreover, several studies have separately investigated various features of each different type of IVDH, mainly as individual case reports or case series including low numbers of cats. Thus, a comprehensive overview regarding the overall clinical and MRI characteristics of this disease is lacking.…”

“…Many breeds of cats have been reported to be clinically affected by IVDH, although non-purebred cats constitute roughly two-thirds of the 185 published feline cases. 8,10,11,13,15–28,30–38 However, a recent study identified Persian and British Shorthair cats as being predisposed to thoracolumbar IVDH when compared with the general feline population of a referral hospital. 35 In agreement with previous studies, 8,10,11,13,15–28,30–38 the DSH was the most common breed affected by IVDH in our study, reflecting the greater proportion of this breed among the overall feline population.…”

“…8,10,11,13,15–28,30–38 However, a recent study identified Persian and British Shorthair cats as being predisposed to thoracolumbar IVDH when compared with the general feline population of a referral hospital. 35 In agreement with previous studies, 8,10,11,13,15–28,30–38 the DSH was the most common breed affected by IVDH in our study, reflecting the greater proportion of this breed among the overall feline population. However, when taking exclusively purebred cats into account, Exotic Shorthairs seem to be over-represented, although the low number of cases limits the strength of this observation.…”

“…The first report of symptomatic feline IVDH dates back to 1971. 7 Since then, several clinical cases have been published, the vast majority as case reports 8–29 or case series numbering 10 or fewer cats, 30–34 mirroring the low prevalence of this condition in the feline population. In the past 5 years, only three larger retrospective studies have been published, two describing IVDHs limited to the thoracolumbar region of the spine in a population of 31 35 and 35 cats, 35,36 and the other focusing on a single type of IVDH (namely, acute non-compressive nucleus pulposus extrusion [ANNPE]).…”