Subarachnoidale diverticula in dogs: main aspects of diagnosis and surgical treatment (decompression techniques)

UDC 619: 616-089
DOI: 10.36871/vet.zoo.bio.202303009

Authors

Olga V. Muracheva,
Nikolay A. Kozlov,
Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology – MVA by K. I. Skryabin”, Moscow, Russia

Abstract

Subarachnoid diverticula are extensions of the subarachnoid space filled with cerebrospinal fluid. They can cause spinal cord compression and neurological deficits of varying severity in dogs. At the same time, subarachnoid diverticula can be the only cause of neurological deficit, or they can occur with previous or concomitant pathologies. The first report of a subarachnoid diverticulum in a dog, then called a leptomeningeal cyst, was published in 1968 in E. D. Gage et al. As of November 2020, a total of 39 cases have been described in 324 English publications alone. But despite this, subarachnoid diverticula are still considered to be a fairly rare and little-studied pathology. This study is devoted to the main aspects of the diagnosis of subarachnoid diverticula in dogs and their surgical treatment (the use of decompression techniques). The article also discusses the role of magnetic resonance imaging in the final diagnosis and the importance of spinal cord decompression in the surgical treatment of subarachnoid diverticula in dogs.

Keywords

subarachnoid diverticulum, magnetic resonance imaging, decompression techniques, hemilaminectomy, laminectomy, dogs