Dr. Dimitar Ivanov

Dog, Bleki, toy terrier, M, 5 yo.
Came in the clinic on 11.04.2017 with left circle movements, menace deficit on the left and no reaction when stimulating the nasal mucosa.  On the right, spinal reflexes are decreased and there are no conscious proprioception. 
Doubt for brainstem problem. 
Differential diaggnosis:  
V – vascular – it’s with peracute onset
I – inflamatory – it’s possible but no changes in blood sample
T – toxic – The dog did not take any medication, fed the same food and was not seen taking unusual things, but it’s not unpossible
A – anomalous – тhe dog is 5 years old and it is unlikely that there will be any manifestation of these diseases
M – metabolic – there is no other clinical signs or any changes in blood samples.
I – idiopathic – there is no seizures and vestibular signs
N – neoplastic – it’s more possible
D- degenerative – the dog is too young for cognitive dysfunction and too old for other degenerative diseases.
We made MRI on 12.04. and found a lesion in the left mesencephalon.

The final diagnosis is neoplasia in left midbrain.
We started to prepare for surgery.
The antibiotic preoperative was Ceftriaxone 30 mg/kg i.v., Manitol 1 g/kg i.v. and Methylprednosolone 20 mg i.v.
The surgery was on 22.04.2017 and we made a left craniotomy and displacement of the temporal lobe dorsolaterally until the lesion was reached.

– Bleki preoperative video.
We opened the skin with a semi-circular cut between the left dorsal orbital rim and the left ear.
The skull was open and we enlarged the hole with Kerrison rongeur

We aspirated the brain liquor and very slowly reverse the left temporal lobe.

When we found the lesion we punctured the cyst formation and drew the liquid contents.
The reason to do this surgery was to try to reduce the pressure in the tissue and to improve the dog’s condition.
After surgery we continued the antibiotics in the same dose and methylprednisolone in the same dose for three days. After then the dose was reduce to 2 mg /kg. After few days the methylprednisolone was change with prednisolone and started to reduce the dose.
Until the methylprednisolone is reduced, the patient is better every day, improves motor activity, appetite, but fails to maintain a constant temperature. A corneal ulcer of the left eye appears – I guess the cause is a trauma to the left oculomotor nerve and reduced lacrimation.
On 28.04. we included one more antibiotic – amoxicillin with clavulonic acid.
On 29.04. the prednisolone was reduced to 0,5 mg/kg, the dog was with anisocoria (myosis on the right eye and mydriasis on the left). On 30.04. the circle movements on left started again.
We tried to find Lomustine for chimiotherapy but we couldn’t and increased the dose of the prednisolone to 2 mg/kg

– Bleki 22 days after surgery

– Bleki 23 days after surgery
The dog is good, he walk normally but when he stops, he start to make circle movement on the left.

Dr. Tsvetan Ivanov

Introduction

The most common cause of rear limb lameness in the dog is rupture of the cranial (anterior) cruciate ligament. This derangement results in degenerative changes (osteoarthritis) in the stifle (knee) joint, including cartilage damage, osteophyte (bone spur) production, and meniscal injury. The Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) has proven effective in returning these deranged stifles to full function.

Developed by Dr. Barclay Slocum, TPLO was a radical procedure for addressing canine ACL injuries. Now in existence for over 20 years, the surgery has proven itself, time and time again, to be an extremely effective long term solution for addressing cruciate ligament injury in dogs.

Part of the positive indications for TPLO are:

– Bodyweight:

TPLO is most frequently performed in medium to giant breeds. Greater bodyweight is a positive indicator for selection of TPLO as a treatment option. The procedure can be performed and on small dogs and even cats, but then should be make exact discretion the potential benefits and complications.

– Age:

Cruciate ligament degeneration is seen increasingly in young large breeds, in some cases within their first year.

Minimising osteoarthritis in the long term is a priority for these young dogs. Many surgeons believe that this leads to the TPLO being the technique of choice, although long term comparative studies continue to investigate this. These cases frequently show bilateral degeneration, and partial cruciate ruptures are common.

The procedure is good option for dogs over 6 months of age, with progression of ossification of proximal tibial growth plates.

– Partial ligament rupture.

Cases of partial ligament rupture show a very rapid iprovement following TPLO. Importantly, they typically do not progress to complete ligament failure as TPLO acts to neutralise the forces on the cranial cruciate ligament.

TPLO is widely accepted to give the best functional outcome, in the short to medium term, and has enabled working/performance animals to return to high functional standards.

– Excessively sloping tibial plateau:

Average plateau angles range from 22°-26°, but angles from 15° are still remain a TPLO candidate with good post-operative outcome. However, in cases with an increased tibial plateau angle, TPLO has proved particularly beneficial.

Case studies have advocated TPLO as the technique of choice for even small breeds with excessive tibial plateau slopes. In some of those cases the amount of angular correction required leads to a Wedge resection technique being favoured over the Slocum(curved-cut) TPLO.

– Cranially translocated tibial crest.

Occasionally the stifle will rest with the tibia cranially translocated following cruciate rupture the tibial crest is palpated cranially, the patella tendon is less distinct, and the first movement during cranial drawer is backwards, often associated with a dramatic degree of movement. In some authors experience these cases may return to cranial translocation with significant recurrence of lameness weeks after extracapsular lateral fabella suture placement. In those cases, in a limited number of procedures, TPLO have shown better outcomes.

Overall, the good TPLO candidate is medium to large breed dog, from 6 months and plus, active, with need of full functional restoration of the limb.

The case:

This is the case of Hades. He is oversized cane corso, 6 years old, bodyweight is 78 kg and he suffers from hip arthrosis of the right hip in result of hip dysplasia and chondroma of right carpal bones. He came with lameness on the right rear limb from few weeks, which is worsening. He had and positive “sit and drawer tests.

This is video of his walk:

The diagnosis was cranial cruciate ligament rupture. My favorite procedure is TPLO, but definitely no one can be sure that, the standard procedure can give good outcome with this size dog. Furthermore, the dog have and two other problems on the right side. We were afraid from implant failure so we decided to make insurance. Instead only the TPLO plate we placed and second DCP 3.5 mm plate. The original idea was to use 3.5 screws for the 2-nd plate, but because of the risk from caudal cortex fracture the most distal three screws was 2.7 mm

Those are intraoperative pictures and the immediately post-op pictures:

Immediately postoperator

Immediately postoperator

surgery

surgery

surgery

Video 14 day after the surgery:

X-ray pictures 45 days after the surgery:

And this is the final result – 6 months after the surgery:

240 days post op

45 days post operator

45 days post op – LL

Discussion:

The TPLO remains one of the best surgically ways to manage CrCrLR even in oversized dogs, even with concomitant diseases of the locomotor system.

The most important thing is every surgeon to make optimal assessment of the patient’s status and to remember that every case is specific.

* Публикуван материал за първи път на http://balkanvets.com/

Dr Iva Nikolova

Introduction

Cutaneous asthenia has also been called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), Dermal fragility syndrome, Dominant collagen dysplasia and Dermatosparaxis. EDS is a group of inherited connective tissue diseases ,characterized by defects in collagen production. This results in a variety of clinical signs including loose, hyperextensible, fragile skin, joint laxity and other connective tissue dysfunctions. Clinical signs include fragile skin from the time of birth, wounds that heal with thin scars, delayed wound healing, pendulous skin, hematoma and hygroma formation.

The case:

Lucko, 7-month-old shorthair male mix breed cat, was represented to the clinic with uveitis, alopecia and multiple skin ulcerative wounds, located in the regions of the dorsum, thorax and head. He was treated for few months with antibiotics, ointments and corticosteroids with no success. The skin of the cat was extremely extensible and very fragile. It was very easy for the skin to be torn but with no bleeding at all. The cat had to be handle with gentle touch and care.

The diagnostic work-up included a complete blood count, blood serum biochemistry panel and urinalysis to rule out any internal disease associated with these skin lesions. CBC showed mild leucocytosis (white blood cell count: 19.5 x 10^9, reference range: 5.0 x 10^9 –18.9 x 10^9). In biochemistry analisys the changes were CK – 225 U/L (reference range: 17.00 – 150.20 U/L) and LDH – 427 U/L (reference range: 35.10 – 224.90 U/L).

The rapid test of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and Feline Leukemia Virus (IDEX FIV/FeLV) were found to be negative. Feline Herpes Virus PCR – negative. Dermafyt KRUUSE test – negative. Microbiology of skin lesions – negative. The low-dose dexamethasone suppression test – negative for Cushing disease.

During the long-lasting treatment all the wounds healed well and Lucko was sent home. Few days later he was brought again with new skin lacerations.

Punch biopsy of the skin was performed together with dr Rares Capitan and sent for histological investigation in Romania. The histopathologic findings were compatible with Feline Cutaneous Asthenia.

Discussion:

Feline Cutaneous Asthenia is a rare, inherited disorder of collagen production in cats. There is no cure, but consistent management can allow affected cats to have long life. Owners should be trained to handle the affected cat with gentleness and to avoid traumas.

* Публикуван материал за първи път на http://balkanvets.com/