Page 27 - Eclipse - Autumn/Winter 2023

CLINICAL NEWS

A week in Neurology and Neurosurgery

he Neurology and Neurosurgery improvement as he embarks on a process of the few veterinary services worldwide
Service at RVC Small Animal of rehabilitation, including hydrotherapy, where this complex surgery can be offered.
Referrals sees a wide variety of supervised by our dedicated
Tcases each week. Here, the team physiotherapist and nursing team. Jeremy’s surgery took most of the day,
with a team of vets and nurses from
takes you through a week in the service, multiple specialist services involved
drawing on a selection of cases.
in his care, from the Anaesthesia and
Monday: Our week started with a Analgesia team in theatre, to our Internal
French bulldog called Lillibet, who arrived Medicine and Emergency and Critical
with some unusual muscle twitches on Care colleagues after surgery. Jeremy
the left side of her face. An MRI scan of recovered smoothly from his procedure
Lillibet’s head revealed that the cause and was observed closely in the
was a nasty infection of her left inner ear, following days.
extending around part of her brain.
Thursday: Lovely Reg, a nine-year-
old dachshund, presented following
several days of back pain and hind
limb weakness. In chondrodystrophic
(short-legged) dog breeds, such as
dachshunds, this is very characteristic for
an intervertebral disc extrusion.

Wednesday: The day was a big one for
Jeremy, a 13-year-old male cat undergoing
transsphenoidal hypophysectomy –
surgery to remove a tumour in his pituitary
gland close to his brain. Jeremy’s tumour
had been producing excessive amounts
of growth hormone, causing the condition
acromegaly and uncontrollable diabetes
mellitus. Fortunately, with our expert
multidisciplinary team, the RVC is one

Unfortunately, his ability to walk
deteriorated further and a CT scan of
She was therefore transferred to our his spine revealed a large intervertebral
Soft Tissue Surgery Service, where she disc extrusion in his lower back. To
underwent surgery to resect her infected relieve the compression of Reg’s spinal
ear canal, along with the infectious cord, he was taken to theatre where
material. Following this, Lillibet was our skilled neurosurgeons performed
prescribed a course of antibiotics to a decompressive hemilaminectomy to
continue to battle the infection.
remove the extruded disc.
Tuesday: A sweet West Highland Reg recovered very well from his surgery
white terrier, Mortimer, presented having and was already attempting to walk the
suddenly lost the use of his back legs following day. He subsequently had
while in the garden. Following an urgent physical therapy, under the watchful eyes
MRI scan, he was diagnosed with a of our nursing team and physiotherapist.
fibrocartilaginous embolism, a stroke-like
lesion causing damage to the spinal cord. Friday: A seven-year-old male Border
collie, Alf, was referred following a sudden
Given the severity of his signs, he onset of a head tilt and being unable to
was given a guarded prognosis for a stand. On examination, it was clear to
full recovery. However, Mortimer is a our neurologists that Alf had suffered a
determined character, and we have very sudden insult to a part of his nervous
our fingers crossed that he will show
system involved in controlling balance.

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