Abstract
Objective:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of surgical decompression and rehabilitation therapy in dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disk herniation (IVDH).Materials and Methods:After surgery, physiotherapeutic rehabilitation was performed by a combination of electrotherapy, infrared therapy, training for standing, deep tendon reflex, and aquatic treadmill exercise. A total of 186 dogs were selected from the hospital records and included in two groups: the rehabilitated group (RG, n = 96) and non-rehabilitated group (NRG, n = 90). Dogs in each group were subdivided into three groups based on a pre-operative clinical severity grading system and those in grades 2–4 were included in this study. Post-operative neurologic functions, unassisted standing, walking, and the success rate of both groups were evaluated and comparedResults:Overall, 86.46% (83/96) of dogs had a successful neurologic outcome in the RG group, which was significantly (p < 0.01) higher than the NRG group 52.22% (47/90). Interestingly, the success rate differed when the preoperative grading system was considered. The success rates of grades 2, 3, and 4 were 97.14% (34/35), 97.33% (42/45), and 43.75% (7/16), respectively, in the rehabilitated groups, whereas in the non-rehabilitated groups, success rates were 82.35% (28/34), 51.85% (14/27), and 17.24% (5/29), respectively. The differences in success rates among the groups according to grading were 14.79%, 41.48%, and 26.51%, respectively, indicating that the proposed rehabilitation therapy is remarkably advantageous for increasing the success rate.Conclusion:Rehabilitation therapy after surgical decompression of thoracolumbar IVDH improves neurologic functions and increases the success rate, especially when the preoperative pathological condition is severe.
Highlights
Intervertebral disks are fibrocartilaginous pads between each of the vertebrae in the spinal column, which play an important role in regulating slight movement, flexibility, and stability of the spinal column and in holding the vertebrae together, in addition to acting as shock absorbers
Surgical decompression with removal of the herniated disk material is the goal of surgical treatment for Intervertebral disk herniation (IVDH) with severe clinical signs
We found that rehabilitation therapy after surgical decompression resulted in early recovery and was reflected by unassisted standing and walking and improved Olby score (OS) when compared with the non-rehabilitated group
Summary
Intervertebral disks are fibrocartilaginous pads between each of the vertebrae in the spinal column, which play an important role in regulating slight movement, flexibility, and stability of the spinal column and in holding the vertebrae together, in addition to acting as shock absorbers. Hansen type-II IVDH can be defined as partial ruptures and disorganization of the AF, and bulging of the NP, AF, and DLL toward the dorsomedian (left) or dorsolateral (right) side It is commonly observed in nonchondrodystrophic dog breeds [1,6]. Several studies have reported that surgery alleviates pain intensity and corrects neurological deficits, and overall functional success has been reported in 70%–90% of cases [8,12,13], and the recurrence rate was observed to be 20%–28% in dogs [13] Many of these survival dogs suffer from lack of strength and quadrupedal coordination [14]. The main objective of this study was to investigate the benefits of well-structured rehabilitation physiotherapy after surgery for thoracolumbar disk disease and to retrospectively compare neurologic function over 5 years (2012–2017.05) to improve understanding as well as long-term outcomes
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