Retrospective Analysis of Dogs Under 15 kg with Cervical Disc Extrusion Treated with Ventral Slot Decompression

This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate small dogs weighing under 15 kg with cervical intervertebral disc extrusion who underwent ventral slot decompression performed by a single surgeon. Medical records of 45 dogs were reviewed over 6.8 years. Of the purebred dogs (34/45), the majority were chondrodystrophic, with the highest percentage being dachshunds (10/34), followed by Lhasa Apsos (5/34), poodles (5/34), Yorkshire terriers (4/34) and beagles (4/34). There were also crossbreed dogs (11/45). The mean age was 8.5 years, and the mean duration of clinical signs before surgery was 34.16 days. At the preoperative assessment, all dogs had neck pain, with only this symptom in three dogs. Nine had ambulatory tetraparesis and 33 non-ambulatory tetraparesis. Initial neurologic status and preoperative ambulation showed a moderate positive correlation. The complementary diagnosis was made by magnetic resonance imaging (n=25), computed tomography myelography (n=10), computed tomography (n=8), magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography (n=1), and myelography (n=1). The disc herniation was located at the C2– C3 (n=15), C3–C4 (n=10), C4-C5 (n=7), C5–C6 (n=9), C6–C7 (n=2), and C7-T1 (n=2). Intraoperative complications included venous sinus injury (n=4), agonal breathing (n=2), and vertebral artery injury that resulted in death (n=1). Postoperative complications included the requirement of respiratory support (n=1), worsening ataxia (n=2), neck pain aggravation (n=2), and surgical wound infection (n=4), with one euthanasia due to venous sinus injury. Three other animals died or were euthanized due to reasons unrelated to the surgical technique. At 90 days postoperative, 36 animals were normal and three showed ambulatory tetraparesis. In conclusion, dogs weighing under 15 kg treated with ventral slot decompression had a surgical complication rate of 4.8%.Cite this article as: Gonçalves Martins de Siqueira, E., Canevese Rahal, S., Melchert, A., Pereira da Silva, J., & Caetano Caldeira, F. M. (2025). Retrospective analysis of dogs Under 15 kg with cervical disc extrusion treated with ventral slot decompression. Acta Veterinaria Eurasia, 51, 0071, doi: 10.5152/actavet.2025.24071.