Magnetic resonance imaging revealed spinal cord compression due to intervertebral disc herniation of Hansen type I and II in the thoracolumbar vertebral column in two middle-aged coatis (Nasua nasua) with chronic progressive paraparesis. Surgical treatment included hemilaminectomy and partial corpectomy in one and dorsal laminectomy in the other coati. Both coatis recovered well after surgery. One showed unremarkable gait 6 and 15 months post surgery, while the other one suffered from recurrence of paraparesis leading to euthanasia because of deterioration of neurological signs 20 months after the first surgery. Necropsy revealed formation of a laminectomy membrane compressing the spinal cord. Histopathological signs of spinal cord injury and findings of degenerative processes in the intervertebral disc were comparable to those described in dogs. In conclusion, this case report shows for the first time that surgical intervention seems to be a useful and safe treatment in chronic intervertebral disc herniation in coatis, but relapses are possible.
Zusammenfassung
Zwei Nasenbären mittleren Alters wurden aufgrund einer chronisch progressiven Paraparese vorgestellt. Mittels Magnetresonanztomographie ließ sich jeweils eine durch einen thorakolumbalen Bandscheibenvorfall (Hansen Typ I bzw. II) verursachte Rückenmarkskompression nachweisen. Die chirurgische Dekompression erfolgte in einem Fall mittels Hemilaminektomie und einer partiellen Korpektomie, im zweiten Fall durch eine dorsale Laminektomie. Beide Nasenbären hatten eine komplikationslose Genesungsphase. Ein Tier zeigte 6 und 15 Monate nach der Operation ein unauffälliges Gangbild, während das zweite Tier später aufgrund einer erneut auftretenden Paraparese und progressiver klinischer Verschlechterung 20 Monate nach dem ersten operativen Eingriff euthanasiert wurde. Bei der pathologischen Untersuchung wurde Narbengewebe festgestellt, das das Rückenmark komprimierte. Die histopathologischen Befunde eines Rückenmarkstraumas und die degenerativen Bandscheibenveränderungen waren vergleichbar mit Befunden bei Hunden. Erstmals werden hier das klinische Bild und die erfolgreiche Therapie chronischer Bandscheibenvorfälle sowie Bildung kompressiven Narbengewebes als mögliche Komplikation beim Nasenbären beschrieben.
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