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Treatment of a prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc in a ferret
Author(s) -
Lu D.,
Lamb C. R.,
PattersonKane J. C.,
Cappello R.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of small animal practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1748-5827
pISSN - 0022-4510
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2004.tb00195.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anatomy , lumbar , radiography , paraplegia , lumbar vertebrae , proprioception , spinal cord , surgery , psychiatry , physical therapy
A seven‐month‐old, male ferret had acute paraplegia and radiographs showed signs of disc prolapse between the second and third lumbar vertebrae (L2/3). Hemilaminectomy was performed to decompress the spinal cord. Histological examination revealed that the extradural material was consistent with annulus fibrosus and the L2/3 articular facets were enlarged as a result of bone remodelling. The ferret became ambulatory one month postoperatively. Five months postoperatively, the ferret had normal posture with mild proprioceptive deficits in the pelvic limbs, and fusion of the L2 and L3 vertebral bodies.