Dr. Andrew Isaacs
DVM Diplomate ACVIM (Neurology)
Dogwood Veterinary Referral Center
Primary interests include intervertebral disc disease, seizure management, luxations/fractures of the spine, and surgery for brain tumors
Question
MIRTA ASKS:
Hi, once the herniated disc is cleared and “cleaned” by surgery, does that disc “seal” itself (like a scab) through the crate rest?
ANSWER
Hi Mirta,
Normal intervertebral disk anatomy: Jelly like hydrated shock absorber in the center held in place by a ring of fibrous tissue on the outside (like a finger trap).
With chondrodystrophic dogs, as the disk degenerates the center becomes dehydrated and is not able to absorb the force applied to it. And the forces are transferred to the fibers of the finger trap. If the force is great enough the fibers fail and tear allowing the degenerative disk material from the center of the disk to herniate through a rent and into the spinal canal damaging the spinal cord. Typically only a small proportion of disk material herniates into the spinal canal with the remainder staying where it should be.
Surgery is performed to remove the herniated disk material but there is no practical way to seal the rent the disk material herniated through. Over several weeks the body will lay down scar tissue sealing over the rent. However, if a dog is too active in this timeframe it can cause additional disk material to herniate through the rent.