MRI of Frenchie disc disease

Front Vet Sci 2023

Background: Intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE) is a common neurological condition in French bulldogs (FBD) that causes spinal cord compression and pain.

Study: The study aimed to evaluate the neurological grade, MRI findings, surgical findings and short-term recovery of FBD with IVDE treated surgically at a single institution.

Methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of 39 FBD diagnosed with IVDE between January 2020 and March 2022. The data included neurological grade, MRI characteristics, surgical approach, intraoperative findings and time to improvement.

Results: The study found that cervical IVDE (C-IVDE) was less severe than thoracolumbar IVDE (TL-IVDE) in terms of neurological grade, extent of extruded disc material, and surgical intervention. The extruded disc material was also different in signal intensity between C-IVDE and TL-IVDE. The time to improvement was shorter for C-IVDE than TL-IVDE, and all dogs that did not improve were grade 5 TL-IVDEs.

Limitations: The study had some limitations, such as the small sample size, the lack of long-term follow-up, the possible selection bias, and the absence of histopathological confirmation of the disc material.

Conclusions: The study concluded that FBD with IVDE have different clinical features and outcomes depending on the location of the disc extrusion. C-IVDE is less severe and has a better prognosis than TL-IVDE. MRI is useful for diagnosing and characterizing IVDE in FBD.

Mid-sagittal T2w images at the level of C2-C3 IVD (left) and L2-L3 IVD (right). The red arrows evaluate the longitudinal extent of the EIVDM within the vertebral canal.

How did we do?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Disclaimer: The summary generated in this email was created by an AI large language model. Therefore errors may occur. Reading the article is the best way to understand the scholarly work. The figure presented here remains the property of the publisher or author and subject to the applicable copyright agreement. It is reproduced here as an educational work. If you have any questions or concerns about the work presented here, reply to this email.

The View Box runs on AI and caffeine. If you want to buy me a coffee, feel free to upgrade. A coffee in my cafeteria is $2.07. If you want to buy me one coffee pick a yearly subscription. If you want to buy one a month, pick the monthly subscription.

There are no benefits to premium subscription.