Atlantoaxial epidural abscess secondary to grass awn migration in a dog.
A two-year-old female Lucerne Hound was presented with a one-week history of signs of progressive neck pain, inappetence, apathy, and an elevated rectal temperature. Findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were consistent with a foreign body abscess in the epidural space at the level of the first and second cervical vertebrae. A left-sided dorso-lateral atlantoaxial approach was performed, revealing an epidural abscess containing a grass awn. The clinical signs resolved within three days of surgery and the dog made a full recovery. This case report shows that grass awns can migrate to the atlantoaxial region in dogs and MRI findings lead to a suspicion of caudo-cranial migration within the spinal canal.
Elisa Linon, University of Bern, Vetsuisse Faculty, Department of Small Animal Surgery, Länggassstrasse 128, 3012 Bern, Switzerland, Phone: +41 31 631 2315, Fax: +41 31 631 22 75, E-mail: elisa.linon@vetsuisse.unibe.ch.
E
E
Linon
U
U
Geissbühler
P
P
Karli
F
F
Forterre
D000818:Animals; D001268:Atlanto-Axial Joint; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D004285:Dogs; D020802:Epidural Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000662:veterinary; D006109:Poaceae; D012639:Seeds
Epidural abscess; MRI; atlantoaxial; dog; foreign body