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When can my dog go home after spinal surgery?
The average hospital stay is 5 days after surgery. Patients are discharged when no longer requiring injectable pain killers and, for most cases, when they able to urinate voluntarily and starting to show signs of recovery
How long before my paralysed dog will walk again?
This is very variable - typically recovery occurs several weeks. Some cases improve more quickly and, sadly, in some cases there is no improvement. The success rate of spinal surgery at Fitzpatrick Referrals is ~ 90%.
The average hospital stay is 5 days after surgery. Patients are discharged when no longer requiring injectable pain killers and, for most cases, when they able to urinate voluntarily and starting to show signs of recovery
How long before my paralysed dog will walk again?
This is very variable - typically recovery occurs several weeks. Some cases improve more quickly and, sadly, in some cases there is no improvement. The success rate of spinal surgery at Fitzpatrick Referrals is ~ 90%.
Some dogs continue to enjoy life in carts however a limiting factor can be bladder control. Many patients paraplegic after spinal injury have to have their bladder emptied manually or they have an automatic bladder (i.e. involuntarily empties when full like a baby)
Freddy lost the use of his hindlimbs following a disease called degenerative myelopathy. However this didn’t stop him enjoying a full life
Will the problem recur?
If the spinal surgery has been successful then it is unusual for there to be a problem with the same disc. However there may be a problem with other remaining degenerate discs - limited follow up studies have suggested a recurrence rate of 6-13% with Dachshunds being more at risk of recurrence. If possible other “at risk” IVD are fenestrated at the original surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence.
How common is disc disease in Dachshunds?
A Finnish study (Lappalainen and others) looked at 124 randomly selected miniature dachshunds, representing 4.5% of the population and found calcified discs in 75.9% of the longhaired miniature dachshunds and in 86.7% of the wirehaired ones. The occurrence of signs associated with IVD was 16.5% in longhaired and 15.6% in wirehaired miniature dachshunds. The occurrence of signs of IVD in dogs with calcified discs was 20.0% and 17.9% in longhaired and wirehaired miniature dachshunds, respectively.
Reference: Lappalainen A, Norrgård M, Alm K, Snellman M, Laitinen O. Calcification of the intervertebral discs and curvature of the radius and ulna: a radiographic survey of Finnish miniature dachshunds Acta Vet Scand. 2001;42(2):229-36
If the spinal surgery has been successful then it is unusual for there to be a problem with the same disc. However there may be a problem with other remaining degenerate discs - limited follow up studies have suggested a recurrence rate of 6-13% with Dachshunds being more at risk of recurrence. If possible other “at risk” IVD are fenestrated at the original surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence.
How common is disc disease in Dachshunds?
A Finnish study (Lappalainen and others) looked at 124 randomly selected miniature dachshunds, representing 4.5% of the population and found calcified discs in 75.9% of the longhaired miniature dachshunds and in 86.7% of the wirehaired ones. The occurrence of signs associated with IVD was 16.5% in longhaired and 15.6% in wirehaired miniature dachshunds. The occurrence of signs of IVD in dogs with calcified discs was 20.0% and 17.9% in longhaired and wirehaired miniature dachshunds, respectively.
Reference: Lappalainen A, Norrgård M, Alm K, Snellman M, Laitinen O. Calcification of the intervertebral discs and curvature of the radius and ulna: a radiographic survey of Finnish miniature dachshunds Acta Vet Scand. 2001;42(2):229-36
