Hemivertrabrae In Pugs / Small Toy Breeds

[basilthepug]

Our 3 year old pug has recently been diagnosed with hemivertrabrae, a deformaity of the spine when (a) vertebrae/s put pressure on the spinal cord. It means that he drags his hind legs, and could eventually become paralysed/incontinent. Our vet has recommended intrusive surgery to stabilise his back which could cost upwards of $5000+ and is not a guaranteed procedure (hasn't been seen much throughout Australia). We love our pug so much that we would go to any lengths to help him.. We'd love to hear from others who have had this difficult decision face them - did you choose surgery and how did you go with the after surgery care? Or are there any other options that we should explore for our boy? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Salukifan]

Very sorry to hear of your boy's condition.

I'd be wanting a specialist neurological consult before any surgery. Have you seen a specialist?

[Dogsfevr]

I can't comment on your dogs issue but i have had a dog who did have back surgery ,There is a long story to this & the surgery was performed without consent .

My boy came out worse than he went in .We hadn'y given permission for the surgery as we wanted to ffully understand the tests results the options ,sadly the Uni(teaching hospital) took it upon themselves to do it & stuffed it big time hecould walk in but not walk out ,

Like you we would do anything BUT it was important to us to understand what the pros/cons where & the future & what rehab & lifestyle changes we needed to make.

Luckily for us mums boss allowed her to take him to work as he couldn't be left at home ,he needed assistance toileting after the surgery ,we had to change any social activties we had for over 6 months & his rehab was a crucial part each day .

After nearly 9 months of hard work he could walk around himself but till the day he was PTS he was a big commitment .

To be honest we would never have picked the surgery in our dogs case ,the issue he had rest,drugs & gentle rehab should have been the first option as the issue he had wasn't a rush to go invasive ,we weren't given this choice .

My advice get second opinions,do not be made to feel guilty that having the surgery is a must be your dogs advocate & ask lots of questions & if you don't understand the answers tell them to explain again & again until you get ,some like to blind you with science & make you feel guilty .

Make sure you understand the after care & what will be required ,$5000 plus & maybe time off work can end up alot of money for some people & there is nothing wrong with being honest with what you can/can't afford .

Ask about options to go surgery free for aslong as possible,

Look into acupuncture & Bowen to keep his whole body in good condition ,his other muscles will be taking on the extra load so taking care of them is very important .Look into swimming .

If you have a very good neutral who can be your extra ears & offer a sensible approach take them with you .

Take list of questions

[persephone]

yep get a specialist consultation soon - then , with the information , make some decisions. IMO it is much better to have good , accurate information/prognosis/options with which to start.

I too suggest acupuncture ...

perhaps - if things really come down to needing drastic intervention ..and you can not go the surgery route, but want to keep him mobile - what about one of THESE?

Best of luck with it all .....

[~Anne~]

Hemivertebrae is a problem in the pug breed. It is linked to the tail curl which is a deformity of the natural canine tail.

Sorry, but is personally have been luck enough not have owned a pug with his problem although I've seen a few with it and heard of several more.

I'd suggest you join a couple of pug specific forums where you will be able to speak to other pug owners who have, or currently are, experiencing the same thing.

Message me if you would like some recommendations.

[~Anne~]

Oh, and if you haven't already and assuming your pug is a pedigree, you need to contact the breeder. They should be recording these issues and ensuring they breed away from them.

[cavNrott]

My dog is not a Pug, he is a Cavalier who had invasive spinal surgery after a ruptured disk caused pressure on his spine and rendered him paralysed from the shoulders down. No fall or accident caused this, it just happened. The messages from the brain were not getting past the area of the pressure on his spinal cord so there was complete paralysis of his hind end.

He had imaging that clearly showed the problem and this dog would never have walked again without intricate spinal surgery. No surgery is a guaranteed procedure. You need to trust that your specialist has the expertise and experience to perform a successful surgery. In my dog's case there was much debris to be cleared away from around the spinal cord so it was a delicate procedure.

It was a fairly lengthy surgery as most spinal surgery is. You can rest assured that the surgeon wants a successful outcome for his surgery. You both hope for the best knowing that anything can go wrong but also that everything can go right and usually does.

After a short rehabilitation period where my boy was a bit wobbly as he learned to walk again and needed me to express his bladder for a few days he recovered perfectly and in no time he was walking, running and playing normally.

The surgery was expensive, it cost $7000. This was 4 1/2 years ago so it's probably more expensive now but it was worth every cent and more. My much loved dog is living a normal life.

[Pjrt]

If you are in SA I would highly recommend Dr. Matthew Condon at CHIROPET for chiropractic & acupuncture.

[*kirty*]

Definitely don't see a chiro if the dog has a compressed spinal cord! See a specialist and go from there. Perhaps shoot an email to Pug Rescue Vic - I think they have seen a few cases.

Edited July 6, 2014 by *kirty*