Spinal surgery in dogs and cats is a specialised discipline in veterinary surgery. 
Experience in dealing with spinal cases is vital to be able to manage all the issues. Not alone is the surgery itself complex, but the postoperative care, prognosis and client difficulties make the overall treatment a minefield. Neurological tissue is the slowest tissue in the body to heal and predicting how long or even if recovery will occur is not an absolute exact science.
Disc disease is the most frequent reason to do spinal decompressive surgery. Compression of the spinal 
cord by extruded or protruding disc material can cause symptoms ranging from pain to complete paralysis. Some breeds, such as the dachshund, have a premature degeneration and calcification of the disc core which leads to movement of the disc material. Successful decompression surgery can be achieved by operating before permanent damage is caused to the spinal cord. So the length of time between onset of symptoms and surgical decompression is extremely crucial.
Surgical stabilisation and or decompression would be needed to treat cases of cervical spondylopathy and lumbosacral spondylopathy. These are degenerative disorders and can involve bone or soft tissues structures leading to spinal or nerve root compression.
Atlantoaxial subluxation is frequently seen in toy breeds of dogs such as Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier, Pomeranian and Maltese Terrier. These dogs quite frequently present in a collapsed state. Surgical stabilisation using pins and screws is a proven technique and has a good prognosis depending on the severity of the symptoms preoperatively. 
Stabilisation of vertebral luxations/dislocations or fractures is frequently possible, especially if the degree of spinal cord damage has not gone beyond the presence of deep pain sensation in the toes. Deep pain sensation is the final neurological function to disappear before complete loss of spinal cord function. The vertebral column can be stabilised with pins, plates, screws, and bone cement.
Tumours of the spinal cord can be surgically removed depending on location, severity of symptoms, and if it is a benign growth not within the substance of the spinal cord. This usually means that tumours of the meninges or nerve root can be operable.
There are other conditions that can involve surgical treatment such as meningeal/arachnoid cysts
, deformed vertebral column, spinal dysraphrism, discospondylitis, osteochondramatosis/multiple cartilaginous exotoses, dermoid sinus, mucoploysaccharoidosis, spina bifida, calcinosis circumscritpa, and myelodysplasia. In those dogs having any of the above diseases then the decision to opt for surgical intervention would have to be decided on a case by case basis.
It is worth mentioning diseases characterised by degenerative myelopathy, even though they are not surgical cases,
as they may be present along with other conditions thereby confusing the clinical picture. There is myelin degeneration of the thoracolumbar spinal cord and is seen most frequently in German Shepherd Dogs. There are a number of rare diseases specific to certain breeds such as leukoencephalomyopathy of Rottweilers which can occur as well.
You can view more information on Spinal Surgery in Dogs by going to our sister site DogSpinalSurgery.ie
