Abstract

  Pneumocephalus and pneumorrhachis are the accumulation of air within the cranial cavity and vertebral canal respectively being uncommon and life-threatening complications after craniotomies and few reports have been published in the veterinary literature.

  An 8-year-old crossbreed male dog was presented due to the development of two generalized tonic-clonic seizures during the same night. The MRI of the brain showed a right frontal-olfactory mass compatible with a meningioma which was confirmed by pathology. Eight days after the transfrontal craniotomy the dog presented neurological signs that progressed to a decerebrate posture and mydriasis in 24h. An intraventricular pneumocephalus and subarachnoid pneumorrhachis were detected in a second MRI. Immediate reoperation was carried out. At 8 weeks after reoperation, a third MRI was performed in which a complete resolution of the pneumocephalus was observed. After ten months without showing any neurological sign, this patient was euthanized due to status epilepticus by the referral veterinarian.

  Close monitoring, early identification of postsurgical clinical signs and imaging features are critical in order to treat this condition successfully and good long term prognosis may be achieved.

Keywords: Pneumocephalus; Pneumorrhachis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Craniotomy; Meningioma; Dog

References

Citation

Citation: X Raurell., et al. “Intraventricular Tension Pneumocephalus and Pneumorrhachis in a Dog; Diagnosis, Treatment, and MRI Follow-Up”. Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 2.3 (2020): 57-60.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 X Raurell., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.