DORSAL LAMINECTOMY TO RELIEVE SPINAL CORD COMPRESSION IN A CAPTIVE SYRIAN BEAR (URSUS ARCTOS SYRIACUS)

A 19-yr-old captive male Syrian bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) presented with a right hind limb lameness that progressed to nonambulatory paraparesis over the course of 2 wk. When night enclosure confinement and a short course of glucocorticoids and antibiotics did not lead to improvement, radiographs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
Main Authors: Ariela Rosenzweig Büeler, Yael Merbl, Yishai Kushnir, Orit Chai, Itzhak Aizenberg, Igal Horowitz, Einat Matalon, Doron Tam, Merav H. Shamir
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: American Association of Zoo Veterinarians 2016
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1638/2015-0265.1
Description
Summary:A 19-yr-old captive male Syrian bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) presented with a right hind limb lameness that progressed to nonambulatory paraparesis over the course of 2 wk. When night enclosure confinement and a short course of glucocorticoids and antibiotics did not lead to improvement, radiographs were performed, followed by cerebrospinal fluid analysis and myelography, revealing a dynamic spinal cord compression at the level of T2–T3. Dorsal laminectomy of both T2 and T3 was performed to allow decompression. The bear recovered uneventfully with first sign of neurological improvement apparent at 10 days postoperatively. Following 6 mo of rehabilitation the bear was walking and using his hind limbs normally.