Diagnostic and Treatment of Spinal Fracture and Luxation in Italian Wolves ( Canis lupus italicus )

The medical records of 14 Italian wolves ( Canis lupus italicus ) with a vertebral fracture or luxation (SFL) between C1 and L7 treated at Ospedale Veterinario San Michele from 2017 and 2022 were reviewed. The most common cause of SFL was “road traffic accident”. Neurological signs were graded from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals
Main Authors: Domenico Fugazzotto, Chiara Costa Devoti, Maria Pia Dumas, Chiara Teani, Elisa Berti, Offer Zeira
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022
Subjects:
wolf
dog
spinal fracture
luxation
spine stabilization
Veterinary medicine
SF600-1100
Zoology
QL1-991
Canis lupus
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12213044
https://doaj.org/article/cf8650e2e29b40fbaadb16406ea627a2
Description
Summary:The medical records of 14 Italian wolves ( Canis lupus italicus ) with a vertebral fracture or luxation (SFL) between C1 and L7 treated at Ospedale Veterinario San Michele from 2017 and 2022 were reviewed. The most common cause of SFL was “road traffic accident”. Neurological signs were graded from 0 to 6 using a modified Frankel scale. Spinal fractures occurred in C1–C5 in 1 case, in T3–L3 in 11 cases and in L4–L7 in 2 cases. Six wolves were euthanized without treatment because they presented paraplegia without deep pain perception (DPP). Two animals with motor function were treated conservatively, and later on one of them was euthanized because of neurological impairment. Six wolves were surgically treated. Seven wolves had good neurological recovery, and six of them were released into the wild. Our results suggest that wolves with DPP before surgery may have a good functional recovery.

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