Alfie had a disc extrusion

Alfie presented to Vet Extra Neurology in May 2016 with an acute onset of back pain and hind limb ataxia due to a suspected thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion.

An MRI scan identified the extrusion between the last thoracic vertebrae (T13) and the first lumbar vertebrae (L1), the compression of Alfie’s spinal cord was causing his clinical signs and therefore surgical decompression was warranted.

Jacques performed a right-sided Hemilaminectomy to decompress Alfie’s spinal cord and then generated the two disc spaces immediately behind the affected disc space in order to limit the chance of recurrence at those sites.

Alfie remained within the hospital post operatively for 4 days so that the clinical team could monitor and control any pain he might have. He made good progress over his stay but the majority of improvement was seen at home with his fantastic family.

He was a lovely patient on the ward and his family tell us he continues to do well. From the photos you can see he likes his picture taken.

Take care Alfie and family.
Hugs from the vet extra team.