At North Coast Veterinary Specialists (NCVS), our vets respond to a variety of unique situations to help their patients. This case study exemplifies our diagnostic capabilities and is a tie-in to all of our services here at NCVS. Nash was a recent patient of ours who was presented through NCVS with acute ascending paralysis.
How did our veterinary specialists confront this situation?
Initially, he was searched for ticks and was administered tick antiserum. When the emergency department was satisfied that he was not at risk for tick paralysis, he was then transferred to small animal medicine. On a neurological examination, it was discovered that he was paralysed with reduced reflexes including withdrawal reflexes in all four limbs which were consistent with peripheral neuropathy or a junctional neuropathy.
It was becoming clear that his symptoms were leaning towards idiopathic vestibular syndrome. In order to confirm the diagnosis, he was transported to a human hospital that NCVS use to help with MRI’s for dogs and cats. This came back negative and was followed with a CSF tap which was submitted to the lab for further analysis. This too came back negative. During this process, he also developed a megaesophagus which was related to his neuropathy and was unable to eat normally on his own. This is not uncommon for patients with neuropathy. This disease tends to be a self-limiting disease and there were hopes that it would start to resolve on its own.
How did we respond with our veterinary specialist services?
Nash was showing signs of improvement but was unable to feed himself normally. A number of options were given to the owners which included trying to feed him upright and hand feeding. After discussing the pros and cons the owner elected to place a percutaneous endogastric gastric tube, which enabled the doctors to take a closer look at his stomach and oesophagus endoscopically. This tube allowed us to feed him as well as bypass his oesophagus.
He started to show signs of improvement in his neurological status. Most dogs with this disease tend to recover with time and physiotherapy. After 14 days with the tube, it was removed, and he had resumed oral feeding and was managing this very well.
This is just one of the cases we manage at NCVS which includes a range of advanced diagnostic and treatment options. If you have any questions or queries about this case study, please contact our team.
