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This is a video about 2 patients who had the same surgical procedure (femoral head ostectomy) done by the same surgeon with only 3 days between the surgical procedures. One of the patients started rehab the second day after surgery, while the other came to physical therapy only after 2 weeks. We can see in this video the difference between the two patients.
It is a 5 year old intact male cocker which became paraplegic the day before the first rehab session. The X-ray showed nothing diagnosis wise, and the owners couldn't afford MRI or surgery, as I instructed. On the neuro exam we couldn't elicit any deep pain sensation, even though the sciatic and the patellar reflexes were present and normal. From the cutaneous trunci reflex we localized the lesion at the level T13 - L1. This was a very unexpected patient because, even with his bad prognosis, after 3 rehab sessions, the dog was walking again with very mild proprioceptive deficit.
Teddy was a 2 year old intact male Shih tzu mix that presented to us with paraparesis; two months before he was suddenly paraplegic, and after being treated conservatively and with steroids the dog started to have a very incoordinated gait with severe proprioceptive deficit, a lot of muscle atrophy and motor deficit. After 6 sessions in the clinic and with a good home program, Teddy improved consistently his gait.
A 4 year old intact male black caniche was paraplegic since one and a half months before being referred to our clinic. In fact it was one of the first patients being referred to us after completing the CCRP course. The dog was treated by several colleagues with both steroids and after a while with NSAIDS but with no results. The X-ray and MRI gave us no diagnosis but the dog was under the suspicion of IVDD. Fortunately for the dog, on the neuro exam we noticed that it had deep pain sensation, thus giving to the patient a better prognosis. We started the rehab procedures and, as we can see from the video, the dog showed significant improvements from the first session. After the 6th or 7th session the dog walked almost normally with mild proprioceptive deficit.
It is a 3 months old female kitten with a 5/5 degree lameness of the front left paw. The diagnosis was of median/ulnar nerve palsy with a very bad prognosis; the surgeon that referred the case was trying to avoid amputation of the affected limb, so we decided to try electroacupuncture and laser therapy. After five sessions, one every week, Cici was really improving her case.
The first Latin American CCRP currently takes place in Sao Paulo, Brasil. 19 highly motivated vets subscribed for the course. the instructors are Dr. Darryl Millis/UT USA being the key note speaker, Dr. Renata Diniz/Majorca Spain , Graciela Sterin/Buenos Aires Argentinia.