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Elton is getting MRI

anniemac

Well-known member
I took Elton for consult today and dr. Brofman thought his neck was sensitive, something with paws, I showed him video of what I felt was fly catchers and he is unsure and said could be a seizure. He asked if I was able to distract him. I thought he seemed not very bothered in video.

Anyway, he would like to have MRI. I have insurance and I'm going to go Friday. Giving the odds of CM and SM, I would be surprised if clear. This way we will know if he has PSOM or something else. He's been very snappy and scratching until he yelps.

I knew going into getting a rescue I might have this happen. I just hope he can be in less pain.
 
Sorry you have to go through this with Elton. We'll keep our fingers and paws crossed and hope for the best possible outcome. Keep us informed.
 
Goodness,that was the last thing I expected to see...
Will you know the results on Friday?
Sins
 
Big hugs to you Anne, let us know if we can do anything for you or Elton...in the mean time, I will be sending thoughts and prayers.
 
Oh Anne, aim so sorry to hear this. I will br praying it's not what you are thinking, and maybe something simple like allergies, which are so hard to tie down.

Just think positive okay? Be strong, and know that people care and I will be saying many prayers for you and Elton!
 
Hi Anne, I don't log on too much anymore. I am so sorry to hear that there are concerns about Elton. I will be praying and sending positive thoughts his way on Friday. Either way he is in great hands with a wonderful mommy like you.
 
Anne,
So sorry you are having these fears again, I pray you dont have to go through the heartache of SM again but if you do I know Elton will be so lucky to have you by his side.
I'll have everything crossed tomorrow for a good result.
Mel XX
 
dr. Brofman thought his neck was sensitive, something with paws,

"Something with paws" - are you talking about proprioception deficits? - when the vet turns a foot over so that the dog is standing on the top of his foot and they watch to see how quickly the dog corrects the improper foot position? Proprioception deficits can also be the result of disk disease and other things.

Pat
 
I am so sad to hear about Elton. You already had to deal with so much last year.

Yes Ebony had what Pat is talking about and when they MRI Scanned they found 3 degenerated disks and CM/SM.

Praying for a good out come tomorrow.
 
Wow! Dr. Brofman said Elton does NOT have any malformation at all! He said he is in the 1-2%. He is putting him on anti seizure medication because he feels the video I took is him having a seizure. He is sending his MRI to a radiologist to have another look to make sure because it is so rare.

Karlin, would his DNA or MRI be useful for research? I don't have a pedigree or anything but didn't know since he has NO CM! (or SM)
 
Wow,Isn't that just the best news !
So pleased that he had a great scan and that you don't have to deal with this again.
Sins
 
I think maybe Clare might want to check the MRI regardless. There are either a surprising number of dogs without the malformation in the US at the moment, or the neurologists there, who are not as familiar with the malformation as some of the original researchers, are misdiagnosing either due to head position or whatever (and I have to say that radiolof=gists are actually LESS skillful than neurologists familiar with dog MRIs for this condition, in my experience -- I know several radiologists who have misread scans and missed the malformation when even I could see it on one or two of those scans -- dog MRIs read completely differently than human MRIs for the malformation, according to Clare). It is becoming a bit of a concern as a lot of breeders in the US -- actually just about all of them -- self grade their dogs (as there's no equivalent grading programme in the US -- the clubs really need to push for one!) and are not likely to submit scans to the UK grading programme. Hence a lot of misinformation about clear dogs and clear lines is likely going about. The dogs are too closely connected to UK dogs for there to be any reason for there to be these clusters of clear dogs in the US so I a sure there would be interest by researchers to read MRIs and see if they too would grade these dogs as malformation-clear.

If he doesn't have the malformation the DNA may be useful but as there's no pedigree that may not be the case -- you will need to ask Clare directly.

I am sorry he is having seizures but hopefully that is something more easy to control. Kind of wonder why they didn't try medication for seizures though as MRIs are so costly? It would have seemed one of the things to eliminate first. But on the other hand you have more information now.

This issue of whether a malformation is there could be important as there's a mistaken assumption that only dogs with severe malformations have pain when actually, a lot of the dogs with CM pain have been dogs with quite mild malformations.

This isn;t to question the skills of individual neurologists, but as with any illness, not everyone around the world is always on the same level of familiarity with diagnosing aspects and the malformation is far more complex and can be extremely subtle and even head psoition on a scan can make a difference in visibility. Interpreting the malformation is more a skill than syrinxes, which are easier to see.
 
He also did a spinal tap. He does have a little bit of hydrocephalus and I asked if he had dialated ventricles and he does. He showed me the MRI and I could see the cloudiness.

So he is waiting for the spinal tap to see what's going on if anything. Thank you for your responses. There looks like fluid in his brain and that maybe what's causing some issues. They will know more from spinal tap.

On a plus side, the cardiologist said his heart sounded good.
 
Anne, that is fabulous news. I am going to keep a positive attitude, and continue to pray that they find out exactly what is going on with Elton. But the fact that he doesn't have SM is major.

Keep us up to date.
 
I would bet he has mild CM especially since he has fluid in his brain and dialated ventricles (I asked thinking of Kate H). I just don't like how he scratches himself until he yelps. I just hope they figure out what is causing him discomfort.

He wants to treat the seizure activity first then look at the hydrocephalus?
 
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