anniemac
Well-known member
Just my two cents again, but when Riley was diagnosed, both neurologists diagnosed her SM as advanced and severe. As I mentioned before, her syrinxes were wide and covered her entire spinal cord as well as being complicated by a large cerebellar cyst (which one of the neurologists would not touch - he wanted the other one to do it because it was a very complicated surgery). She had foramen magnum decompression surgery with a titanium mesh impant to reduce the incidence of scar tissue. Medication given to her before surgery had no effect on her symptoms, but the prednisone she takes now (post-operatively) controls her symptoms very well.
Unfortunately there's no guarantee with surgery. Maybe Riley was one of the lucky ones. If so, I am very thankful and consider her my miracle dog. She could barely walk before surgery because her balance was so bad and she had weakness in her rear legs. She still has imbalance and some weakness issues, but she is managing much better post-operatively than I ever thought she would or could.
I still wouldn't discount the idea of a second opinion. It's very easy to get a disc of the MRI and take it or send it to another neurologist. It was very helpful for me to hear both neurologists have the exact same opinion about Riley's diagnosis and prognosis and made the decision to proceed with surgery that much easier. At least it might give you more information about the pros and cons of surgery for Luka and what you could realistically expect it to do for Luka. And yes he would almost for sure be on meds post-op also. I don't think I've ever heard of a dog not on post-op meds. Once the damage is done, it's done. The surgery is done to hopefully stop the progression and make it worse.
Lots to think about. And you just want the best for Luka - we all know that. There's no right or wrong. You just have to get the best information you can and then follow what your heart says is best for your dog. Good luck.
Actually I've heard of a neurologist in the usa (probably who jack saw if titanium mesh was involved) that says some do not require medication. I do know one personally he uses that the syrinx has almost disappeared. Except that one, I think that is all I heard not needing medication.
Ella was 3 almost 4 when diagnosed and had FMD surgery (without titanium mesh or any cranioplasty) and she developed scar tissue which I found out 6 months after surgery. I'm not sure in the UK but here in the usa there are some neurosurgeons so I hear of more with surgery here. Later on rileys symptoms reminded me a lot of Ella.
I opted for surgery due to her age and she was progressing fast even with medication. Her second MRI showed some progression also. I will tell you after her second MRI, her neurologist did not give a good prognosis. Maybe 3 months who knows. I was then faced with the option for a second surgery. This would have been extremely complicated and so I waited. I had to put ella to sleep may 2 but it was not due to SM, even though it was part of my decision.
So the 3 months were more like 8 and who knows it could have been years. She had changed to lyrica and like riley was also on prednisone. She did not lose ability of her hind legs but she was declining and some days would not move and I often carried her. That might be why I say what I do about the MRI because I saw that medication did help but I'm not sure without surgery I would have those months.
Riley gave me hope. Another member of the forum had an mri that dr. Shores said was one of the worst he's seen. Down complete spine multiple syrix (plural) but when they played before his surgery, he would run after a ball and ella wouldn't move. Corey scratched and ella didn't as much. So on the outside I don't know who was worse but his image might have been.
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