question for olly?

[Kelly+Manja]

hi olly
i noticed in another thread that you mentioned your frenchie had a back problem which paralysed him and then he had surgery which fixed the problem... just wondering what kind of back problem it was and what kind of surgery?
Dont know if you've read my posts about manja but he has been diagnosed with a spinal problem too which the vets didnt recommend surgery for (i think i described the situation under "manjas back problems" in the health section)
anyway perhaps you have some information which might be helpful for me.
Thanks

Kelly and manja

[Olivier]

Hi Kelly,

I am sorry to hear Manja has some troubles with his back. I would have to ask my mother as I don't remember well the exact problem Athlon had. It happened almost two years ago. One morning he couldn't move at all excepted his mouth and eyes. Unfortunately it happened during the weekend so even if we visited a vet on Sunday we still had to wait until Monday to see a vet specialised in spine surgery. The vet said the sooner the best, but the chance of success was 50%. Several days after the surgery, Athlon could "walk" but only using his front legs (and he was incredibly fast for going to the kitchen for lunch time as I had to run to follow him) and a few weeks after he was able to stand up and to "walk" (it was more like running slowly, as the two rear legs were moving at the same time). Now he can run fast, but still has some balance problem. His rear legs aren't strong, and they follow more than they push. If you take a look a his photos, you will see he's very muscular on the front, the shoulders especially. This is to compensate the weak rear legs.
I will read your other thread and post some photos of Athlon's back so you can see exactly where he had the surgery. According to the vet his spine wasn't in a good condition in several locations.

[Kelly+Manja]

hi olly
thanks for your reply. The vet has also told me that manjas spine has problems in several places. Manjas front end is also very muscular to compensate for his rear. His back legs just sort of help him to balance they dont really have much power except when running and they move together like you mentioned. Let me know if your mum has any more info, that would be great.

[Olivier]

Hi Kelly

Did you see my reply at http://www.bulldogworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1680#post1680?
I haven't got any reply from my mother yet but I don't believe she has more information excepted the xray.

Here are some photos I just uploaded:
A few hours after the surgery:
http://www.bulldogworld.com/photo/showphoto.php/photo/188

The surgery helped immediately for his front legs (photo taken after a few days)
http://www.bulldogworld.com/photo/showphoto.php/photo/189

He couldn't walk well at the beginning as you can see below:
http://www.bulldogworld.com/photo/showphoto.php/photo/190
After some reeducation, he could walk and run fine. It's certainly not like before (he can't jump high anymore as he used to do) but it is still very good.

In the garden, observing:
http://www.bulldogworld.com/photo/showphoto.php/photo/191

Even now, some days are better than other in term of his balance when he's standing up without moving.

[Kelly+Manja]

Thanks olly
judging from the pictures manjas problems are in the same area. I can't remember off hand but i think the vet saw a problem at t-10 and also a slight curvature near the rib cage. The thing is, that 2 vets i saw recomended leaving the spine as it was and not going through with surgery as it was too risky and too many areas were affected. Did Athlon see different vets? did they all suggest surgery? Perhaps I should get further opinions (although ive already seen 3 vets) The last vet i saw who was a neurology expert said not to bother with the myelogram. Perhaps i will find a vet that will perform one.
At the moment manja is doing ok. He keeps up with me and is in good spirits.

[Olivier]

Hi Kelly,

For Athlon, I did not really have the choice as he was fully paralysed. The choice given by the first vet was putting him to sleep or doing that surgery... so we decided for the surgery even if there was a 50% risk of failure. Also, it happened I had in my area a vet specialised only in spine surgeries, which is not common.
If your situation, I don't know what to do as well: a surgery on the spine is always risky and as long as Manja is doing well, why to take the risk? Just don't make him run when he plays or walk too long etc
A myelogram is still risky I believe but it still allows the vet to see well what's the problem on xray. Usually a regular xray doesn't show well all the little details a myelogram can show.
Try to get opinion of vets who are into spines problems if possible.
Good luck!