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February 2024
Case Report of the Month
Ependymal cysts are rare in humans and even rarer in dogs—only three veterinary cases have ever been reported. These cysts are benign neuroepithelial cysts that develop in the central nervous system. In humans they are mostly small and cause no symptoms unless they become enlarged, in which case they are surgically removed.
Attempted Surgery for a Rare Condition
Ependymal cysts are rare in humans and even rarer in dogs—only three veterinary cases have ever been reported. These cysts are benign neuroepithelial cysts that develop in the central nervous system. In humans they are mostly small and cause no symptoms unless they become enlarged, in which case they are surgically removed.
In this case, reported in the latest issue of JAAHA, a 6-year-old American Staffordshire terrier was referred with a 4-month history of incoordination, collapsing episodes with extensor rigidity, and positional left horizontal nystagmus.
The team behind this study attempted surgical resection of the cyst, which was located in the fourth ventricle of the dog’s brain. The fourth ventricle is the most inferiorly located (lowest) of four ventricles—connected cavities in the center of the brain that are filled with cerebrospinal fluid.
Read the outcome in the full report, “Successful Surgical Resection of an Ependymal Cyst in the Fourth Ventricle of a Dog,” in the January/February 2024 issue of JAAHA at jaaha.org.