![]() Seattle Slew underwent two basket surgeries and has sired multiple offspring that have cervical arthritis. Famous horses known to have completed basket surgery include Seattle Slew. No complete cure for the condition is known. Some horses are able to return to work, with a few able to reach competitive levels. One method is the use of titanium baskets, placed to fuse the vertebrae, thereby preventing compression of the spinal cord. While some cases are successfully treated with nutritional and medical management, surgery is also used. With advanced stages of the disease, affected horses are prone to falling due to extreme listing behind and often demonstrate difficulty getting up from lying down, or reluctance to lie down at all. Horses with wobbler disease or cervical anomalies can demonstrate difficult to diagnose lamenesses that come and go, and often are not resolved by veterinary blocks to the limbs. They also may demonstrate uneven strides with one leg intermittently shorter in step. A common ataxic symptom is the horse will list to one side behind. They also may show overall stiffness especially in the neck and back and may not move fluidly. ![]() Horses with wobbler disease often exhibit ataxia (implying dysfunction of parts of the nervous system), show weakness in the hindquarters, or may knuckle over in their fetlocks, particularly in the rear. Other forms, such as cervical arthritis and equine wobbles anemia, are concentrated in certain breeds and demonstrate possible hereditary factors. Mounting evidence is growing that points to CVM and other cervical and vertebral disorders (like Kissing Spine) as hereditary and found in populations of specific families. At this time it is believed to possibly be a congenital condition. Most forms of wobbler disease have a root cause in cervical vertebral myelopathy (CVM), which causes inflammation and arthritis in the joint and is painful to affected horses. Within the horse community, any neurological problem that causes limb proprioception issues or decreased performance in the horse that is suspected to be rooted in the neck is considered a type of wobbler disease. Wobbler disease or wobbler's syndrome is a broad category of cervical disorders in the horse, including the conditions listed above, as well as equine wobbles anemia and cervical vertebral myelopathy, spinal cord compression (sometimes referred to colloquially among horse owners as " cervical arthritis" due to the arthritis that accumulates in facets). It implants an artificial disc (cervical arthroplasty) in place of the affected disc space. A new surgical treatment using a proprietary medical device has been developed for dogs with disc-associated wobbler disease. Another study showed that electroacupuncture may be a successful treatment for Wobbler disease. One study showed no significant advantage to any of the common spinal cord decompression procedures. Types of surgery include ventral decompression of the spinal cord ( ventral slot technique), dorsal decompression, and vertebral stabilization. Surgery may fully correct the problem, but it is technically difficult and relapses may occur. Treatment is either medical to control the symptoms, usually with corticosteroids and cage rest, or surgical to correct the spinal cord compression. Magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to be more effective at showing the location, nature, and severity of spinal cord compression than a myelogram. X-rays may show misaligned vertebrae and narrow disk spaces, but it is not as effective as a myelogram, which reveals stenosis of the vertebral canal. Symptoms are usually gradual in onset, but may progress rapidly following trauma. The disease progresses to the front legs, but the symptoms are less severe. Dogs often have a crouching stance with a downward flexed neck. Symptoms such as weakness, ataxia, and dragging of the toes start in the rear legs. The disease tends to be gradually progressive. MRI of wobbler disease in the neck of a dog
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