THE EFFECT OF ACUTE, UNILATERAL TRANSVERSE VENOUS SINUS OCCLUSION ON INTRACRANIAL-PRESSURE IN NORMAL DOGS

Lateral rostrotentorial and caudal suboccipital approaches to the brai n were performed on six beagles. Intracranial pressure (ICP) was measu red as the two craniectomies were connected by removing the bone of th e nuchal crest and occluding the transverse venous sinus. Intracranial pressure remained constant after acute occlusion of the sinus with bo ne wax and there was no gross evidence of brain edema. All six dogs su rvived the surgery and five dogs survived for a minimum of 3 months. O ne dog died acutely during the postoperative period. The exact cause o f the cerebellar hemorrhage and infarction found al necropsy in the la tter dog was not evident. Anemia occurred in three of the six dogs as a result or intraoperative hemorrhage. All dogs surviving the perioper ative period had mild, transient hypermetria and conscious propriocept ive deficits, but were neurologically normal 72 hours after surgery. R esults oi this study indicate that acute, unilateral transverse sinus occlusion is possible without an increase in ICP. The ability to do th is allows access to the rostral aspect of the ipsilateral cerebellum a nd brain stem. (C) Copyright 1996 by The American College of Veterinar y Surgeons