Vertebrectomy, bone allograft fusion, and antitumor vaccination for the treatment of vertebral fibrosarcoma in a dog

Objective-To describe the surgical technique of vertebrectomy with bone all ograft fusion and the use of antitumor vaccine for the treatment of a prima ry vertebral neoplasm in a dog. Study Design-Case Report. Animals or Sample Population-A 3 year old 32 kg female spayed mixed breed d og with progressive paraplegia. Methods-Myelography was performed to identify an L5 lytic lesion with spina l cord compression. A dorsal laminectomy was performed to decompress the sp inal cord and obtain biopsies. Pathologic fracture of the vertebral body tw o days later was treated with L5 vertebrectomy, cortical allograft implanta tion, and bilateral plating from L4 to L6. Tumor samples were used to creat e an autologous cytokine-gene-engineered tumor cell vaccine. Recheck radiog raphs and neurologic examinations were obtained 1, 2, 7, and 13 months afte r surgery. Results-The histopathologic diagnosis was fibrosarcoma. Although slight ost eopenia of the allograft was noted thirteen months after surgery, the allog raft and plate fixation remained stable. The patient tolerated the antitumo r vaccination protocol well. Two years after the procedures the dog was abl e to ambulate normally but remained urinary and fecal incontinent. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-vertebrectomy and cortical allograft imp lantation with plating permitted this patient to return to a functional lif estyle with its owners. (C) Copyright 1999 by The American College of Veter inary Surgeons.