Dorsal spinous process impingement syndrome (‘kissing spine’) in a cat: imaging appearance and surgical management

Spinal pain is an important clinical presentation in feline patients, but the underlying causes can often be difficult to elucidate. Dorsal spinous process impingement syndrome (‘kissing spine’ or in human patients ‘Baastrup syndrome’) is a significant cause of spinal pain in equine and human patients and radiographically is characterised by a close approximation of adjacent spinous processes with reactive bone sclerosis affecting these spinous processes. In this report we describe the first reported case of dorsal spinous process impingement syndrome in a cat causing spinal pain, and successful surgical management of the syndrome. The affected cat presented at 5 years of age for evaluation of a 7-month history of progressive thoracolumbar pain. Radiographs revealed close approximation of the dorsal spinous processes of the seventh, eighth and ninth thoracic vertebrae (T7, T8 and T9), with associated reactive bone sclerosis. Surgical resection of the T8 dorsal spinous process resulted in complete resolution of the clinical signs with no evidence of recurrence 9 months after surgery.