Prophylactic Effect of Fenestration on the Recurrence of Thoracolumbar Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The prophylactic effect of fenestration on the recurrence of thoracolumbar (TL) intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) in dogs that have been surgically decompressed has been a topic of ongoing debate in veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to systematically review the existing literature and critically evaluate the evidence behind the application of prophylactic fenestration on the recurrence of TL IVDH in dogs. PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus electronic databases were searched to collect relevant articles. Twenty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria and were assessed for scientific quality, treatment plan, and recurrence incidence. Five articles were selected for a meta-analysis to test if the recurrence differs in animals treated with or without prophylactic fenestration. In the light of the low scientific quality and the amount of published literature on the topic, further research is needed to robustly support the prophylactic effect of fenestration on the recurrence of TL IVDH in dogs. ABSTRACT: This systematic review aimed to assess the effect of prophylactic fenestration (PF) on the recurrence of thoracolumbar (TL) intervertebral disc (IVD) disease in dogs. Three online databases were searched (Web of Science, MEDLINE via PubMed, SCOPUS), 115 relevant studies were thoroughly examined by the authors, 29 of which met the pre-defined inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Data about the initial treatment, the performance of PF, the incidence of recurrence, and the site of recurrence were extracted. Most of the studies were deemed to have serious to moderate risk of bias. Out of 5457 dogs, 1264 underwent prophylactic fenestration. A total of 504 cases of suspected or confirmed recurrence were recorded, in which 164 (32.54% of total recurrences and 11.02% of PF cases) were in dogs treated with PF. In order to perform quantitative analysis for the recurrence odds, we conducted a meta-analysis. Five studies were included that met the inclusion criteria. Despite a large number of relevant publications, the quality of the evidence they provide is low. This prevented us from reaching a definitive conclusion on the prophylactic effect of fenestration on recurrence in dogs surgically treated for TL IVDH.