Effects of Pial Incision and Steroid Administration on Experimental Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Effects of pial incision and steroid administration on experimental spinal cord injury were examined* Using the weight dropping method, we induced spinal contusions in dogs at the level of T9 or T19. 500 gm-cm impact on canine spinal cord resulted in complete paraplegia lasting one month after trauma. All eight dogs, treated with wide pial incision of the contused spinal cord one hour after trauma, could stand or raise their hips, but none could walk or run. Early steroid administration gave rise to similar benefits as pial incision in four out of five dogs. It is postulated, therefore, that true external decompression for cord swelling or edema would necessitate not only laminectomy and dural incision, but also wide pial incision. Functional recovery obtained by pial incision only was much worse, compared with that of early myelotomy and irrigation as previously reported. © 1980, The Japan Neurosurgical Society. All rights reserved.