{"id":"eab1bbfe-d3e8-42ea-a2ec-3206fdf788f4","slug":"lumbar-laminectomy-in-a-captive-adult-polar-bear-ursus-maritimus","title":"Lumbar laminectomy in a captive, adult polar bear (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>)","authors":["John F. Morrison","Kunal Vakharia","Douglas B. Moreland"],"abstract":"Background: Animals held in captivity tend to live longer than do their wild counterparts, and as such, are prone to developing age-related degenerative injuries. Here, we present a case of an adult female polar bear with symptomatic lumbar stenosis. There is a paucity of literature on large mammalian spine surgery, and anatomical differences between humans and other vertebrates must be taken into consideration. Case Description: A 24-year-old female polar bear residing at the zoo was found to have decreased motor function in her hind legs. Diagnostic myelography performed at the L7/S1 level demonstrated lumbar stenosis at L5/6 for which a laminectomy was performed. Postoperatively, she returned to premorbid functional level, with no apparent associated adverse sequelae. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of spine surgery in a polar bear and demonstrates that neurosurgical diagnostic and operative techniques developed for humans can also be applied to large mammals with successful results.","thumbnailUrl":"https://sni-digital-videos.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/eab1bbfe-d3e8-42ea-a2ec-3206fdf788f4/featured/hero-1782421048593.png","publishDate":"2017-06-13T00:00:00.000Z","doi":"10.4103/sni.sni_133_17","categories":["Spine","Case Report"],"fullTextUrl":"http://surgicalneurologyint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/8435/SNI-8-112.pdf"}