Equine cervical vertebral interbody fusion, a narrative review

Cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM) is the primary target for spinal cord surgery in horses. Decompression of the spinal cord is the main objective of the surgery in order to promote healing of the compressive lesion and restoration of full function. The present study is a narrative review of the literature concerning different cervical stabili- sation techniques that have been used to alleviate spinal cord compression and minimize the associated clinical symptoms. It is the aim of this study to briefly chronologically de- scribe and compare the success rate and long-term prognosis of each surgical procedure that has been described, and asses future research directions. It is the author’s opinion that in order to make the treatment less technically challenging, to lower complications, and to improve outcomes, further surgical approaches for equine cervical stabilization are required.