Novel application of electromagnetic neuronavigation for guided ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement in toy-breed dogs with hydrocephalus: a preliminary descriptive study.

Electromagnetic neuronavigation enables accurate, real-time intraventricular catheter placement during VP shunt surgery in toy-breed dogs.

This retrospective descriptive study evaluated the feasibility and accuracy of electromagnetic (EM) neuronavigation for intraventricular catheter placement during ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt surgery in toy-breed dogs with hydrocephalus. Eleven client-owned toy-breed dogs (2–9 years; 1.3–4.0 kg) presenting with neurological signs including seizures, head turning, ataxia, and tetraparesis were included. Hydrocephalus was confirmed via MRI, and all dogs underwent VP shunt placement using the StealthStation S8 EM navigation system (Medtronic). A dynamic reference frame was placed at variable anatomical landmarks—rostral hard palate, dorsal muzzle, sublingual rostral mandible, or ventral mandible—to serve as the patient position reference. Real-time visualization of catheter direction and depth was achieved intraoperatively, and postoperative CT confirmed accurate catheter tip placement in all cases. The system demonstrated reliable correlation between EM navigation-displayed images and actual anatomical coordinates, even in very small patients. This is particularly noteworthy given the technical challenges associated with operating in the confined intracranial space of toy-breed dogs. The authors concluded that EM neuronavigation offers excellent guidance for VP shunt surgery in small canine patients and suggested its potential utility across a broader range of cranial neurosurgical procedures in veterinary medicine. Limitations include the small sample size, single-center retrospective design, and lack of a control group for direct outcome comparison.

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