Presumed cervical subperiosteal vertebral hemorrhage in nine greyhounds.

Cervical SSVH in greyhounds carries an excellent prognosis with conservative medical management alone.

This multicenter descriptive study characterizes spontaneous subperiosteal vertebral hemorrhages (SSVHs) in nine greyhounds presenting with acute cervical myelopathy. All affected dogs were middle-aged greyhounds, suggesting a breed predisposition. Lesions were consistently located at C3-C4 vertebral bodies, typically bilateral and symmetrical with ventrolateral positioning causing extradural spinal cord compression. MRI findings were distinctive: T2W hyperintense, T1W isointense to hyperintense signal relative to gray matter, non-contrast-enhancing, with a peripheral susceptibility artifact rim on T2*W gradient echo sequences. CT demonstrated homogeneously hyperattenuating extradural lesions (60-80 HU), consistent with acute hemorrhage. All nine dogs were managed conservatively with medical treatment alone. Neurological outcomes were excellent: all non-ambulatory dogs regained ambulation within 9 days, and no recurrence was observed during follow-up (median 254 days; range 5-1217 days). A prospective cadaveric component was also included to characterize lesion morphology. The consistent imaging characteristics—particularly the susceptibility artifact rim and CT attenuation values—can reliably differentiate SSVH from other extradural or extramedullary compressive lesions such as intervertebral disc extrusion or neoplasia. This study highlights SSVH as an important differential diagnosis for acute cervical myelopathy in greyhounds, emphasizing that despite potentially severe neurological impairment at presentation, the prognosis with conservative management is excellent and surgical intervention may not be necessary.

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