Ethos Veterinary Health
  • Veterinary Teams
    • Submit a Referral
    • Hospital Updates
    • Ethos Materials for Clinics
    • Continuing Education
    • Veterinary Compounding
    • VetBloom CE
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Clinical Studies
    • Emergency/Critical Care + Specialty Hospitals
    • Veterinary Urgent Care Clinics
  • Our Hospitals
    • NORTHEAST
      • Boston West
      • Bulger
      • Capital District
      • Mass Vet
      • Peak
      • Port City
      • SAVES
    • MIDWEST
      • Premier – Chicago
      • Premier – Grayslake
      • Premier – Orland Park
      • WVRC – Grafton
      • WVRC – Racine/Kenosha
      • WVRC – Waukesha
    • PACIFIC
      • Atlantic Street
      • VERC
      • Vista
      • VSH – North County
      • VSH – Sorrento Valley
    • URGENT CARE – East Coast
      • Station Landing, Medford MA
      • COMING SOON – Nashua, NH
    • URGENT CARE – West Coast
      • Irvine, CA
      • Oceanside, CA
      • Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego, CA
  • Our Services
    • Continuing Education
    • Blood Donor Program
    • Clinical Studies
      • FAQs: Clinical Studies at Ethos
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Ethos Science Consultancy
    • VetBloom CE
    • Hospital Services
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Why Ethos
    • Veterinary Urgent Care by Ethos
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Leadership Team
    • Press Releases
    • Contact Us
  • Blogs & Videos
    • Our Blogs
    • PAWEDCast
    • Diagnosing Inequality Podcast
  • We’re Hiring!
    • Apply Today
    • Ethos Job Fairs
    • Employee Benefits
    • Giving Back
    • Veterinary Training Programs
Ethos Veterinary Health
  • Our Hospitals
    • NORTHEAST
      • Boston West
      • Bulger
      • Capital District
      • Mass Vet
      • Peak
      • Port City
      • SAVES
    • MIDWEST
      • Premier – Chicago
      • Premier – Grayslake
      • Premier – Orland Park
      • WVRC – Grafton
      • WVRC – Racine/Kenosha
      • WVRC – Waukesha
    • PACIFIC
      • Atlantic Street
      • VERC
      • Vista
      • VSH – North County
      • VSH – Sorrento Valley
    • URGENT CARE – East Coast
      • Station Landing, Medford MA
      • COMING SOON – Nashua, NH
    • URGENT CARE – West Coast
      • Irvine, CA
      • Oceanside, CA
      • Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego, CA
  • Our Services
    • Continuing Education
    • Blood Donor Program
    • Clinical Studies
      • FAQs: Clinical Studies at Ethos
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Ethos Science Consultancy
    • VetBloom CE
    • Hospital Services
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Why Ethos
    • Veterinary Urgent Care by Ethos
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Leadership Team
    • Press Releases
    • Contact Us
  • Blogs & Videos
    • Our Blogs
    • PAWEDCast
    • Diagnosing Inequality Podcast
  • We’re Hiring!
    • Apply Today
    • Ethos Job Fairs
    • Employee Benefits
    • Giving Back
    • Veterinary Training Programs
  • Veterinary Teams
    • Submit a Referral
    • Hospital Updates
    • Ethos Materials for Clinics
    • Continuing Education
    • Veterinary Compounding
    • VetBloom CE
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Clinical Studies
    • Emergency/Critical Care + Specialty Hospitals
    • Veterinary Urgent Care Clinics

Our Blogs

Brain Surgery

October 1, 2016

As in people, brain surgery is performed for a variety of ailments, including surgical removal of brain tumors, correction of brain anomalies (e.g., Chiari malformation), removal of blood clots (e.g., subdural hematoma), and placement of shunts in patients with hydrocephalus. Brain surgery is performed most often by veterinary neurologists, but also by some veterinary surgeons.

The most common reason that brain surgery is performed in dogs & cats is to remove a brain tumor. In both dogs and cats, the most common brain tumor is a meningioma, a tumor of the membranes which surround & protect the brain & spinal cord.

While having your pet being diagnosed with a brain tumor is scary, it is important to know that animals generally do quite well with treatment. In general, animals tolerate brain surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy MUCH better than people, with fewer side effects.

In cats, surgical removal of a meningioma can be curative. In dogs with meningioma, and in both dogs and cats with other brain tumors, brain surgery can provide patients with improved quality of life for much longer than medical treatment alone, especially when followed by radiation therapy.

Dr. Mark Troxel performs brain surgery on a cat with a meningioma.
Post-operative photo of a dog that had brain surgery to remove a meningioma.
Intra-operative view of a meningioma (arrow) and normal brain (arrowhead). The cat’s nose is to the left.

Share

Related Posts

  • Spinal Surgery
    Read Article
  • Meningioma in Cats
    Read Article
  • Interventional Analgesia Part II
    Read Article
  • Interventional Analgesia: Part I
    Read Article
  • Case Study: Progressive Behavior Change in a Cat
    Read Article
  • Surgical Procedures Explained
    Read Article
Ethos Veterinary Health
  • Veterinary Teams
    • Submit a Referral
    • Hospital Updates
    • Ethos Materials for Clinics
    • Continuing Education
    • Veterinary Compounding
    • VetBloom CE
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Clinical Studies
    • Emergency/Critical Care + Specialty Hospitals
    • Veterinary Urgent Care Clinics
© 2023 Ethos Veterinary Health
Website Design by Jackrabbit