A case report on surgical correction and management of congenital meningoencephalocele of a new born calf in Upazilla Veterinary Hospital,Feni Sadar,Feni

Abstract

A 3 day old male calf with a history of fluctuant swelling on frontal region of the head was brought to the Upazilla Veterinary Hospital, Feni Sadar, Feni. Duration of illness of the case was 3 days. The calf was always lying on lateral recumbence. On clinical examination the calf exhibited resistance to deep palpation around the swelling and neck flexion. A fluctuant spherical sac like protrusion that was 18x15 cm in size covering with a hairy skin was observed on frontal region of the head. The case was diagnosed as meningoencephalocele by the findings of clinical examination that were matched with previous literature. On our assessment, the likelihood to full recovery of the case by medicinal treatment was grey due to the negative impact on brain tissue by intracranial pressure. Therefore, the case, with the permission of farmer, was corrected surgically under local infiltration anesthesia using 4 ml Jasocaine (2% lidocaine HCI). The frontal region was prepared for aseptic surgery and an elliptical skin incision was made at the base of the sac. After separation of the skin, fluid filled meningeal membranes were noticed protruding out from the cranium through the frontal opening. Then meningeal membranes were resected. The skin was closed by suturing with silk. At post-operative treatment Procaine penicillin(10000-30000IU/kg body weight), Benzyl penicillin(10000-40000IU/kg body weight),Streptomycin(5-10mg/kg body weight), Meloxicam(0.5mg/kg body weight) were given to the calf to prevent any secondary bacterial infection. Recurrence was not noticed in the calf after treatment of 9 days. Congenital defects like meningoencephalocele should be treated surgically as early as possible so as to increase the chance of recovery patients from the problem.