Objective Intervertebral disc fenestration has been shown to reduce the risk of extrusion in the thoracolumbar region in dogs, but use of the technique varies between individual neurologists and surgeons. Our aim was to investigate opinions and practices regarding disc fenestration amongst those involved in neurosurgery in dogs.

Study Design A web-based survey containing questions relating to the use of fenestration during treatment of intervertebral disc extrusion in dogs was distributed to board-certified neurologists and surgeons. Results were analysed using Microsoft Excel.

Results There were 323 responses from 190 neurologists and 133 surgeons. Seventy-one per cent of respondents routinely used concurrent disc fenestration when performing decompressive surgery in the thoracolumbar region, although the rate was lower amongst surgeons (55%) than neurologists (82%). Only 25% of respondents performed concurrent fenestration in the cervical spine. Forty-five per cent of respondents reported having experienced complications, with haemorrhage being the most common.

Conclusion Fenestration is widely used in the management of thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion, but a universally accepted approach does not exist, and differences are seen between neurologists and surgeons.

目的 椎间盘开窗术已被证明可以降低狗胸腰椎区域挤压的风险，但该技术的使用因个体神经科医生和外科医生而异。我们的目的是调查参与犬神经外科手术的人员对椎间盘开窗术的意见和做法。

研究设计 一项基于网络的调查包含有关在治疗犬椎间盘突出症期间使用开窗术的问题，该调查已分发给获得委员会认证的神经科医生和外科医生。结果使用 Microsoft Excel 进行分析。

结果 190 名神经科医师和 133 名外科医生共收到 323 份回复。71% 的受访者在胸腰椎区域进行减压手术时经常使用同步椎间盘开窗术，尽管外科医生 (55%) 的比率低于神经科医生 (82%)。只有 25% 的受访者同时进行了颈椎开窗术。45% 的受访者报告出现了并发症，出血是最常见的。

结论 开窗术广泛应用于胸腰椎间盘突出症的治疗，但尚不存在普遍接受的方法，神经科医生和外科医生之间存在差异。