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My dog has myelitis and hind leg paralysis. Will he walk again soon?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Maltese | Male | 3 years and 9 months old | 6.61 lbs

our dog has myelitis and two leg paralayisis caused by this diagnosis.The vet treats him with Methylprednisolone. 5 days passed, but there is no result. Is this the correct way to cure this disease? And what is the forecast, is there possibility to regain sense in the back legs? Marsel was not injured and hind leg paralysis occured suddenly. CT scan and X rays showed nothing special.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Stacey Anstaett, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 2nd, 2019

I'm so sorry that Marcela is not doing well. myelitis is inflammation of the spinal cord. A steroid such as methylprednisolone is an appropriate treatment to try to reduce the inflammation. However, if there is compression of the cord that is causing the inflammation (such as compression for an intervertebral disc or from a tumor, etc) then the steroid alone may not be sufficient. An MRI would definitely diagnose whether or not there is compression of the cord; its very hard to see this on CT and impossible on plain film X-rays. If there is compression of the cord, surgery may be needed. If surgery is not an option (due to finances or other issues), additional therapies such as therapeutic laser and or acupuncture may be of benefit. As for the prognosis for recovery of function, I would say its "gaurded," meaning it could improve but its probably going to take weeks, and is uncertain at that. I hope that is helpful for you. Best of luck with him. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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