Brachycephalic syndrome is a partial obstruction of the upper airway due to the conformation of short nosed breeds such as Bulldogs, Boston terriers, Pugs, Boxers, Pekinese, Lhasa Apsos, Shih tzus, Shar peis, Persians and Himalayans. Due to their conformation, they may have any of the following deformities of the airway, stenotic nares (small nostrils), elongated soft palate, stenosis of the nasal passages, everted laryngeal ventricles, laryngeal collapse, and a hypoplastic trachea. Any of these deformities cause varying degrees of reduced air flow and breathing difficulty. Symptoms include open mouth breathing, snoring, panting (even in cool temperatures), and increased respiratory efforts, all of which are abnormal.
In general any combination of the above abnormalities create a smaller airway as compared to normal dogs. Because of the smaller airway the pet must produce a greater breathing force to move sufficent amounts of air into and out of the lungs. This in turn results in additional damage to the airway overtime. The trauma causes edema, inflammation, and inward collapse of the airway that further narrows the airway worsening the situation. In some cases, after years of struggling, the respiratory muscles may fatigue and result in respiratory failure resulting in hypoxia and possibly death.
In pets with or without severe clinical signs it is important to restrict exercise, prevent or resolve obesity, avoid overheating, and prevent pregnancy. Obesity will worsen the condition by further decreasing the airway and compromising chest wall movements, as well as causing additional strain to the pets oxygen needs. Obesity will also effect the hearts ability to function as fatty tissue surrounds it. This only makes the condition worse by compromising the pets ability to pump well-oxygenated blood through its body. Infections of the upper and/or lower respiratory tract can worsen the disease.
Surgical correction of a number of the congenital deformities can be done in order to reduce the risk of irreversible changes of the airway. Surgery can even improve the condition of those pets showing severely dangerous changes of the airway. Potential surgeries include removal of an elongated soft palate, opening up the nostrils to a wider width, tonsillectomy, and removal of everted laryngeal ventricles. Surgery can not improve stenosis of the nasal sinuses, hypoplastic tracheas, laryngeal collapse, or collapsed tracheas, but if compounding correctable problems are surgically fixed the animal can potential improve dramatically.
Soft Palate Resection
Often bracheocephaic pets snore. This most often caused by an elongation of the soft papate that is sucked into the trachea. This tissue can be elongated and thickened causing a airway obstruction, and reducing the amount of air that gets into the pets lungs and the effort it needs to do so.
This simple procedure can be a life changer for affected pets. They often no longer snore, rest better, play more, and are not as quickly tired. We heart all to often how owners regret not performing the procedure sooner.
Our doctors are highly experienced in soft palate resections. Here at VetSurgical we perform soft palate resections using a CO2 LASER. This allows us to perform this procedure quickly, minimize bleeding, swelling, and pain. Though swelling of the airway potentially needing an emergency tracheotomy is a reported complication for soft palate resection, we have never experienced that complication using LASER surgery.
$800.00 – $950.00
At Time of Spay or Neuter – $475.00 + Cost of Spay or Neuter
Stenotic Nares
A narrowing of the nostrils is a common condition of bracheocephlic dogs. By opening the nostrils we can dramaticaly improve the air flow and breathing of affected dogs.
We offer two types of repair, LASER ablation, or wedge resection. Both have great post operative cosmetic appearance once healed.
$450-$650
With Soft Palate Removal or Spay or Neuter $125 + Cost of Spay or Neuter
Nasal Fold Reduction
Nasal Folds in bracheocephalic dogs vary greatly in their thickness and size. Nasal fold can contribute to chronic skin fold infections. Reduction of the the nasal fold can reduce adn eliminate the skin infections often associated with these skin folds.
$750-$950
Tail Fold Reduction
Excessive skin folds on the tail can develop deep reoccurring infections. Reducing these tail skin folds can reduce or eliminating problems associated with them.
$850-$950
Tail Amputation
Tails need amputation most commonly due to trauma of some kind, occasional it is needed to treat a tumor on the tail. Also, in some Bulldogs removal of severely cork screwed tails may help resolve chronic tail fold infections, and pain.
$850 – $1,250
