# Soft palate surgery - anyone have any experience?



## Ducky (Nov 23, 2008)

just a query if anyone has any experiences of dogs having gone through this kind of surgery? 
if its made any sort of difference to the dogs breathing? risks etc involved.

any info would be great thanks


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## Ducky (Nov 23, 2008)

just bumping up


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Cant offer personal advice but have you seen these, University of pennsylvania school of veterinary medicine puts text books on line for students. Dont know if this will help?

Textbook of Respiratory Disease in Dogs and Cats - Lesley G. King - Google Books

Clinical Service Procedures


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## Ducky (Nov 23, 2008)

cheers for those. iv already read up on some stuff, was more looking to see if anyone had any personal experiences. its not very common surgery though it would seem, so probably a long shot. 
its not something im actually looking to definitely do, but it may need to be an option in the future if my little nutter doesnt calm herself so she stops overheating!


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Ducky said:


> cheers for those. iv already read up on some stuff, was more looking to see if anyone had any personal experiences. its not very common surgery though it would seem, so probably a long shot.
> its not something im actually looking to definitely do, but it may need to be an option in the future if my little nutter doesnt calm herself so she stops overheating!


If no one can give you personal experience only thing I can really suggest if you havent already is get a specialist refferal consulation and take it from there perhaps.


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## bluegirl (May 7, 2012)

No experience of the surgery but I can tell you a bit. I have a friend who has a dog that appeared completely normal but when she was around 12 mths old max it was discovered completely by accident that she had a small hole in her upper palate so far back that without intubation it was not visible. That was fine and as it caused her no problems it was left. A year or 2 later she had a nasal infection and so following treatment she was advised to see a specialist. She saw the specialist in Scotland and his discovery was that the small hole was in fact a much larger hole and looked like the soft palate had never actually been formed properly. Surgery was possible but would be very intricate and possibly dangerous. In the end after having discussions with the specialist and since the dog was obviously thriving and the problem had virtually gone undectected up until this point the decision was made that surgery would not be undertaken unless her condition was to deteriorate enough to warrant intervention. The nasal infections are connected and it seems that every now and again small particles of food can lodge in this hole and cause an infection. She has larger pieces of food to compensate and is able to get antibiotics from her local vet when they are required, which so far has been no more regular than about twice a year.

I don't know how your dog is fixed but I would suggest seeing a specialist too. Sometimes we have to work around problems and they are just too dangerous to be fixed unless life threatening.


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## Ducky (Nov 23, 2008)

cheers guys, iv spoken to the vet in my own work and she said its not something to rush ahead and do, and it doesnt always make a difference. she suggested if she keeps having a lot of difficulty that we should consult a specialist, but so far we have only had one serious issue (which was last week where she overheated due to her own crazy overexcitement and needed to get put on a drip). shes actually not THAT grunty for a boston terrier, but she is quite an active wee thing and it doesnt take much for her to get out of breath, and she gets very uncomfortable in the heat.

it just gives u a bit of a fright i guess n u start looking into things, even though they might not actually be necessary.


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## gesic (Feb 19, 2009)

A friend of mine has recently had it done on her boxer.
He always had noisy resps but lately had started collapsing.
She went to her regular 1st opinion vet who had said they had only done it once before but it was successful.
Cost her about 300 total and that included having him castrated at the same time. He has never looked back and she reports she has to go right up to him when he slept as he was so quiet now she thought he had died!
My worry was not so much the surgery but the recovary as blood may be inspired or swelling may obstruct, but if you have a vet and nurse who is equally concerned about these post op complications and monitor closely shouldnt be too much of a risk.


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## Ducky (Nov 23, 2008)

gesic said:


> A friend of mine has recently had it done on her boxer.
> He always had noisy resps but lately had started collapsing.
> She went to her regular 1st opinion vet who had said they had only done it once before but it was successful.
> Cost her about 300 total and that included having him castrated at the same time. He has never looked back and she reports she has to go right up to him when he slept as he was so quiet now she thought he had died!
> My worry was not so much the surgery but the recovary as blood may be inspired or swelling may obstruct, but if you have a vet and nurse who is equally concerned about these post op complications and monitor closely shouldnt be too much of a risk.


thanks, thats good info. yes thats what the vet i had spoken to also said. although all surgery is risky, it was the aftercare of this particular surgery thats more fraught with problems. she said some dogs have to have a temporary trachochtemy (sp?) due to the obstruction of swelling. 
i also expected it to be a bit more pricey but that seems a very reasonable price. 
thanks for ur info.


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