Elongated Palate Surgery Tomorrow
Submitted by jamie's bullies on July 7, 2010 - 12:40pmHello, I am new here and have 2 bulldogs, one 4 years old and another 2 years. They are both females, and they are my babies! Anyway, my younger one, Lucy, is having elongated palate surgery tomorrow with Dr. Rush in Tucker, GA. It will be done by laser, which I am happy about, but can anyone tell me what I should expect? I am so nervous to have surgery done, but she really needs this for her quality of life. She is a very active bulldog and I want her to be able to breathe easier! Thanks in advance for your help.
Jamie
It's the best thing you can do
The breathing is so much more comfy afterwards (I kept checking Q's crate 'cause I couldn't hear him breathing! lol). The palate can re-grow - that's the reason you don't want to have it done too young, but 2 is good.
When Q had his done, I was told nothing around the neck for 10-14 days. I got him a (stylin') harness. Some vets recommend wet food, some don't. I soaked Q's kibble in warm water, mashed it up after 1/2 hour, popped it in the frig to chill, then fed it to him. Nah... my boy ain't spoiled... lol
I also set up a cool humidifier near his crate. I didn't direct it at the crate. Cool humidity can help decrease tissue swelling (something that can happen with the heat of the laser). My vet also tossed a few absorbable stitches back there for extra hold.
Low fat/low salt chicken or beef broth, frozen into cube,s can also help soothe the throat after surgery.
You can also do a search to see what others have recommended in the past.
Good luck! :)
Olivia
Agree and great suggestions --- BUT
it doesn't always turn out like you would like it. I have a bitch that was a very quiet breather with a very long palate so they did surgery and she is way way worse of a breather then she was. Infact they went in again to recheck her palate and took some more off but it was a horrible result for us. I wish I would have never had her palate done.
My experience with her is not typical, just my experience.
Thank you both for your
Thank you both for your replies. I dropped her off this morning, and am waiting to hear from the vet to see how it goes. I was hesitatnt to do it unless I really felt I had to, but she is a very loud breather and has a hard time recovering after walks or playing. I really can't even take her for walks because she gets so winded. So, in her case, I feel it was the best solution to hopefully improve her quality of life in the long term. I will let you know how it goes!
Lucy did well with her
Lucy did well with her surgery, she is recovering at the vet and breathing on her own. He said her palate was very long and he also removed the saccules. He thought after seeing how long her palate was that this is really going to improve her breathing no doubt. So, I will be picking her up after work today and hopefully she will be happy to see me! I always feel bad being the one to leave them for surgery ;)
Excellent!
Glad to hear things went well for your girl. :)
Olivia
Glad she's doing well
Keep us posted with her progress. Sounds like she definitely needed it and I'm sure it will improve her quality of life.
Great to hear!
So glad to hear everything went well! Thanks for sharing. I am nervous for Bentley to have it done, but know he needs it. Did they do the surgery by laser? I have heard pros and cons about it so would be interested to know. I still need to do a little research and find a vet that is experienced with this kind of surgery and feels confident in doing it! Keep us posted on how she continues to do!
Sorry that I couldn't get on
Sorry that I couldn't get on sooner, but my internet was acting up all weekend. Lucy is doing well, I am surprised at how easy her recovery has been. The only thing I am waiting to see is whether she will continue to sound better, because the vet told me she would sound worse before better, and she has definitely been sounding a little raspy lately. Her bark is funny sounding, as well. The vet showed me photos of the before and after of her palate and saccules. The saccules were so swollen that they were really cutting down the amount of air she could take in. I suspect that she has some swelling which is causing her to breath heavier than I expected after the surgery, so I am going to monitor how she improves over the next 1-2 weeks. She sounded best the day I picked her up from surgery, but since it was the same day of surgery I am guessing she hadn't had time to get swollen yet. I really hope she will continue to sounds better as time goes on, but as far as her recovery she is eating and drinking normally and you wouldn't know that she had any surgery done!