Bulldogs World

Hello!  I haven't been on this site in quite awhile, as I was busy on another health specific forum, because of a health issue with one of my bulldogs.  So, let me re-introduce myself - my name is Lisa and I am proudly owned by 2 beautiful bulldogs - Bailey just turned 5 last month and Cayanne will turn 4 in a couple of weeks.  Just a little history and then I'll get to the most current issue listed in the subject line.  The issue noted in the subject line, laryngeal collapse, has to do with Cayanne.  Cayanne has been through a lot.  She is currently at almost 2 1/2 years in remission from stage V lymphoma with secondary leukemia, which she was diagnosed with at the age of 18 months.  And now she's been diagnosed with laryngeal collapse.  I was shocked and devastated with the diagnosis - again, she's so young and has been through so much.  She had her elongated soft palate trimmed at 6 months during her spay (her dad was a bad breather, so we thought we were being proactive), but a few months ago, I noticed some breathing issues had returned.  It started as a wheezing sound on walks and then turned into raspy breathing all the time and then trouble eating food and drinking water.  The vet first thought allergies, so we tried Benadryl.  When that didn't help, I took her in and he suspected it was her soft palate again.  When he performed the surgery again, he said the soft palate wasn't really elongated, but he did remove some everted saccules.  However, at that time, he suspected laryngeal paralysis (LP).  After doing some research, I decided if she needed to have the surgery for LP, she should have it done by an experienced board certified surgeon.  I found one and we went in for an exam and scope.  Prior to the scope, Cayanne had a major breathing crisis - she panicked during the chest x-rays and had to be stabalized in an oxygen chamber.  When the surgeon proceeded with the scope, he saw laryngeal collapse, what he had initially suspected.  Obviously, I know our options our limited and it just breaks my heart - she's so young and has been through so much.  We started her on prednisone to reduce the inflammation.  He suspects she's a high stage 2 or beginning of a 3, so there is some airway left, which is why the pred helps at this point.  We reduced the pred a couple weeks ago, hoping to get her on a lower dosage with an even greater hope of her being able to go off of it after the hot summer (although I'm concerned since her breathing issues seem to be more excitement/stress induced versus heat induced).  However, she has been wheezing more lately and some of the raspiness has come back.  I'm still working with the surgeon on options, but wanted to see if anyone here has experience with laryngeal collapse.  Has anyone experienced, or known anyone that has experienced, the only surgical option for this condition - a permanent tracheostomy?  The idea of a permanent trach scares me so much, but I realize it might be our only option at some point.  I will, however, always consider Cayanne's quality of life above all else, which is why I wanted to get some opinions or experiences with the trach.  She is also an immune compromised dog, because of cancer and chemo, so I realize she might be at a greater risk of developing an infection with the trach.  Anyway, I apologize for the long post......just hoping someone has a similar experience they might be able to share with me (well, not hoping, because I would never hope this diagnosis on anyone's pup).

Thank you!

Lisa, Bailey & Cayanne