Prognostic indicators of short-term outcome in dogs undergoing surgery for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome

Maheeka Seneviratne,Benjamin Marcus Kaye,Gert Ter Haar

doi:10.1136/vr.105624

Abstract

BackgroundThe aims of this study were to assess the impact of epidemiological variables, severity of presurgical respiratory signs, diagnostic findings from pharyngeal and laryngeal examination using a new grading scheme...

Highlights

Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is a combination of upper respiratory tract abnormalities resulting in varying degrees of upper airway obstruction
No association was found between the craniofacial ratio (CFR) and any of the brachycephaly scores. This large study on outcome after upper respiratory tract surgery in brachycephalic dogs demonstrated an improvement in respiratory tract signs in 70.7% of dogs following rhinoplasty and wide arch-shaped staphylectomy only
brachycephalic obstruction airway syndrome (BOAS) is far more complex than just stenotic nares and an overlong soft palate, our results indicate that even clinically severely affected dogs benefit from nares resection and staphylectomy, despite concurrent pathology

Summary

Introduction

Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is a combination of upper respiratory tract abnormalities resulting in varying degrees of upper airway obstruction. Whereas craniofacial shortening has been proposed as the key etiopathogenic factor responsible for increased airway resistance, a recent paper has shown that muzzle length within 3 extreme breeds was not significant for predicting BOAS status in Pugs, English Bulldogs and French Bulldogs [12]. The aims of this study were to assess the impact of epidemiological variables, severity of pre-surgical respiratory signs, diagnostic findings from pharyngeal and laryngeal examination using a new grading scheme and CT scan images, on post-surgical outcome in dogs undergoing surgery for brachycephalic obstruction airway syndrome (BOAS). Results:.70.7% of dogs showed an improvement in respiratory signs following rhinoplasty and palatoplasty This improvement was associated with the severity of inspiratory efforts and the Poncet score upon presentation, but not with any other clinical sign or anatomical abnormality found during BOAS assessment, nor by the degree of craniofacial shortening as determined by CT-scan. The degree of narrowing of pharyngeal dimensions appears to be associated with severity of snoring while soft palate length alone was not

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Results