Suli's impending Soft Palate Surgery

[lihuesue]

Sorry, I posted about this before but in the Pug Life section, when it should have been posted here.

I was told by my vet that my Suli has an eglongated soft palate and would need surgery to correct it... She would not do the surgery and said she would try to find someone that would. Of course, I took it upon myself to start checking around and did some research on the soft palate surgery. I called several places. I wanted this surgery to be done by a board certified surgeon and with a CO2 laser.

We made an appointment for her for this morning.... and this is what happened:

Well, today was almost a total bust! Met a real nice surgeon and I would have had her do Suli's palate surgery and she would have done it too.... but Suli's problems are worse than we has initially thought. This surgeon we met today told us that she thinks Suli also has everted laryngeal saccules which is basically caused from her soft palate that is causing an airway obstruction and is causing the layrx saccules to be pulled inward from the distress of the palate. They are the thin membrane lining the larynx are located just above the vocal cords.

The surgeon said that she could do Suli's soft palate and the nares (Suli's looked good), but not the everted saccules. Apparently, you cannot use a laser on them, it must be corrected with the usual surgery tools... She also said that Suli's surgery should be done by a board certified surgeon. I said, "I thought you are board certified?, I asked when I was making the appointment and was told yes you were." She said that she did surgery and had a passion for surgery.

Anyway, we left with there with some more contacts, I phoned all four before we left her parking lot. One can't see Suli until April 20th and I'm waiting on two more to return my call and the last one... We have an appointment this Thursday morning. I want this situation corrected asap...
I'm exhausted.. it was a long day... started at 8 am and we didn't get home until just after 5 pm... lots of driving... And it's going to be another long day this Thursday.

I'll keep updating as I know more....

Sue

[Stazz]

Oh my golly Sue, what a tough day for you and Suli ! I will pray so hard for you both - I sure hope you find the right surgeon who can do it all for you. many prayers and "be strong" hugs

[Rosiepug]

I feel your pain, Rosie had the same surgery last year.
Did Suri have an Endoscopy, did they give you the photo's?
Has she taken Prednisone to help with swelling in the throat?

In your search for a surgeon, try to find a 'soft tissue specialist' that does this surgery everyday. He or she may be attached to a University Animal Hospital.
As has been explained to you, it's very delicate surgery. Sometimes it's necessary to do a tracheotomy, this was scheduled for Rosie's case but luckily they managed to do it without, which is much better for recovery.
You may be required not to see Suri for a couple of days after the Op so that she doesn't become excited which puts pressure on her respiratory system. I had to leave Rosie for 4 days in the hospital.

Rosie wore a Morphine patch after her surgery for the first week because we were having lots of panting, which may have been caused by pain. That obviously has to be stopped because it will cause the airway to swell.

She had to rest apart from potty trips for one month after the surgery. She took antibiotics for 1 week, Cortiotherapy for 2 weeks i.e. Prednisone and Anti-Acid treatment for one week.

Good luck, Suri will be a new girl after her Op!

If you have any more questions I'd be happy to answer if I can.

[lihuesue]

Thanks! How old was Rosie when she had her surgery? My Suli turned 8 this past September. She is in very good health with the exception of her breathing. Her blood work and urine test came back excellent. She weighs about 20 lbs. She is the smallest Pug here and she is also the alpha doggie.

We are looking up the teaching hospital for the Univ. of WA. I called there yesterday and left a message. It's a good 4 to 5 hour drive... and I've heard it takes months to get in there... If that is the case, I'm looking elsewhere to find someone that is qualified, certified and everything else for my baby.

Suli's pack consists of two more Pugs, Charlie Bob and Henry Lee. Charlie is three weeks younger than Suli and Henry Lee just turned three. Luke a two year old Rat Terrier and our senior English Cocker, Nick.

Both Charlie and Henry Lee are big Pugs... Charlie goes about 33 lbs. and Henry about 26 lbs.

I've been reading and it's believed to be an inherited condition. It doesn't surprise me though... as Suli had to have major eyelid reconstruction done when she was about 3. Her eyelids never formed properly and she would sleep with her eyes open... she was a scary lil pupper... After three years about asking our vet (he is no longer our vet) about her eyes, he suggested we take her to see a specialist... Suli lost about 35% vision in one eye and 25% in the other. After the surgery, she was put on some meds to try to recover some of her vision. After about 9 months the meds were no longer working but she regained most of her vision but about 10% in both eyes. She is on eye meds and will be for the rest of her life.

I don't know that much about Suli's bloodline, although both parents had AKC papers. Suli also had AKC papers, but was never any type of show quality doggie... but I just fell in love with her the 1st time I saw her. I met her mother, but not the father. We took Charlie Bob with us and he basically picked her out of all of the puppies too. I was so uneducated at the time on Pugs... Charlie Bob is from my little town, born at home to folks who had two pugs that they bred. Charlie Bob also has AKC papers and he is so very healthy, we never had any problems with him with the exception of ear infections due to having a smaller ear canal... but we keep up with his ears and he's fine.

[Cheyenne]

Praying hard that you find the perfect surgeon for Suli and that all will go well.

[shaynapug]

Gee...I'm glad that the surgeon didn't do anything to your baby before realizing that she couldn't do anything!

I see you finding a good vet that can do it all!

I see your Suli feeling so much better!

[Rosiepug]

Thanks! How old was Rosie when she had her surgery? My Suli turned 8 this past September.

Rosie had her surgery on her 5th birthday.
She is still unable to go on a long walk without getting out of breath, so two short walks of 15 minutes are her limit. They are very, very slow walks.
She takes a medication to help with Dypsnia (shortness of breath) twice a day forever.
She also has more hereditary problems than can be fixed with surgery, like too much loose tissue in her throat. Think inside wrinkles and folds in the throat.

It's always a struggle to keep her weight down but necessary so her little body doesn't have the burden of carrying excess baggage around.

The surgery was life saving. She's had an extra 11 months and as long as she's well cared for i.e. we provide her medication, keep her weight down by feeding her nutritious (Raw) food in small quantities and don't overwhelm her with too much exercise, she should have a few more years in her.

[lihuesue]

Wow!! Poor Rosie... I know what you mean with hereditary problems. Suli had eye lid surgery when she was 3. Her eyes never really closed when she slept. After three years of asking our vet (no longer our vet) he suggested taking her to a specialist. The eye doctor basically reformed her eye lids so they would close... like a plastic surgery! When we 1st took Suli, the doctor said that she lost 35% vision in one eye and 25% in the other. She was on a medication for 9 months to help try to recover some vision. Suli did, and the meds just weren't working any longer. The eye doctor said that Suli regained all but about 10% in both eyes. Suli has other eye meds that she needs daily for the rest of her life.

Now this... Suli really isn't overweight, she's about 20 lbs. and I can feel her ribs like you are supposed too... and even now when she goes potty and climbs up and down 5 steps, she really isn't gasping for air... but when she gets excited, the gasping starts... So, I really haven't been able to play with her like we always do... she still likes to play fetch with her soft latex toys... she still likes a chew on a bully stick or beef trachea. She eats well and doesn't have a problem taking water (other than the normal pug drips).

I wish I could get my head around feeding raw. My vet is dead set against it, but I've been hearing more and more good about it. Mine get a high end kibble (Evangers) and we pressure cook and can their wet. We put three skinned chickens in the pressure cooker and add collard greens, baby carrots, potatoes and whatever other veggies are around at the time. Once that is all pressure cooked for 3 hours, we take the broth and put it in another pot and either add organic brown rice or pasta. Then we mix everything together and can it all in pint jars. None of them will eat it if it has been frozen.

We do the same with turkey and beef. With the chicken and turkey, we cook all... bones and all!! The bones get so soft you they fall apart between your fingers.

With canning, we don't use any of our freezer space and they jars can last 6 months or longer sitting on the shelf. It does take us about 10 hours or better to get it all done, but we yield about 30 jars when finished. They get one pint divided between the five with their kibble.

We also make most of their treats. I'll slice a chicken breast and the bake it slowly on 200 degrees on some cookie racks and they get chicken jerky... I do with with turkey too. I also will put some chicken, turkey or beef in my food processor, add some collard greens (they all love collard greens), bok choy, carrots and whatever other veggies are around. With that mixture, I bought a human jerky gun (looks like a caulking gun but enclosed). I fill the gun and make nice treat strips... again, baking on low temp for a hour on a cookie racks (stacked 3 high) and then I flip them and rotate the trays around and bake for another hour. They love them!! I usually freeze them to keep them fresh and they love them... Go figure, treats they will eat frozen... but a meal that has been frozen, they turn their noses up to! Talk about spoiled...

I will keep you informed with what the surgeon says tomorrow. I still haven't hear back from the Univ. of WA. We read it takes a long time to get in there to be seen and it's a good 8 hour drive from here, so I don't know it that place is something we could consider.

I know your Rosie is treated like a queen and will have a longer life thanks to all of the wonderful care she gets from you.

[pugsmum]

We live in BC Canada, but we had laser surgery 10 yrs ago on Samson in Seattle. The vet was Dr. Sinibaldi...........if he is still there, he is absolutely excellent. I am not very easily impressed, but he was great, and does all kinds of pugs. He was at a surgery only clininc, sorry I cant remember the name. Sam was only 10 months old at the time, and already had esohageal damage. They shortened the palate, and repaired the sacs, and he has not had a mmoment of troubel ever since, and that is over 10 yrs now.

I just checked and Sinibaldi is still there, and here is the link to his surgery http://www.animalsurgical.com/

if you have any questions, just pm me. Hugs Joan

BTW I have had several pugs into WSU, not for palates, but I was not too iimpressed.

[Rosiepug]

I still haven't hear back from the Univ. of WA. We read it takes a long time to get in there to be seen and it's a good 8 hour drive from here, so I don't know it that place is something we could consider.

Eight hours isn't to bad for the right Surgeon. If it becomes life threatening you do the necessary.
We drove for three days from Malta, through Sicily, Italy and France to Paris to the Specialist. We were there for three weeks while she was assessed, operated on and recovered enough that we could make the journey back without having any post operative problems...we had those the second week when she was rehospitalised for a few days. I needed constant reassurance from the Drs that I could take care of her.

Don't think distance, think who can do the best job. The person whose done this Op many times before and has 24hr hospital care.
The first night I got Rosie back, I had to take her back to the hospital at 4am because she was having breathing difficulties and she had to go back on an IV and have more pain management and anti-inflammatories for swelling in the throat.