brachycephalic syndrome

[jill]

hello,
i am new to this forum (so first, hi!). i was wondering if any of you out there have had frenchies who have been diagnosed with full-blown brachycephalic syndrome, meaning that the airway is totally restricted? we believed that our young male, thomas, just had very small nostrils (stenotic nares), but his breathing has been getting increasingly worse. a specialist has determined that he not only has the stenotic nares, but definitely has the elongated soft palate, and perhaps other complications also. so, thomas is scheduled for surgery in a couple of weeks to remedy the entire set of problems. do any of you have any experience with this surgery with your frenchies? i have read alot about this condition in flat-faced breeds, but i am still feeling nervous about the surgery, not to mention the expense. thanks!

[Pattie]

Jill:
I wish Thomas good luck. My Madison has had multiple problems & multiple surgeries. It is always so scary, but hopefully you will get good results. Madison was from a shelter & we know nothing about his background. We only had him a few months when we discovered that he had a cleft palate. When the doctor did surgery he discovered Madison had not only a cleft hard palate, but a cleft soft palate as well. He has had 2 revisions on the soft palate. He had his nares done & elongated palate shortened during the first surgery as well. He later had surgery for saccules. He later was diagnosed with esophageal strictures & had to have 3 procedures to make the opening bigger. We were told that his pronosis was guarded after the strictures were discovered. That was 3 years ago & he is doing pretty well. He has some allergy issues & we do still have to worry about his breathing, but I now know when to medicate & how to care for him pretty well. If your dog just has the issues of nares & elongated palate he should do well after his recovery time. Madison has, as you can see had many other issues to deal with. Please post & let us know how Thomas does. Madison & I will be sending our best wishes.
Pattie

[peter88]

Jill,

You might want to check out either one of the following books:

Healthy Frenchies: An Owner's Manual by Jan D., Dr. Grebe, Dr. Jan D. Grebe (Paperback - December 1998)

or

The French Bulldog : An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet (Happy Healthy Pet) by Kathy Dannel

I'm pretty sure that both books discuss brachycephalic syndrome.

Good luck,
Peter