Laryngeal paralysis in dogs - clinical retrospective study

Purpose: Clinical review regarding the clinical symptoms, surgery and outcome of laryngeal paralysis in dogs in comparison to previous studies. Material and methods: 275 dogs have been presented and undergone surgery using cricoarytenoid lateralization. Signalement, clinical findings, x-rays and laryngo-scopical images were taken from patient records. 200 owners were asked regarding the postoperative outcome. Results: 46 % of the animals were medium sized and 43 % large sized, while 6 % were of giant and 5 % of small size. Accounting for 17 % of all cases the Hovawart was the most affected breed. The average age was 10.8 years. 60.4 % of the animals were male and 39,6 % female. 55 % of the animals were presented at the clinic in the warmer season from april to september and 45 % in the colder season from october to march. Respiratory symptoms (57 %) accounted for the majority of the findings. 26.9 % of all animals examined showed signs of polyneuropathy. 22.2 % of the dogs suffered from hypothyroidism. Dorsal cricoarytenoid muscle atrophy was suspected in 14.2 % of patients undergoing surgery. 88.5 % of the dog owners were satisfied with the surgical outcome. An improved performance was observed in 92.5 % of the patients. 95 % showed signs of voice changes or even voice loss. Major complications included dyspnea (prominent: 3 %), stridor (prominent: 3.5 %), aspiration pneumonia (11.5 %), recurrence of clinical signs (3 %) and sudden death (3 %). Aspiration pneumonia appeared on average 6 months after surgical intervention, but statistically showed no negative impact on life expectancy. Less serious complications were expressed by dysphagia while drinking (47 %), coughing (46 %), choking/gagging (40.5 %), dysphagia while eating (35 %), salivating (9 %), dyspnea (discreet: 9 %) and stridor (discreet: 8.5 %). Small breeds seemed to be more susceptible to complications than dogs of medium, large and giant breeds. Conclusion: Due to its moderate to severe symptoms, laryngeal paralysis in dogs requires surgical intervention. In this study UCAL improved the medical condition of affected dogs permanently and had a positive outcome in about 90 % of all cases.