Holly is a 13 year old Labrador who came to us after another veterinary clinic had not found the problem to her breathing concerns.
Holly’s human mum called us to discuss her situation as the previous three months work up had not come to a diagnosis at the other vet clinic. Holly had become exercise intolerant, with increased respiratory noises upon exercise, and a very significant change to her bark, having become hoarse of recent weeks. We advised that LP (Laryngeal Paralysis) will be the problem, and she was due to come and talk to us regarding surgery the following week.
Unfortunately, Holly was rushed to us the very next morning as she could not breathe properly and had completely collapsed. It is not unusual for LP patients to collapse suddenly, often dying within hours. Holly’s family were left having to make the immediate decision to perform emergency LP surgery.
Although usually sent to a specialist by most general practices (when you can get them!), our head surgeon Dr Davids does this surgery regularly – which is one of the advantages of being a SAH client! Unfortunately however, Karin was on holidays but she answered the phone upon our emergency call, having only returned from interstate the day before, and within the hour had Holly on the operating table.
The following videos show her condition before and after surgery.
Pre-Surgery – Note how closed her windpipe is
Post-Surgery – Note how open her windpipe is and how she can now breathe with ease
From these it is easy to see what the problem is, and why these patients do so much better once corrected. Holly was lucky, close to being one of the ones that die suddenly. Ideally this condition should have been diagnosed and acted upon months earlier before becoming so bad.
Holly was also suffering quite badly from arthritis in the previous six months, being treated with chondroprotective injections and anti inflammatories. Although not guaranteed, we often advise that dogs who can’t get enough oxygen because of their LP can struggle a lot more with arthritis, and it is not uncommon to see this also improve after surgical correction. Holly certainly found this to be the case, getting around much better than she had for some time. It’s remarkable how much better life is when you can breathe properly!
View the lovely Holly happy and enjoying life. You may read a testimonial straight from Holly’s owner by clicking here.