Cleft Palate Questions

[TeddyandTiffy]

Originally Posted by jeanietoo

My daughter has a cleft palate puppy. He is 17 months old now and doing fine. Lots of breeders have them put down but most could be saved if someone takes the time to work with them. They can be corrected but the surgeries are complicated and expensive and the vets we've been to have said his would probably take at least 3 surgeries and there was no garantee it would work. The biggest danger is inhalation pneumonia. We looked at it this way. He's having a very spoiled wonderful life no matter how short it may be, at least he was given a chance

Thanks so much for sharing, I love to learn and I feel sometimes U can learn more by people who have lived through them theirselves.

Can U explain the "Inhalation Pneumonia" more, I know nothing of this and would like to learn some on it too.

[lilfoot]

Originally Posted by TeddyandTiffy

Thanks so much for sharing U're story with me, Yes please post photos of her.

Can I ask what kind of Pesticide did she get into while she was pregnant? Did U adopt her from someone else or did U whelp her? Just wondering.

We whelped her.
We are not sure if she got into anything...we don't remember putting anything on our lawn or garden during the time the mother was preggers....So I'm thinking maybe it was a genetic thing....especially cause we don't think the breeder was being very honest with us. We definitely will not be breeding the mother again even though our little Lizzie is one of the most wonderful things in our lives.....

[King Bombo]

I want to tell you my experiences with Bombo, a cleft palate puppy. This might give some people here more hope, as well as awareness of issues down the line


The vets who've seen Bombo have all expressed surprise that he is alive. He has a severe cleft palate. He's now 9 months and doing great. He is going to UC Davis Veterinary School on August 18 to have surgery to correct his cleft palate. This will be done by two oral surgeons with a gaggle of students looking on. We waited until his jaw had matured. With earlier surgeries there is risk that as the oral cavity grew, it would rip apart the newly repaired area.

Some basics of how I kept Bombo alive:

1. He was tube-fed colostrum for the first three weeks.
2. He transitioned to kitten kibble, which are around the size of tiny pellets. He swallowed those whole.
3. He gets water from a lixit bottle. On the road, he drinks from a dropper, syringe, or water bottle with a spout. The idea is to have his head tilted back as he drinks to avoid having it go into his nasal areas.
4. He is on hard kibble only. No pastes like Nutrical, no soft food, no thick liquids. Water only.
5. He takes antibiotics prophylactically. Before doing that, he had 4 or 5 sinus infections and one low-grade pneumonia episode. We compound azithromax into 7 mg beef tab. I coat that with a little olive oil and slip it down at the back of his throat. With green discharge, we add clavamox twice a day.
6. I suction when he has discharge in his nose, using a baby bulb syringe. In prior days, I had to suction several times a day and also at night. He could not eat when he was congested. These days, he's doing so well, he does not need suctioning.
7. Be on the lookout for hypoglycemia. In my guy, it started with shivering and then led to incoordination and falling over. I drop whole kibble down his throat to get him going again.

I hope these tips are helpful.

Good luck.
Amy

[bjh]

Thank you for sharing the information about your puppy. It is very interesting. We would love to see pictures of your baby. I pray your baby will have a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

[King Bombo]

Here is a link to a gallery of photos of Bombo. MobileMe Gallery

Some of the photos are not in order by date, but most have dates in the caption. There are some photos of him when he was fairly small, when he was quite ill. You can see also how tiny his nose was, adding to the congestion probalem. He often was so congested he would breathe through his mouth like fish blowing bubbles.

The cleft looks like it's gotten smaller. But it could also be that his mouth grew bigger, which then makes the cleft look smaller.

The other Yorkie in the photo --the lighter colored one--is Lilli, who is 12 years old. She loves to play with Bombo.

On the 18th, we go to UC Davis for an evaluation and if all goes well, he will have his surgery the following morning. Wish us luck!

Amy

[bjh]

I could not get the photo gallery to open it said it was restricted. I pray Bombo will have a successful surgery.

[Betty'sMom]

What a sweetheart Bombo is. And such a traveler! I am praying that his surgery will go well. He is a precious little guy...and I love Lilli, too! Please keep us updated.

[bchgirl]

I see most of the cleft babies described in this thread have not needed surgerical intervention to thrive and grow...leads me to believe the condition of the severity must be something to be considered.

Perhaps when Bombo is evaluated he won't need surgery afterall....seems he's come very far in his first year. If he does need surgery...I hope for much success and a speedy recovery.

[King Bombo]

Hmmm. The album is not restricted. It may be that you have a firewall that does not allow you to open these kind of pages from the web. You might changes your firewall preferences to allow this particular page to open.

[King Bombo]

Originally Posted by bchgirl

I see most of the cleft babies described in this thread have not needed surgerical intervention to thrive and grow...leads me to believe the condition of the severity must be something to be considered.

Perhaps when Bombo is evaluated he won't need surgery afterall....seems he's come very far in his first year. If he does need surgery...I hope for much success and a speedy recovery.

I think most vets would recommend surgery even with a small cleft, since the danger of respiratory infection is always there, and in a small dog with little reserves, respiratory infections can turn into pneumonia. Even in humans with weakened immune systems, pneumonia can be difficult to overcome once it sets in.

The oral surgeons have already seen the photos, read the history I provided, and talked to the dental veterinarian who first evaluated his cleft, and all strongly recommend surgery, and in fact, are surprised he is still alive. One specialist had advised surgery at 5 months, which is when he first saw Bombo. The other recommended waiting until his permanent teeth were in--and they were late in coming in. The evaluation at UC Davis is only to see if he's healthy enough for surgery, to see the nature of the cleft (a full midline graded a 3, which is major) and to allow the veterinary students to see a dog with this type of deformity. We may be there for several hours and even half a day as they evaluate him. Then we must stay overnight and if all checks out with his heart, kidney function, and so forth, he will have the surgery the next day. He will stay another two days or more for recuperation.

I do think people may not want to attempt surgery if an experienced vet is not available. A veterinary dentist is one option, as is a veterinary surgeon who does only surgery. The failure rate of this surgery is around 40%--not to be confused with mortality, although there is some risk of that when the puppy is sick or does not take well to anesthesia over a long period. The failure rate is even higher with additional surgeries. I think the overall failure rate includes clefts that run from the hard palate through the soft palate, and thus, the additional potential failure for the repaired cleft, if wide and performed when the puppy is still quite, to tear apart as the puppy's mouth continues to grow. Contributing to that percentage is, I think, the number of surgeries on serious clefts attempted by vets who have never seen a cleft. From what I understand, the usual procedure is for the tissue on both sides of the cleft to be cut, "roughed up along the edges," and then laid over the opening and stitched together. If it later tears, there is also a chance that the cleft can be left even larger.

It goes without saying that surgery of any kind is very, very expensive. In the case of veterinary specialists, such as oral surgeons in urban areas such as ours, it runs into the thousands. We also have to pay for our travel and our stay in a hotel for several anxious days, and then post-care over the following month. I am guessing Bombo's surgery at UC Davis, which includes all kinds of advanced equipment, a special surgical unit, and lots of intensive post-care will cost somewhere around $5000 to $7500--if there are no complications.

Although we would do almost anything for our babies, I don't think we can expect people to run into enormous debt and thus sacrifice their family's welfare when there are still high risks that the surgery won't even succeed. I am fortunate that I can afford the surgery. That is why I chose to take on this special needs puppy. His breeder loves him very much and gave him her all for 4 months. She said I was the only one she would ever give him to, knowing I had the time 24 hours a day, the experience with very small yorkies, resources among a network of yorkie breeders, and the means to pay for whatever he needed. The cost has already added up to a lot -- about $1700 in vet bills for routine care, early evaluations, and emergencies.

I do think that it's possible to keep some cleft palate puppies alive if one can establish a careful regimen and willingness to take on a lot of worry and thus keep the puppy relatively healthy. There is a website created by a lab breeder, Hennwood, I think, who does not recommend surgery. She feels that many clefts will close down naturally and that the dogs do well on a regimen of dry food and water. Much of my information on care--such as antibiotics, feeding, and such-- come from that advice. I think, however, her experience comes from raising bigger dogs, like labs. However, I was happy to read that another Yorkie puppy, Joker, has remained healthy, in spite of a cleft that was not corrected So it is possible to do!

Good luck to all the Cleft Palate Puppies and their Loving Humans.