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Lindyloo · 05-20-2009, 07:06 PM

Daffney was 4 when we adopted her 3 years ago. From the very start she did the reverse sneezing and when she got excited, she would cough and honk like a goose. At first it scared the dickens out of me, but she'd always recover very quickly.

I asked the vet about it and he told me it was called collapsing trachea or laryngeal paralysis. He said that he didn't think it would get any worse, so we didn't need to worry about it.

At the end of March Daffney caught kennel cough while romping outside with a neighbor's dog. As soon as I realized she was sick I brought her straight to the vet and he put her on antibiotics, which worked quickly. Unfortunately, this illness antagonized her collapsing trachea. The vet was seeing her a couple of times a week for steroid shots to keep the swelling down. She was showing tremendous improvement and we thought that she was out of the woods--until last Friday night.

She woke us up because her breathing sounded like a bullfrog. She was panting, her whole body was heaving with each breath, her tongue was hanging out of the side of her mouth, and her eyes were wide with fear. I was able to reach our vet almost immediately and he told me she wouldn't suffocate. He thought she might be too warm and to cool her down. That worked, thank Heaven. The next morning we went in to see him and agreed that we needed to schedule the surgery. He said that it would be laser surgery to eliminate the excess tissue in her trachea that causes the problem.

Our vet arranged an appointment with the same surgeon who repaired both of Daffney's knees, but we haven't had a chance to speak with him yet.

So, my questions are:
Have any of your babies had this laser surgery?
How long did the surgery take?
How long was the recovery?
Is there anything we need to know about?

Linda K.

05-20-2009, 07:06 PM	#1
Lindyloo YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Vermont Posts: 8	Daffney is having tracheal surgery Daffney was 4 when we adopted her 3 years ago. From the very start she did the reverse sneezing and when she got excited, she would cough and honk like a goose. At first it scared the dickens out of me, but she'd always recover very quickly. I asked the vet about it and he told me it was called collapsing trachea or laryngeal paralysis. He said that he didn't think it would get any worse, so we didn't need to worry about it. At the end of March Daffney caught kennel cough while romping outside with a neighbor's dog. As soon as I realized she was sick I brought her straight to the vet and he put her on antibiotics, which worked quickly. Unfortunately, this illness antagonized her collapsing trachea. The vet was seeing her a couple of times a week for steroid shots to keep the swelling down. She was showing tremendous improvement and we thought that she was out of the woods--until last Friday night. She woke us up because her breathing sounded like a bullfrog. She was panting, her whole body was heaving with each breath, her tongue was hanging out of the side of her mouth, and her eyes were wide with fear. I was able to reach our vet almost immediately and he told me she wouldn't suffocate. He thought she might be too warm and to cool her down. That worked, thank Heaven. The next morning we went in to see him and agreed that we needed to schedule the surgery. He said that it would be laser surgery to eliminate the excess tissue in her trachea that causes the problem. Our vet arranged an appointment with the same surgeon who repaired both of Daffney's knees, but we haven't had a chance to speak with him yet. So, my questions are: Have any of your babies had this laser surgery? How long did the surgery take? How long was the recovery? Is there anything we need to know about? Linda K.