Lp (laryngeal Paralysis)

[mavmon]

My old girl (12 years old) was diagnosed with this condition not long ago

Was wondering if anyone her has had experience with this condition?

Is there any treatment (other than surgery) we could try? And tips on how to manage it?

Has anyone had a dog undergo the surgery? Was it successful?

thanks

[curlygirl]

Try and pm Iluvflatcoats. Her dog Grover has had the surgery, I'm sure she"ll help, shes lovely.

[Fastgals]

Yes, our oldest grey was finally diagnosed with LP in March last year, after suffering intermittent breathing problems for many months. Girlie was 13 and a week after diagnosis, had a unilateral tieback operation by a soft tissue specialist surgeon at Werribee. Girlie's LP was life-threatening by the time it was diagnosed and surgery (pronto!) was the only option, there weren't any medicinal alternatives. Surgery may be postponed in some dogs where the LP is not so severe.

Girlie only had another 8 months with us after her operation, but this was nothing to do with the LP or the surgery. The surgery was worth every cent - she could breathe comfortably, cope with the heat, she was sparky again and put on more weight in the six months after surgery than she had the whole time we'd had her. We had adopted Girlie as a frail 10yo and it had been an ongoing battle to keep weight on her, amongst other things. I used to call her my "work in progress" .

Has your vet suggested surgery? As far as age goes, Girlie was pretty close to the expected life-span of a greyhound and I do remember thinking that I wished this had happened when she was "only 11 or 12"... but she coped well with the surgery and made quite a speedy recovery.

[mavmon]

thanks curlygirl, will do

fastgals .. no - no mention of surgery from my vet, they just told me to keep her "quiet" & see how she goes ;)

Does this condition deteriorate? They never told me that

thanks for sharing your experience with Girlie .. am pleased you got some extra time with her

[ILFC]

Hi Mavmon,

PM me if you want! I'll give you a run down of what happened to Grover. He was diagnosed at six months with LP after going to vet after vet. No one knew what it was in such a young dog. Grover's airway was so compromised the op was the only option. He had a tie back operation straight away- they tie one side back of the epiglottis. They usually go in through the side of the neck. They do one side to try and minimise the risk of aspiration puemonia (sp?) where food and water falls down into the lungs because of the tie back. It has a long recovery time and you need to keep them quiet (use drugs if neccessary). Pick a surgeon who has done many as they do not have a lot of space to work with.

Grover was very difficult as keeping a young flat coat quiet was a nightmare. There are risks such as the tie back not working or making too much scar tissue. But there really is no other option- unless you want to put to sleep. All dogs eventually need the op. Months on; and Grover's breathing will never be normal- you will still hear their breathing, but they can get air! He is so happy and he can run- for a bit anyway. You need to be very careful in the heat, as they can't pant a lot to get air- I mean, they will a bit, but they don't get the same amount of air. Do not put a collar on at all. Your dog will need to wear a harness from now on; they also know themselves, they know they can't breathe in the collars and won't walk.

Having the op. was great but hard work. Grover's condition will probably be accompanied by other paralysis such as megaoesophogus or his back legs will go. But his is congenital- your dog's is acquired. They don't really know a lot about it.

You will need to watch what they eat e.g. big bones rather than small chicken necks, no biscuits etc. as they can shatter and go into the lungs easily. Soft, wet foods. It's like a disability. Life expectancy beyond LP- I don't know. But, with sadness, I welcome you to the LP club. ;)

[ILFC]

Sorry mavmon- should have adding the bit in re age. For a start- your doggie is better off as she is much less likely to want to run around etc. Seeing how she goes is pretty much good advice due to her age. It's just that it may come to an emergency decision if she goes into respiratory distress. You may need to start thinking about what your response to the vet may be. I was initally devastated but you get used to their disability and they don't know they are different. I really am sad for you and your old girl as it is a battle that they will be fighting until they go to the bridge. Older dogs after the op usually pass away from unrelated conditions anyway.

[mavmon]

Thanks for that ILoveFlatCoats. She is comfortable at the moment, and we have only had a couple of bad breathing moments for whatever reason. I keep her quiet which seems to be working well sofar. As you said at 12 she isnt all that active now anyway, so we are watching her weight too.

The summer is what is worrying me, we dont have airconditioning here so that will be a worry. I have a cooler so that will be getting a workout on the warm days I think.

She would cope with surgery, but I dont want to put her through that at the moment if I can help it. She had surgery a couple of months back for a cyst and the pre op tests (bloods) showed she was fit & healthy, heart is strong & lungs are clear. That was when they discovered the LP because I kept saying to them she sometimes sounds like she is having a severe asthma attack, but whenever I took her in to the vet she didnt do it. So whilst she was under they did an exploratory.

I was a nervous wreck then, thinking she was going to have a breathing attack whilst under & I didnt even know what the problem was

[ILFC]

That's great Mavmon- I'd sit tight for now if I were you. Good luck with your girl.

[Clyde]

Hi Mavmon, I unexpectedly lost Victoria a couple of weeks ago to LP :cool: I hadn't even heard about it before then. If the dog you have is a Collie I would recommend clipping in summer. I know long haired dog breeders/owners are anti clipping but it made an enormous difference for Victoria last summer. Be very careful with hard bones as that is what tipped Victoria over the edge. It is a condition which deteriorates over time so I would def. go for surgery. FRom what reading I have done it is always succesful. Unfortunately Victoria had too much scar tissue from prior surgeries to perform a tie back.

When Flat Coat posted in Victorias rainbow bridge post about her own dog I went through her posts and found a link to a site with other owners whose dogs have LP which you might find interesting.

[ILFC]

Yep- bones are a concern. I was going to feed chicken necks but I got too scared. We give Grover a large marrow bone. It seems to be okay. Dru- I'm so sorry for your loss. It is a horrible disease. One of the trainers (at my dog club) saints lost her battle with LP too. LP sucks the big one.