Elongated Palate

[mer55]

Jackson had his vet check yesterday and the "rattle/congestion" we are hearing is from his elongated palate. Vet said it was "quite long" and he will bear watching. He said surgery would onky be done if necessary and when he is older. Should the breeder have mentioned this possibility when I questioned his rattle? Shouldnt HER vet who gave him the health certificate made note of it? It would not have changed a thing for us, we would have taken him anyway, but I feel like she kind of deceived us. Would love feedback on this from you all! Also, would really appreciate info from any of you that went thru this first hand. Do they all need surgery? Can they grow out of it? Did the surgery completely correct the problem? Anything I need to watch for? TIA!!

 

[2BullyMama]

I’m not surprised the breeder said nothing to you about, unfortunately it is almost expected to be an issue.

I’ve been through two needing surgery. Nitschke we did at age two and he did great after and did not need any additional procedures.

Our Frenchie, Cheli has had it three times, the second was due to scar tissue formed due to is allowing him to bark... just dumb on our part.... third was due to sleep apnea issues, since the palate is soft tissue and can grow back.

They bounce back quick... a few days of soft food and they are all good to go.

Not all need it... Banks was fine and Lambeau we had his nares widened at 16 weeks, which we believe help eliminate stress on the palate


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[helsonwheels]

I just had Jake’s done. My breeder said he was fine but again he was on a farm in bigger runs. So basically wasn’t an issue on the farm. I noticed it on his walks. I wanted him to walk daily with Nyala. He didn’t do more than 100ft n started to pant hard. Brought him the my vet to book his vasectomy and to have the soft palate checked. Did both surgery at the same time. His walks are now a good one km. Like Christine said, soft food for a good week or so. I thawed out their raw and he still inhaled it down...

 

[mer55]

Thankyou!!

 

[ddnene]

I had both Walter and Willow's done... AND had their nares widened. Sadly (and it hurts just to say this) I think what Winston should've had his done and he would still be here w/us I will NEVER have another bulldog w/out having these checked or done early on.

Anyhoo... both my guys recovered quickly, and had zero complications from their surgeries. We had them done during eye procedures that they both needed...

 

[helsonwheels]

My vet said some very interesting that made sense to me. When I brought Jake for his checkup a couple weeks before surgery he said dogs don’t die because of nostril airways but dies from soft palate. He also said he doesn’t like to do both surgeries at the same time because it’s to close to one another for infection. He will do nostrils only if both are barely open. Jake’s are medium and he’s over 2.5 yrs old. So doubt he’ll have nostril issues. Just a thought n yes ask questions...

 

[NicosMom]

Can a vet just look in the mouth and make the determination whether they need surgery for soft palate or do they need x-rays?

 

[cefe13]

Jackson had his vet check yesterday and the "rattle/congestion" we are hearing is from his elongated palate. Vet said it was "quite long" and he will bear watching. He said surgery would onky be done if necessary and when he is older. Should the breeder have mentioned this possibility when I questioned his rattle? Shouldnt HER vet who gave him the health certificate made note of it? It would not have changed a thing for us, we would have taken him anyway, but I feel like she kind of deceived us. Would love feedback on this from you all! Also, would really appreciate info from any of you that went thru this first hand. Do they all need surgery? Can they grow out of it? Did the surgery completely correct the problem? Anything I need to watch for? TIA!!

Castor was fine until about a year but then it became pretty obvious that we needed to do something and he went through soft palate surgery and widening of his nares when he was 18 months. As others say, they are fine after a couple of days - just make sure to fed soft bland food the first week. We took Castor to a large vet hospital not only for the surgical expertise but also because they could keep him over night - apparently there is a slight risk of swelling after surgery and we wanted to make sure that Castor was being monitored by vet staff.

 

[cefe13]

Can a vet just look in the mouth and make the determination whether they need surgery for soft palate or do they need x-rays?

I don't think so. When we took Castor to a surgeon for an evaluation, he examined Castor externally, observed him and listened to his breathing but there were no x-rays. I think it's pretty obvious when the dog needs this procedure. Castor would throw up white foam on a daily basis and even after a short walk, his breathing was very laboured although he was young and very fit.

 

[2BullyMama]

Can a vet just look in the mouth and make the determination whether they need surgery for soft palate or do they need x-rays?

No, a true evaluation requires sedation... no rays, look in the throat


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[helsonwheels]

Can a vet just look in the mouth and make the determination whether they need surgery for soft palate or do they need x-rays?

When I got Jake, I wanted him completely checked. This vet he knows all flat nose dogs inside out. He opened his mouth n pushed down on Jake’s tongue and show me, you barely saw the entrance. There was no sedation to check. When he had surgery, the vet said it was extremely long...