Laryngeal Paralysis & Surgical Cost?

[Guest alannamac]

In the past 10 days Bandit has gone from happy healthy 12 1/2 yr old to hacking wheezing geezer (still lots of energy but his breathing sounds awful).

He has reduced his eating and drinking (lost 3.5 lbs in that time) and is clearly uncomfortable by times.

Brought him in to the vet again today for endoscopy and he has near complete paralysis on both sides of his larynx. I have not picked him up yet as he's still coming up from sedation, so I haven't heard all of the details regarding possible surgery. The vet said she is calling around to get advice as she doesn't see this often in greys but is recommending a place in Richmond and will give me a cost breakdown once she talks with them.

Has anyone here had their pups have this kind of surgery lately? and if so, how old was your grey? how long was the recovery time and quality of life after surgery? also could you give me an approximation of cost?

I'm not sure what to do as it sounds like this is the only option besides watching him slowly suffocate. Any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

I have not personally been through this, but a close friend went through this exact situation with her greyhound. He was an old man too, I think 11 or 12. They chose to do the surgery and just last week she was telling me she would do it again in a heartbeat. The only thing they would have done differently was that they would have done it sooner.

 

If you send me a PM I can get you her e-mail address. She's not on GreyTalk.

[Guest alannamac]

thanks d0ggiem0mma I think I just sent you a PM, not sure if I did it the right way but it said the link would e-mail you

[Guest alannamac]

Going to pick up Nanners now, but will leave the computer on.

 

Will be back on in a few hours after I get him settled. Thanks.

 

Not sure why my post icon says "warn status" under it....have I done something wrong?

[Guest bonniesbullet]

I would love that info, as well. Bullet is 12, going to be 13 next month and I've noticed similar symptoms that have popped over the last few years. I just thought he was getting older, but now I see there might be something seriously wrong, that could get worse. He used to me an outstanding "roo-er", too and the poor thing can't do that anymore. I don't want him to suffer--the summer months are just brutal for him. It gets really hot and humid here in NC. Thanks for any info!

[3greytjoys]

I'm so very sorry to read about Bandit. One of my seniors (9.5 years old) has had progressive LP symptoms for the past couple of years. Sounds like you know the limited options for this diagnosis. I highly recommend finding a "Board Certified" surgeon for this surgery.

 

Please keep Bandit cool and calm. Please do NOT allow him to run and exercise. It could force him into a breathing crisis. Panting swells the throat more, thus possible suffocation. Soaking his kibble until it's soft may help. I use a slightly raised feeder. Aspirate pneumonia is a risk for LP dogs. Bandit needs to remain as stress free as possible. Bandit might not be able to handle any walks by now. (My hound is close to complete paralysis. I only walk my hound on very slow strolls in cool weather or at night or early morning.)

 

If you do a "search" on GT for "Laryngeal Paralysis" you will find more information. I highly recommend joining the Laryngeal Paralysis group for dog owners (link below). There is a wealth of specific information from LP owners on that forum that can answer your questions. Many members have chosen surgery and reported results for their dogs. Subscribe: LP-subscribe@yahoogroups.com -or- List owner: LP-owner@yahoogroups.com

 

Surgery costs vary by region. Unfortunately, my hound is not a good candidate, otherwise I would have done surgery. Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

 

(BTW, everyone sees "warn status" on their own account but other members don't see it. I don't think you did anything wrong, I think it's mainly for GT administration.)

 

Edited to add for previous poster: Extra heavy panting (sounds like more of a struggle for oxygen) and a deepening voice are other clues of LP. My hound's bark sounds much more deep and rough as LP has progressed.

Edited May 2, 2011 by 3greytjoys

[MP_the4pack]

My little old lady Onyx had it done 4 yrs ago when she was 11. If you have a good surgeon, you should have no problems. The doctor I used went in from the side of the neck, not down the throat.

 

She was sent home the same day.

 

I don't remember much about her recovery which means, whatever issues she had were minor. I would have remembered otherwise if she had a problem.

 

She wasn't allowed to eat anything that would produced something small enough to inhale. Aspirate pneumonia is the biggest issue with these dogs. So no crunchy milkbones or similar items. I didn't like giving her rice either. If she needed a bland diet at anytime she got macaroni. All her food was moist. I would soak people cookies for her for her cookie treats.

 

Heat exchange thru panting is also diminished, so you don't want them to overheat.

 

She was on daily pepcid as a precaution to vomiting as that was an aspirate concern as well.

 

Be prepared for a complete loss of voice. Onyx ended up with just a "huff". But she still communicated well enough just huffing at me.

 

She lived to 15.5, and passed away to problems not related to her LP.

[Guest alannamac]

I have Bandit back home and resting comfortably. Oddly his breathing sounds pretty good right now

 

I've been advised to keep walks to early morning or late evening when it's cool, keep the A/C going (thank heavens I got that monster new heat pump last year)

and limit exercise and excitement.

The paralysis is apparently pretty severe on both sides

I don't understand how it could just "give out" like that....one minute fine the next he was coughing and snoring and wheezing.

He had been on amoxicillin, temaril and a bronchodillator (prescribed last week) with the supposition that this was bronchitis or allergic inflammation.

He's now been switched to doxycycline (in case this is a hidden infection or tick bourne illness related inflammation) and prednisone (because he can't tolerate rimadil) to try to get the inflammation down.

Switching from martingale collar to halter now permanently as well to reduce any possible pressure to the larynx area.

If he's still having issues in 2 weeks, I'll have to decide about the surgery. He's in great health other than bad corns and I just can't watch him suffocate. I'll just have to find a payment plan or something because I think this is pretty expensive.

( around 3,000)

But the thought of losing him and knowing in the future that if I'd only spent 3K he'd still be with me is not one I'm willing to have.

Love the old geezer, farts and all

 

Thanks for the advice on the Yahoo LP forums. I will definitely check them out.

 

hope this all makes sense, I'm a little flustered, but glad to have him home and resting.

[tbhounds]

Are you near a university? Cost may be lower at a teaching hospital. Don't be adraid to call to get a quote

[MP_the4pack]

I have Bandit back home and resting comfortably. Oddly his breathing sounds pretty good right now

 

I've been advised to keep walks to early morning or late evening when it's cool, keep the A/C going (thank heavens I got that monster new heat pump last year)

and limit exercise and excitement.

The paralysis is apparently pretty severe on both sides

I don't understand how it could just "give out" like that....one minute fine the next he was coughing and snoring and wheezing.

He had been on amoxicillin, temaril and a bronchodillator (prescribed last week) with the supposition that this was bronchitis or allergic inflammation.

He's now been switched to doxycycline (in case this is a hidden infection or tick bourne illness related inflammation) and prednisone (because he can't tolerate rimadil) to try to get the inflammation down.

Switching from martingale collar to halter now permanently as well to reduce any possible pressure to the larynx area.

If he's still having issues in 2 weeks, I'll have to decide about the surgery. He's in great health other than bad corns and I just can't watch him suffocate. I'll just have to find a payment plan or something because I think this is pretty expensive.

( around 3,000)

But the thought of losing him and knowing in the future that if I'd only spent 3K he'd still be with me is not one I'm willing to have.

Love the old geezer, farts and all

 

Thanks for the advice on the Yahoo LP forums. I will definitely check them out.

 

hope this all makes sense, I'm a little flustered, but glad to have him home and resting.

 

 

My cost 4 yrs ago was $1400. I hope it hasn't gone up that much since then.

[3greytjoys]

I have Bandit back home and resting comfortably. Oddly his breathing sounds pretty good right now

 

I've been advised to keep walks to early morning or late evening when it's cool, keep the A/C going (thank heavens I got that monster new heat pump last year)

and limit exercise and excitement.

The paralysis is apparently pretty severe on both sides

I don't understand how it could just "give out" like that....one minute fine the next he was coughing and snoring and wheezing.

He had been on amoxicillin, temaril and a bronchodillator (prescribed last week) with the supposition that this was bronchitis or allergic inflammation.

He's now been switched to doxycycline (in case this is a hidden infection or tick bourne illness related inflammation) and prednisone (because he can't tolerate rimadil) to try to get the inflammation down.

Switching from martingale collar to halter now permanently as well to reduce any possible pressure to the larynx area.

If he's still having issues in 2 weeks, I'll have to decide about the surgery. He's in great health other than bad corns and I just can't watch him suffocate. I'll just have to find a payment plan or something because I think this is pretty expensive.

( around 3,000)

But the thought of losing him and knowing in the future that if I'd only spent 3K he'd still be with me is not one I'm willing to have.

Love the old geezer, farts and all

 

Thanks for the advice on the Yahoo LP forums. I will definitely check them out.

 

hope this all makes sense, I'm a little flustered, but glad to have him home and resting.

 

Oh yes, soo glad you mentioned a halter. My hound only wears a harness when outside. She hasn't been able to wear a collars for a long time. Even though my girl is very close to complete paralysis (one side is completely paralyzed, the other side is close to complete paralysis) her breathing sounds quiet and fine when she is at rest. Hopefully, a breathing crisis will not occur. If it happens, an immediate visit to an ER is required.

 

(If anyone wants to learn what an advanced stage Greyhound breathing attack looks like, PM me. I'll send a link to one I found posted on YouTube.)

[Guest alannamac]

The cost estimate I was given was 2200-3000 a pretty broad range. The surgeon is board certified and does this procedure often.

The closest Vet school would be VaTech a 5 hr drive so that's not really do-able.

[greyhead]

Some vets who do expensive procedures offer interest-free financing through Care Credit, often for up to 12 months. You can use it for vet stuff and for human stuff like dental work. Once you're approved and have an account with Care Credit, it's always available to you as long as you remain in good standing. The vet places who offer this usually have the ability to give you the CC application and submit it for you, I think. Hope you can get it worked out!

[packmom]

We did it for Shilo at age 12 and it was totally worth it! He did great after and never had a complication even though during the surgery they had trouble getting the suture to stay.

[nancy14]

My bridge boy, Barko, had the surgery about 12 years ago at the UW Wisconsin Vet School. At the time, the cost was about $1,200 and worth every penny. I hope you can get this handled quickly.

[Guest bonniesbullet]

My little old lady Onyx had it done 4 yrs ago when she was 11. If you have a good surgeon, you should have no problems. The doctor I used went in from the side of the neck, not down the throat.

 

She was sent home the same day.

 

I don't remember much about her recovery which means, whatever issues she had were minor. I would have remembered otherwise if she had a problem.

 

She wasn't allowed to eat anything that would produced something small enough to inhale. Aspirate pneumonia is the biggest issue with these dogs. So no crunchy milkbones or similar items. I didn't like giving her rice either. If she needed a bland diet at anytime she got macaroni. All her food was moist. I would soak people cookies for her for her cookie treats.

 

Heat exchange thru panting is also diminished, so you don't want them to overheat.

 

She was on daily pepcid as a precaution to vomiting as that was an aspirate concern as well.

 

Be prepared for a complete loss of voice. Onyx ended up with just a "huff". But she still communicated well enough just huffing at me.

 

She lived to 15.5, and passed away to problems not related to her LP.

 

How long is the recovery time? Is that possible complication of aspirate pneumonia only immediately following surgery or will that always be a possibility? We are supposed to be traveling a bit in June and need to know if we need to change our plans to accommodate recovery time. We will probably be doing surgery the beginning of June. Thanks!

[MP_the4pack]

Recovery time was very short. She came home the same day. The surgery was done thru the side of the neck as opposed to going thru the mouth. It was over 4 yrs ago and I don't remember anything with her recovery, which means it was very uneventful and short. Basically the recovery is for the sutures in the neck as all they did was tie back the larynx.

 

Aspirate pneumonia is a threat to any dog with LP with or without the surgery. And it pretty much is anytime after you notice the changes. But, as long as you keep things moist, and nothing crunchy that could break into small piece easy to inhale, you should be fine. (I also stayed away from rice and substituted macaroni instead whenever she needed a bland diet).

 

Any future surgery in which the dog is intubated, the vets need to be advised about the tieback. They keep the tube down their throat until the very last minute as they're waking up. (longer than usual).

 

Also, whenever I suspected something, she threw up or coughed a little more than usual, I went to the vets to have her lungs checked and they usually put her on preventive antibiotics.

 

Oh....they will cough a bit more after surgery than before, since the passageway is permanently open.

[brandimom]

Just wanted to add to keep your grey as stress free as possible. Stress can bring an episode on. Wishing you and your grey the best.

[Guest MnMDogs]

We just went through this with Mork (Feb 25 of this year) and the only thing I would have done differently, is I would have done it sooner. I started a thread about it back then that you can probably find. He is currently just over 11 and a half.

 

I would first suggest that you meet with a surgeon to perform the surgery. The surgeon who did Mork's surgery was wonderful. He does this surgery quite frequently (first on a grey), and the time from prep to completion is about 40 minutes. He said that this shortened time under anesthesia results in a lesser chance of aspiration, and that the longer surgery times (teaching vet hospitals) can be a reason for aspiration shortly after surgery.

 

Mork came home that night, and that by far was the worst part of the whole process. He was unable to eat or drink and he desperately wanted water, so he paced and paced and searched for water for hours. I was able to give him ice chips, but he was parched and until he finally got water in the morning was completely restless.

 

But that day, as soon as he could drink and eat, he was as good as new. He is on the same diet he was on before (surgeon didn't recommend any changes unless he can't tolerate diet) including his much loved Burpdog biscuits! We do add a little water to his kibble, and that seems to prevent his coughing during eating. But other than that, nothing has changed. We also do keep a doggie thermometer on hand so we can monitor his temp in case he vomits (higher risk of aspiration) or seems "off".

 

The cost for us was about 3000 - which included the surgical consult and CXR and US (we were concerned with weight loss and wanted to make sure nothing else was going on in the old man).

 

He's now almost 3 months out, and is so happy and playful. It's amazing the difference in him. Oh, the only adverse effect that we can tell is that he cannot bark, or whine or make happy moaning "eargasm" sounds. I wasn't fully prepared for that, but he doesn't seem to mind.

 

Good luck with your boy

 

The cost estimate I was given was 2200-3000 a pretty broad range. The surgeon is board certified and does this procedure often.

The closest Vet school would be VaTech a 5 hr drive so that's not really do-able.

 

Ahh, I just saw this about the surgeon... excellent that he does this often. Definitely meet with him and find out how often

 

We hemmed and hawed over this (due to Mork's age, and my fear of aspiration pneumonia) until we had a very very scary episode early in the year on an unseasonably warm day. I could never go through that again... if your boy is otherwise healthy, I would seriously consider getting this done.

 

ETA - Morky has bad corns too. Amazingly enough, they don't even seem to bother him as much!

Edited May 9, 2011 by MnMDogs

[maximum]

I'm very interested in reading these responses as I suspect my 13 year old had been developing this over the past couple of years. He is very panty in the heat - really any heat, over about 10 degrees celcius and he is panting. And it is getting to be quite raspy. He was never a barker or a roo-er so I can't tell if that has changed. He does not choke or cough much; some though. They are calling for a hotter than normal summer this year; I'm worried already and starting to think about the tie-back...otherwise he is very healthy (for 13, of course! ) Oh, he has some hind end weakness, but suspect that may be tied to the LP (I think I read on here somewhere that these can be releated).

 

Anyone experienced a LP tie-back surgery in Ontario -not sure how to find a surgeon; maybe through the OVC?

 

Good luck to your Bandit - thank god for air conditioning!

Edited May 10, 2011 by maximum

[Mattie]

My 13 and a half year old lab retriever mix developed LP earlier this year. She is past the sounding like she is sawing wood, and now has breathing crisises of very laboured attempts to breath with copious amounts of phlegm.  She pees and poops in the car, and sometimes on the deck.   She can not get worked up.  I have her on CBD oil that does keep her calm.  Two junior vets said she was not a good candidate for surgery, but they never examined her throat.  I will get another consultation.   Has anyone experienced the massive phlegm problem?  Please help.

[ashley]

My 6.5 yr old lab has just been diagnosed with LP. I was also told today that he has hip dysplasia on one hip, arthritis in the other, a cataract on his right eye along with cherry eye and has lost vision in that eye(he will also need a surgery to tack the inner eyelid down and remove the cataract). I received one quote from a doctor in richmond va for $4500, just for the LP surgery. Which I cannot really afford, however I will call around and see if we can find someone a little cheaper. Anyone have any suggestions? I want to do whats best for him but do not want to put him through anything that will make him feel more discomfort.

[Mariavegan]

My greyhound has LP and am reading through the threads. I am considering surgery but wanted to try meds first. I have health insurance to help with costs, but she is senior and I am afraid. 

[macoduck]

1 hour ago, Mariavegan said:

My greyhound has LP and am reading through the threads. I am considering surgery but wanted to try meds first. I have health insurance to help with costs, but she is senior and I am afraid. 

Ask your vet to prescribe Doxepin. It's a human medicine so you can get it filled cheaply at any pharmacy. My boy was 11 or 12 when I started him on it. It worked almost immediately but must be given every 12 hours for effectiveness. Worth a try before jumping into surgery.

Edited March 14, 2021 by macoduck