AFGHANS ARE US -HEALTH

LARYNGEAL PARALYSIS

LAINEY’S STORY

The following was given to me by Lainey's late owner Liz Nazer to reproduced in Sylvia's health pages

I first noticed signs of LP in Lainey about 2 years ago. We had gone to the first afghan race meeting of the season. Lainey ran round in her usual way
but when she came off the track she sat down in a very careful deliberate way and she was foaming at the mouth. I took her to my vet who sent me to a specialist practice in Hertfordshire. There we had a 40 minute consultation and they x-rayed Lainey. The conclusion of Dr Burton was that she did have it but was not ready for the operation. This is better done when the condition has worsened.

Over the next two years her breathing became more noisy and it took her a long time to stop panting heavily after a walk. The crisis came when she
went for a walk with a friend and I hadn't realised it was still very warm even though it was early evening. I saw her collapse quite suddenly when she
was a very short distance from home. It was the most distressing and terrifying sight. Her eyes were glazed, her tongue rapidly went blue and the breath was screaming in her throat. We rushed her to the vet and her temperature was over 108. They told me there was only a 50/50 chance of
saving her. They gave her a cold water enema. soaked her in cold water and ran water over her tongue. Miraculously they got her temperature back down in 20 minutes. She took about 4 hours to come round and she stayed at my vets all over the weekend until they were sure her temperature had
stabilised.

They advised me to have the tie-back op done as soon as possible. I took her back to Dr Burton and they did the operation to tie back one side of her larynx. She came round very quickly and ate some food as soon as it was offered. I was able to take her home the next day.

The operation gives instant relief to the breathing and she was quite comfortable. I cannot recommend strongly enough that it is definitely worth doing. It MUST be done by a specialist, not only for the surgeons skill but the correct aftercare from the nurses.

I was very timid about feeding at first and I had a list of instructions from the specialist. I must always avoid crumbs and things that could get
sucked down into her lungs. I now feed her soaked complete food, large cubes of chicken, sausage, pasta and tinned firm textured tripe in largish scoops. (Not all at once but I ring the changes) She is now, a month after the op, a happy little girl and I don't have the same panic when the weather gets hot. It is lovely to see her trotting about with no struggling to breathe.

I hope this will help anyone who feels that their dog might be showing signs of the same problem. If they are, get an expert opinion and insist on a
specialist doing the operation if it is needed.

Liz Nazer

Update: Lainey did very well for quite a long time after the surgery. Sadly her owner passed away unexpectedly and Lainey went to live with her co-owner Sue where she remained happily until she also passed away at a good age. I know Liz had no regrets about having the surgery done at all as it greatly improved Lainey's quality of life for a considerable time.