Laryngeal Paralysis (LP)

[jewelbreeze]

My eleven year-old chocolate lab boy, Velvet, was diagnosed a few days ago with laryngeal paralysis, a disorder of the larynx that causes swelling and poor functioning of the larynx. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this diagnosis, what home treatments they may have used to work with the symptoms (excessive panting, labored breathing, or, worst case, inability to breathe at all!), and if the surgery was an option that worked well.

My vet says that Velvet is in the very early stages of this disease (he doesn't have any labored breathing at this point, just some hacking), but it will continue to worsen.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
~~jewlie~~

[Catty1]

Well, I know nothing about it, but I did find a couple of links you may find helpful.

http://www.peteducation.com/article....2+2096&aid=861

http://pet-diseases.suite101.com/art..._dogs_and_cats

Hope things work out for Velvet!

[jewelbreeze]

Thanks for the links. I really appreciate your help!

[flip195]

I had a GSP with LP and opted not to do the surgery.

the risk of asperation is to great if your dog is a food/water gluper.

Most dogs I know of that have had surgery have suffered this, very few have lived more than 2 years after surgery.



Our boy lived 4 years from diagnosis to death from a heartattack. (at age 15)

During that time he only had 2 bad episodes where he collapsed.

We found that chiropracty worked for him, but not your normal bone bending stuff... the method used was called "NETWORK"

We also changed up his diet to fresh cooked home prepared meals and hand fed him the last 2 years,

Raised food/waterbowls also help.

Keeping them cool in hot weather, and calm as much as possible is the key, discourage barking and excitement.

learn doggie first aid and resus breathing (mouth to nose), if your dog has a bad attack and stops breathing this can help bring them back, also running cold water over them.

If you have any questions please let me know I will try to answer.

this is the link to the guy we used.... email him he may know someone in your area.
http://www.doctorjeffrey.com/


please remember with this disease your dog will NOT be able to do all the things they used to.

Running, swimming, hard play are pretty much a no no from here on in.

[dvzk165]

My chocolate lab was also 11 when first diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis. I didn’t want surgery because of my fear of aspiration pneumonia. I tried everything I could but her breathing worsened over the next 18 months until it became truly frightening when she went wading in the lake and came out choking and gagging and throwing up foamy mucus and she couldn’t breathe at all. She collapsed and her tongue turned blue as she struggled to breathe. It was truly awful to witness (and for her to live through, I imagine!). She was in surgery four days later and had a unilateral tieback at 12 years, 7 months of age. She lived another 16 months with her tieback and never had an issue with it. She never got aspiration pneumonia. She went on to die of oral malignant melanoma, nothing even remotely connected to laryngeal paralysis. She was 5 weeks short of her 14th birthday.

There IS a risk of aspiration but the surgeon told us that 85% of the dogs she performs the surgery on never have a complication and never get aspiration pneumonia. The surgery is extremely operator-dependent, meaning the surgeon’s skill has a lot to do with the eventual outcome. A few millimeters too much and the aspiration risk becomes much greater.

Good luck with Velvet. My vet said that while LP is progressive, in some dogs it never progresses to the point of needing surgery. Some dogs die of other causes before the LP becomes life threatening.

My advice at this point is to watch and be aware of changes, be aware of whether or not he struggles to inhale, and watch the color of his tongue (it should be pink, not pale or purplish). You probably should remove his collar and switch to a harness instead so as not to put any excess pressure on his throat. Also, in a laryngeal paralysis dog, you need to always be watchful of aspiration pneumonia, as it is a risk even without surgery.

Also, go to Yahoo Groups homepage and type in “laryngeal paralysis.” There is an LP group and an LPAlternatives group. Both are a wonderful source of support and information for owners dealing with LP in their pups.

[Dee Krevey]

My beloved 11 year old chocolate lab died today as a result of complications due to a laryngeal Tieback-We were not well informed on any complications other that aspiration. He didnt die from aspiration he had a Laryngeal Collapse, so basically the very thing we sought to avoid, occured. He did have a few bad episodes and before the surgery, the alternative was to keep him from over heating and excitement. We couldnt walk or swim him so his quality of life was less than optimum. That said, knowing what I know now, I would not choose the surgery until I had no other choice. Up until the surgery
you wouldnt know there was anything wrong with him, he was healthy and beautiful. After the surgery he was never the same, he wouldnt eat and had to be hand fed baby food. He was lathargic. He had a Vet apt this morning at 8:00 and passed away just a few hours prior. The Vet said he wouldnt have been able to save him-What happened in surgery to compromise the Laryngeal Muscle?-The surgeon -a specialist in our area said the procedure was text book and his case was not as bad as he has seen in others. Please do surgery as a last resort. My Gunner had survived 3 cancer surgeries and one cornea operation and came through fine, I went forward not realizing my sweet Angel would not come through this one alive. Best of Luck

[Susan Mary]

I'm trying to decide what to do with my 10 year old chocolate lab, Max. He is a blind diabetic. His diabetes is under control now with two insulin shots a day. A few months ago he a bad bout of pancreatitis which set off a horrible case of ketoacidosis. He was in intensive care for days. Thousands of dollars latter he is now better.

Though not related to Max's recent medical emergency, his voice started to go. He sounds hoarse and the poor soul can no longer howl at the sound of a siren. The vet suspected nerve damage in his throat from diabetes. Over the summer things progressed from bad to worse. Now he has severe retching when he wakes, day or night. He often spits up during these long gagging/retching episodes. His breathing is always loud but his oral colour stays a nice shade of pink. He has only choked once while eating.

I have not had a diagnosis of LP confirmed buy I very sure this is the problem. I'm not sure what to do. I'm on a pension and cannot afford another large hospital or surgery bill. I'm just getting over the last three thousand dollar (plus) bill from his diabetes episode mentioned above. I don't mean to sound whiny but the hundred dollar a month cost of insulin, syringes plus fairly often fructosamine testing is a little steep. Tie back surgery for LP is not an option for me. My budget can't handle it and I'm not sure if my dog is even a good candidate for surgery. (Diabetics have bad veins.)

I know I'll have to put this dog down but I don't know when.

That's the question. What do I do and when do I do it?

I live by myself. If Max stops breathing there is nothing I will be able to do. I can't lift him. He is a very large dog (106 lbs.). Because I have COPD, I won't be able to give him first aid and/or resuscitation. Heck, I can't breath for myself let alone anybody else. I know how terrifying it is not being able to breathe. I don't want my dog to suffer that.

Thoughts?

[dvzk165]

I think that you will know when your dog’s quality of life is bad enough to warrant your putting him down. It sounds like you love your dog and you know him, so you will know. Trust your instincts and you will know.

If you can’t afford tieback surgery, maybe you can afford an alternate procedure, sometimes debark buys the dog some time and allows freer breathing for at least a while (not sure about the time frame). I know diabetics have special issues so you should probably have a frank discussion with your vet. There is a Yahoo Group called LPAlternatives that you can join and folks there have had this alternative procedure done on their dogs and they can help you. To my understanding it’s less than $200-300 to have that done, versus $2000 for the tieback. Again, I have NO personal experience with this but I know of others who have so it might be worth discussing with them.

When the time comes for your dog to be put down, ask the vet for a sedative for him first. The vet might say he doesn’t need it but it’s a very peaceful way for them to go. The sedative is injected and your dog falls to sleep (real sleep), then when he’s relaxed and sleeping, they give the “overdose” shot that ends their life.

Good luck to you, both with your own health issues and Max’s. Remember that whatever decision you make for your dog will be the right one, when made out of love for him.

[Diggs]

My 12 year old Yellow Lab Retriever Hannah was diagnosed with LP also. She has been amazingly healthy - I have had her off kibble since she was 5 years old. I have her on cooked chicken - steam vegetables - boiled yams squash-steam rice - and whole food supplements from Standard Process. Her health is amazing. she looks like she is 5 years old and her coat is very soft - her teeth are white and healthy. I also give her Ester C (vitamin C supplement) for her hip dysplasia which has done wonders. She's so much stronger on her hips since I gave her this Ester C.

I want to thank everyone for their support and it gives me hope that Hannah has the chance to live longer than 12. I bought a commercial blender also to blend her foods so that there is no little pieces caught in her throat from trouble swallowing. So far this has worked awesome! I wont put her through the surgery as it wouldn't be fair to put her through such a problematic/painful recovery process and too risky at her age.

I have done the following and this has limited her episodes to 1 per week or only if she gets excited>>>

1 - raised her food bowls
2 - keep her cool
3 - blend her meals into a liquid form (mixed with half hot water from kettle and half bottled water)
4 - Give her 250-500 mg Ester C
5 - feed her Standard Process supplements
6 - Feed her Ayurvedic supplements for her blood flow, digestion, heart etc.
7 - Give her 100 kisses per day on the head minimum along with belly rubs, sing her songs, and daily walks (only less than 70 degrees - if it is a hot day Ill take her out at night but still get her into the sunlight for Vitamin D)
8 - Pray for all the dogs that have this condition that they live as long as possible without any pain.
9 - Keep a calm home environment and give them time to rest and sleep without interruptions - keeping the dog calm keeps the throat nice and relaxed. Also don't get upset around the dog - as you know our pets seem to own our stuff and this causes them to feel stress also.

Thanks again everyone for sharing! Ill keep you posted.

__________________________________________________ _______________

I had a GSP with LP and opted not to do the surgery.

the risk of asperation is to great if your dog is a food/water gluper.

Most dogs I know of that have had surgery have suffered this, very few have lived more than 2 years after surgery.



Our boy lived 4 years from diagnosis to death from a heartattack. (at age 15)

During that time he only had 2 bad episodes where he collapsed.

We found that chiropracty worked for him, but not your normal bone bending stuff... the method used was called "NETWORK"

We also changed up his diet to fresh cooked home prepared meals and hand fed him the last 2 years,

Raised food/waterbowls also help.

Keeping them cool in hot weather, and calm as much as possible is the key, discourage barking and excitement.

learn doggie first aid and resus breathing (mouth to nose), if your dog has a bad attack and stops breathing this can help bring them back, also running cold water over them.

If you have any questions please let me know I will try to answer.

this is the link to the guy we used.... email him he may know someone in your area.
http://www.doctorjeffrey.com/


please remember with this disease your dog will NOT be able to do all the things they used to.

Running, swimming, hard play are pretty much a no no from here on in.

[Karen]

7 - Give her 100 kisses per day on the head minimum along with belly rubs, sing her songs, and daily walks (only less than 70 degrees - if it is a hot day Ill take her out at night but still get her into the sunlight for Vitamin D)

I bet this has as much to do with her continued health as everything else! Today, give her one extra - for me! After all, as a Lab, she's got that broad head just made for kisses, right?