A Breath of Fresh Air for Our Beloved Pets!

Elongated soft palate is a very common breathing disorder of the brachycephalic ("short nosed') breeds.  The soft palate is a flap of tissue at the back of the throat.  If the flap is too large or long, it can block the airway making it very difficult to breathe!  Symptoms seen with this condition include excessive panting, coughing up food or phlegm, or most commonly loud and raspy breathing, especially when active.  Snoring and passing out from lack of air may also be seen. 

Breeds affected with elongated soft palates:

Pug
English Bulldog
French Bulldog
Boston Terrier
Shih Tzu
Pekingese
Boxer
Mastiff
Bullmastiff

At Hunt Valley Animal Hospital, we are using an innovative procedure that helps to reduce surgical time and causes LESS PAIN, a quicker recovery and a shorter hospital stay.  Our Ligasure cautery surgical unit provides much better vessel sealing and healing over the traditional laser used for this procedure.  Drs. Frank, Brooks and Johnston have learned this advanced procedure from continuing education course work at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.  We have been successfully performing these procedures since 2005. 

Ligasure vessel sealing unit used for our soft palate resections.