Breathing results in dogs after surgery for flat face airway problems

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To report and compare short- and long-term outcomes in dogs following surgery for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). STUDY DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study. SAMPLE POPULATION: Client owned dogs (n = 32). METHODS: Dogs that underwent BOAS surgery before 2019 with preoperative and short-term postoperative assessments were recruited for long-term follow up to obtain respiratory functional grades (RFG) and BOAS indices. Dogs that underwent a second airway surgery (33 of 117) were excluded. Comparisons of BOAS indices and RFGs among preoperative, short-term, and long-term postoperative time points were performed using Friedman's tests and post hoc Wilcoxon signed rank tests with Bonferroni corrections. RESULTS: There were 32 of 117 dogs available for long-term assessment. Median long-term postoperative assessments occurred at 1645 days after surgery (range 1208-2927 days). Long-term postoperative RFG and BOAS index values were improved compared with preoperative values. There was no difference between short-term and long-term postoperative assessments (p > .999 for RFG values, and p = .623 for BOAS index values). Owners reported a high degree of satisfaction with surgery: 55% believed their dogs no longer had breathing problems (long-term BOAS index 50.8 ± 17.6%) and 39% believed their dog still had breathing problems (long-term BOAS index 48.9 ± 20.5%). CONCLUSION: Improvements in RFG and BOAS Indices seen following surgery were maintained over time. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study with clinician-assessed objective long-term respiratory outcomes of BOAS surgery. The long-term improvements in RFG and BOAS indices support the long-term clinical benefit and durability of surgical intervention for BOAS.