Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Differences in arytenoid cartilage in brachycephalic and other dogs
By Tokunaga, Satoshi et al.·Published in PloS one·2020·College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Histological and mechanical comparisons of arytenoid cartilage between 4 brachycephalic and 8 non-brachycephalic dogs: A pilot study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that brachycephalic dogs, like Bulldogs and Pugs, often have breathing problems due to a condition called brachycephalic airway syndrome (BAS). In these dogs, the cartilage in their larynx (the voice box) showed signs of degeneration, making it weaker compared to non-brachycephalic dogs. This weakness can lead to complications after surgery intended to help with their breathing issues. Understanding these cartilage problems may help veterinarians improve treatment outcomes for dogs suffering from BAS.
People also search for: brachycephalic dog breathing problems · laryngeal collapse in Bulldogs · arytenoid lateralization surgery for Pugs
Abstract
Brachycephalic airway syndrome (BAS) is a well-established cause of respiratory distress in dogs. BAS without surgical correction results in eventual laryngeal collapse. Arytenoid lateralization has been used to treat severe laryngeal collapse with some highly variable results. Chondromalacia and decreased stiffness of the arytenoid cartilage has been postulated a source of failure after arytenoid lateralization but no report of the histological characteristics and mechanical strength of arytenoid cartilage in brachycephalic dogs has been reported. Here we report histological and mechanical features in arytenoid cartilage of brachycephalic dogs. We identified the arytenoid cartilage in brachycephalic dogs presented degenerative histological characteristics and decreased load to failure and stiffness compared to that in non-brachycephalic dogs. Together, these observations suggest that degenerative condition of arytenoid cartilage in brachycephalic dogs could contribute to chondromalacia and mechanical weakness of arytenoid cartilage and result in cause of failure after arytenoid lateralization.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32941546/