Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bulldog had heart stoppage during airway surgery positioning
By García, María Gregorio et al.·Published in Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia·2026·Department of Anaesthesia, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Intra-anaesthetic asystole in a Bulldog during positioning for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome surgery.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 2.5-year-old male English Bulldog was brought in for surgery to fix breathing problems related to his short snout and to be neutered. During the procedure, the dog experienced two episodes of asystole, which is when the heart briefly stops beating, likely due to a reflex triggered by positioning. The surgery was postponed to allow the dog to recover from anesthesia, and after further monitoring showed no heart issues, the surgery was successfully completed later. A year after the surgery, the dog was doing much better, with improved breathing and quality of life.
People also search for: Bulldog breathing problems surgery · dog heart stopped during anesthesia · brachycephalic surgery recovery
Abstract
A male English Bulldog, aged 2.5 years, presented for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome corrective surgery for treatment of ventilatory difficulties and castration. The dog experienced asystole twice during positioning for surgery, suspected to result from the maxillomandibulocardiac reflex, a version of the trigeminocardiac reflex. Procedures were postponed and the dog was allowed to recover from anaesthesia. Echocardiography, electrocardiogram and 24 hour Holter monitoring were unremarkable. As ventilatory compromise persisted, the procedure was attempted again. Despite a period of severe bradycardia with intermittent sinus arrest after premedication, the dog was anaesthetized, underwent surgery and recovered. On follow-up 1 year after the procedure, the dog showed an improvement in respiratory effort and overall quality of life.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41707367/