Owner-assisted recovery and early discharge after surgical treatment in dogs with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to describe a perioperative protocol for dogs recovered from anaesthesia with the owners and discharged from the hospital on the same day after surgical management of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome and to determine whether implementation of this protocol was associated with reduced incidence of complications compared with standard anaesthesia recovery and 24 hours hospitalisation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of dogs that underwent brachycephalic obstructive airway surgery over two consecutive years (June 2017 to May 2019) were reviewed retrospectively. Signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic findings, surgical procedures and postoperative respiratory complications were recorded. Data were compared using the chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: Sixty-three dogs met the inclusion criteria for the study. Forty-two dogs underwent owner-assisted recovery and 21 dogs standard recovery. No statistical difference was found between groups in age, breed, gender, severity of respiratory or gastrointestinal clinical signs and surgical techniques employed. The incidence of postoperative complications was higher in dogs that received standard recovery (28%) compared to dogs recovered with the owners (2%). None of the dogs recovered with the owners and discharged the same day required veterinary assistance after discharge from the hospital. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Corrective surgery for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome was associated with lower postoperative respiratory complications when dogs were discharged on the same day after recovery with the owners. Owner-assisted recovery and early discharge are possible and safe and may decrease the incidence of postoperative complications. However, other unmeasured factors may have contributed to the lower complication rate in dogs recovered with the owners during the course of this study.