Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with reverse sneezing caused by throat fistula after stick injury
By Gelatos, Marianthi et al.·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2022·Department of Medical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Reverse sneezing as a clinical manifestation of nasopharyngeal-oropharyngeal fistula in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old spayed female Labrador retriever was brought to the vet after experiencing three months of reverse sneezing and gagging. Despite initial examinations showing no obvious issues, advanced imaging revealed a defect in the soft palate caused by a previous injury. The vet performed surgery to repair the defect and remove the affected tonsil. After the surgery, the dog fully recovered and no longer had reverse sneezing or gagging episodes.
People also search for: dog reverse sneezing treatment · Labrador gagging episodes · soft palate surgery for dogs
Abstract
A 6-year-old spayed female Labrador retriever was evaluated for a 3-month history of intermittent reverse sneezing and gagging episodes. Pertinent findings at evaluation included frequent reverse sneezing and non-productive retching. No pathology was visible on sedated oral examination. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the skull revealed a gas-filled defect within the left ventral aspect of the soft palate. A non-eroded defect was present in the left caudoventral nasopharyngeal wall on nasopharyngoscopy. Surgical exploration revealed a nasopharyngeal-oropharyngeal fistula within the left palatine tonsillar fossa. The dog had a witnessed oropharyngeal stick injury (OSI) 3 months previous in the location of the fistula. The OSI had been allowed to heal by secondary intention and was treated with an oral antibiotic and NSAID. However, the dog lacked characteristic signs of a chronic OSI such as nasal discharge or abscess formation. The defect in the soft palate was surgically debrided and closed, and the left palatine tonsil was excised. The dog recovered completely with cessation of reverse sneezing and retching episodes.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36325408/