Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with breathing trouble after nerve damage treated by diaphragm
By Matsumoto, S et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2025·Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Tensioning diaphragmoplasty for treating bilateral phrenic nerve paralysis in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A spayed female Miniature Dachshund had trouble breathing after surgery to remove a tumor in her chest. During the surgery, both of her phrenic nerves, which control the diaphragm, were damaged, leading to severe respiratory distress. After collapsing from exhaustion, she underwent a special surgery called tensioning diaphragmoplasty, where part of her diaphragm was removed and reinforced with mesh. Following this procedure, her breathing improved significantly, and she lived for over a year before passing away from a different cancer. This surgery can help restore diaphragm function in similar cases.
People also search for: dog breathing problems after surgery · Miniature Dachshund diaphragm surgery · tensioning diaphragmoplasty for dogs
Abstract
A spayed female Miniature dachshund presented with a large mediastinal mass. During thymectomy, the left phrenic nerve, which was encircled by the neoplastic tissue, was resected en bloc with the tumour and the right phrenic nerve was damaged by thermal coagulation from electrosurgery. Postoperatively, the dog exhibited significant respiratory distress and paradoxical respiratory movement. Bilateral diaphragmatic paralysis was confirmed on inspiratory radiographs, and lack of structural abnormalities on thoracic computed tomography was noted. The dog collapsed 5 days postoperatively from respiratory fatigue. Thus, salvage surgery and tensioning diaphragmoplasty were performed. Briefly, The diaphragm was partially resected, primarily closed and reinforced with a polypropylene mesh sutured on the abdominal surface. Thereafter, the dog's condition improved significantly. The dog did not present with respiratory issues until she died of urothelial carcinoma on day 375. In conclusion, this surgical technique can be considered to re-establish the function of the diaphragm.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39930966/