New to the forum and seeking advice!

FelixtheFrenchie · May 1, 2018

Hello everybody,

My name is Sabrina and my fiancé and I have an almost 2 year old French bulldog named Felix and he's the light of our lives. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this...but here is our story...

At the end of March he had elongated soft pallet surgery ( at a very reputable specialty vet) as was recommended to us by 3 vets. He developed aspiration pneumonia the day after and we were told he would not survive. He somehow made it through the night on a ventilator and we were given the option to cease treatment, or take him off the breathing machine and have a temporary trach done. We chose to give him a fighting chance and go with the trach. After 8 days in being in the ICU and a $12,000 bill (which insurance is refusing to cover any of)..we brought him home. He seemed to be recovering fairly well and breathing sounded good but he starting having reflux pretty frequently. Adjusted his medication and that seemed to help. We are a month out and last week he started to sound very stuffy and wheezy/runny nose and the reflux occurred more frequently. Took him back in for an xray and recheck. Currently they are saying that he could have allergies...OR the surgery was not successful and corrective surgery may be needed. I googled (even though I know I shouldn't) and one article mentioned that if too much pallet is trimmed, food/water can come through the nose and cause other problems. As you could imagine.....we do NOT feel willing to put him through surgery again, not to mention the additional cost. I'm at a loss as to what to do to help him...the past few days have been tough...although his breathing seems a bit better on the newest steroids/ Benadryl...he refluxes and chokes on it often and his nose is running. Planning to try soft food and a humidifier to ease the symptoms.

If anyone has had experience with any of this? Any advice? It would be so greatly appreciated. Desperately trying to help our little dude feel better!!

FelixtheFrenchie · May 1, 2018

New to the forum and looking for help!

Hello everybody,

My name is Sabrina and my fiancé and I have an almost 2 year old French bulldog named Felix and he's the light of our lives. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this...but here is our story...

At the end of March he had elongated soft pallet surgery ( at a very reputable specialty vet) as was recommended to us by 3 vets. He developed aspiration pneumonia the day after and we were told he would not survive. He somehow made it through the night on a ventilator and we were given the option to cease treatment, or take him off the breathing machine and have a temporary trach done. We chose to give him a fighting chance and go with the trach. After 8 days in being in the ICU and a $12,000 bill (which insurance is refusing to cover any of)..we brought him home. He seemed to be recovering fairly well and breathing sounded good but he starting having reflux pretty frequently. Adjusted his medication and that seemed to help. We are a month out and last week he started to sound very stuffy and wheezy/runny nose and the reflux occurred more frequently. Took him back in for an xray and recheck. Currently they are saying that he could have allergies...OR the surgery was not successful and corrective surgery may be needed. I googled (even though I know I shouldn't) and one article mentioned that if too much pallet is trimmed, food/water can come through the nose and cause other problems. As you could imagine.....we do NOT feel willing to put him through surgery again, not to mention the additional cost. I'm at a loss as to what to do to help him...the past few days have been tough...although his breathing seems a bit better on the newest steroids/ Benadryl...he refluxes and chokes on it often and his nose is running. Planning to try soft food and a humidifier to ease the symptoms.

If anyone has had experience with any of this? Any advice? It would be so greatly appreciated. Desperately trying to help our little dude feel better!!

Cbrugs · May 1, 2018

Re: New to the forum and looking for help!

So sorry you are going through this. Unfortunately I have no experience with this but other members here have done the surgery so they will chime in.

Alice Kable · May 1, 2018

Re: New to the forum and looking for help!

I am so sorry poor Felix is going through this. I have had English Bulldogs that had pallet surgery. I know scar tissue can build up after and cause problems. We had laser surgery done on our EBs so there would be a faster recovery time. One of our boys had a lot of swelling after surgery and I took him back for more meds. We did not need additional surgery. Hugs to you and good wishes for a speedy recovery for Felix.

Alice Kable · May 1, 2018

:smileywelcome: to you and your handsome Felix! I commented on your other post. I hope Felix is doing better and doesn't require a 2nd surgery. :heart:

FelixtheFrenchie · May 2, 2018

Re: New to the forum and looking for help!

Thank you!

FelixtheFrenchie · May 2, 2018

Re: New to the forum and looking for help!

Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad your dogs did well with the surgery! I do wish I had more throughly weighed out all the surgical options before hand.

2bullymama · May 2, 2018

FelixtheFrenchie said:
Hello everybody,

My name is Sabrina and my fiancé and I have an almost 2 year old French bulldog named Felix and he's the light of our lives. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this...but here is our story...

At the end of March he had elongated soft pallet surgery ( at a very reputable specialty vet) as was recommended to us by 3 vets. He developed aspiration pneumonia the day after and we were told he would not survive. He somehow made it through the night on a ventilator and we were given the option to cease treatment, or take him off the breathing machine and have a temporary trach done. We chose to give him a fighting chance and go with the trach. After 8 days in being in the ICU and a $12,000 bill (which insurance is refusing to cover any of)..we brought him home. He seemed to be recovering fairly well and breathing sounded good but he starting having reflux pretty frequently. Adjusted his medication and that seemed to help. We are a month out and last week he started to sound very stuffy and wheezy/runny nose and the reflux occurred more frequently. Took him back in for an xray and recheck. Currently they are saying that he could have allergies...OR the surgery was not successful and corrective surgery may be needed. I googled (even though I know I shouldn't) and one article mentioned that if too much pallet is trimmed, food/water can come through the nose and cause other problems. As you could imagine.....we do NOT feel willing to put him through surgery again, not to mention the additional cost. I'm at a loss as to what to do to help him...the past few days have been tough...although his breathing seems a bit better on the newest steroids/ Benadryl...he refluxes and chokes on it often and his nose is running. Planning to try soft food and a humidifier to ease the symptoms.

If anyone has had experience with any of this? Any advice? It would be so greatly appreciated. Desperately trying to help our little dude feel better!!

Welcome to you and your little man!

My guy, Cheli had to have the procedure done twice, three if you count removal of some scar tissue because we allowed him to bark after the first surgery. The pallet can grow back, so it is best if the vet removes a little at a time as to not cause other issues as you have stated.

Cheli first procedure went well, but like I said we didn't realize the barking would be an issue and we crated him (as you should) when leaving for work, but when we got home.. he would bark like crazy till we got to him. He started having issue breathing at night and gaging a lot so we went for a recheck a few months later and the scar tissue was causing a problem .. second procedure was also successful, but then around age of 5 the sleep apnea was getting horrendous so we did another clipping/laser of the palate and did his nares again. Now, at age 7, he does well, but still snores like a champ!

Cheli also does little bouts of regurgitation but I narrowed it down to a few things.. too much goats milk with breakfast, eating too fast and allergies. So, we have to monitor eating and keep the goats milk to about 2 tablespoons ... allergies, not much we can do but give Benedyl twice a day.

I hope this helps some, but I would try some little steps in eating or activity before jumping into another surgery.

Also, what do you feed... brand, protein and amount?

FelixtheFrenchie · May 3, 2018

thank you so much!

FelixtheFrenchie · May 3, 2018

Thank you very much for sharing! They gave us the impression that the scar tissue would be a good thing, ugh. Only way to check it is to sedate him again at some point...not overly excited about that. The past 2 days he has seemed much better... I definitely think allergies are playing a part. I'm wondering how often/long term can you give benadryl? the vet recommended only 5 days.
Started giving him Prilosec and soft food and knock on wood the regurg has greatly improved. We were feeding him Natural balance duck and potato small bites. 1/2 cup in am. full cup in pm (he's about 18-20 lbs) I switched to the cans Tuesday night and seems to be easier on him?? playing around with the amount...pretty sure I gave him a little too much and induced a food coma last night! haha
I definitely agree about trying to see if we can make him more comfortable with some life style changes versus another surgery.

2bullymama · May 3, 2018

FelixtheFrenchie said:
Thank you very much for sharing! They gave us the impression that the scar tissue would be a good thing, ugh. Only way to check it is to sedate him again at some point...not overly excited about that. The past 2 days he has seemed much better... I definitely think allergies are playing a part. I'm wondering how often/long term can you give benadryl? the vet recommended only 5 days.
Started giving him Prilosec and soft food and knock on wood the regurg has greatly improved. We were feeding him Natural balance duck and potato small bites. 1/2 cup in am. full cup in pm (he's about 18-20 lbs) I switched to the cans Tuesday night and seems to be easier on him?? playing around with the amount...pretty sure I gave him a little too much and induced a food coma last night! haha
I definitely agree about trying to see if we can make him more comfortable with some life style changes versus another surgery.

I give Benedryl every day from May through October... some off days depending on weather and if grass was cut.

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Honeys Owners · May 3, 2018

2bullymama said:
I give Benedryl every day from May through October... some off days depending on weather and if grass was cut.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great advice ! I recommend switching antihistamines every so often to prevent tolerance from developing. Benadryl is 2-3 times daily . I use for convenience cetirizine as my main antihistamine and loratidine as backup, since they are both once daily. Also, you should wipe down dog's underside and paws with an unscented wet wipe or wash cloth after being outside.

I don't think canned dog food would be as healthy as switching to a dehydrated raw product like Honest Kitchen Spruce or equivalent. Based on my dog, I don't think frozen raw would be a good idea since there's more regurgitation.

Also, smaller meals 3 times a day and a raised bowl such as the Enhanced pet bowl would help with regurgitation.

mattcantwin · May 3, 2018

Great to hear there has been some improvement.

FelixtheFrenchie · May 4, 2018

Thank you! I called to check with the vet about continuing the Benedryl!

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you!

FelixtheFrenchie · May 4, 2018

Thank you for the suggestions! It's so comforting to hear other peoples experiences and what has worked for them and their dogs.

I will look into the food! I went for the cans in a pinch just to see if it would help.
I did get a raised bowl but he still has to lean down so I'll check out the one you mentioned! Thanks again!