MID CERVICAL TRACHEAL COLLAPSE

Alasdair Hotston-Moore (Bristol Vet School who took over much of the small animal ENT work from Geoff Lane) spoke about both tracheal and laryngeal collapse when he gave his presentation on Laryngeal Paralysis to the Newfoundland club a few years back.

There are various TYPES of cough and respiratory noises and I would VERY much agree with you Ann when you suggest that ALL coughs should be investigated.

Noises that Alasdair mentioned were the honking cough, musical, wheezing cough that is highly suggestive of a dynamic obstruction of the trachea.

Most dogs with LP cough, in some it will be the MAIN symptom but with LP coughs they tend to be harsh and ineffectual, that retching type of throat clearing "smokers cough

The following is a description of "TRACHEAL COLLAPSE "

Precise from CANINE MEDICINE & THERAPEUTICS Neil Gorman: Chapter Tracheobronchial Diseases: B. Corcoran & M. Sullivan.

The key features of tracheal collapse are:

Honking noise

Respiratory distress

Flattened tracheal lumen.

Tracheal collapse is seen in many small breed dogs. The underlying cause is a failure of mineralisation of the cartilage that makes up the tracheal rings. As a consequence the rings lose the normal C shape & start to flatten, this has the effect of stretching the dorsal tracheal membrane.

As the membrane stretches, it may become "sucked" into the lumen of the trachea, so narrowing the airway during respiration.

As the animal ages and other problems with the cardio-respiratory systems may supervene, the membrane becomes wider and the impingement on the lumen becomes greater. So that although the changes in the cartilaginous rings can be detected in young dogs, most will only show clinical signs once they have reached 7 yrs of age.

Characteristically these dogs,( and most are Yorkshire Terriers) honk like geese and it is not unusual for this noise to have presented for years without tracheal collapse actually causing respiratory embarrassment.

TREATMENT

The management of tracheal collapse is continuous with there being two schools of thought. Most dogs can be managed conservatively which includes; weight control, avoidance of excitement and excessive hot environments; support for any co-existing cardio respiratory problems; avoiding of smoky atmospheres. only if such tactics fail should surgical correction be considered. The fact that there are a diverse number of surgical techniques described for the correction of Tracheal Collapse stands testament to the failure, in many cases, of surgery to improve the animals condition in the long term......unquote.

SYLVIA EVANS (AMSHURA)

Read Hannah's story on Mid Cervical Tracheal Collapse HERE