Nasopharyngeal Stenosis

The treatment of nasopharyngeal stenosis (NPS) is generally difficult and diagnosing the cause can be elusive. Surgical treatment of NPS is often met with continued obstruction as inflammation is generally one of the inciting causes, and surgery tends to exacerbate this situation. For this reason, the use of image-guided therapies has gained traction in veterinary medicine and early results are promising.

Nasopharygneal stenosis occurs when the nasopharynx becomes narrowed, and clinical signs generally manifest as difficulty breathing when the mouth is not open, nasal discharge, sneezing and inspiratory stertor. Several causes have been proposed and both congenital and acquired conditions have been documented; however, the majority of cases are thought to be secondary to an inflammatory condition within the nasopharynx.^1-11

Dogs and cats with suspected upper airway obstruction will generally have several initial diagnostics tests performed including bloodwork (CBC/chemistry panel), chest radiographs, sedated or anesthetized oral examination, rhinoscopy and potentially tracheobronchoscopy. Further diagnostics may include CT scan of the head. After these preliminary diagnostics, if NPS is suspected or confirmed, rhinoscopy coupled with fluoroscopy may need to be performed during image-guided therapies. [...]