Brachycephaly and Miniaturization. Advanced Surgical Protocols for Malformations of the Upper Airways

The first concerns about respiratory problems in brachycephalic breeds were raised within the veterinary profession in the 1930s, approximately 60 years after organized breeding in kennel clubs began. This urged veterinarians to criticize these breeding practices and to develop new surgical techniques to correct the problems. Surgical techniques have remained amazingly unchanged since then, with the exception of relatively minor modifications. Various techniques have been recommended to enlarge the stenotic nares, to shorten the elongated soft palate and to resect everted laryngeal ventricles.
The latest changes in the surgical approach describe a new technique for palatal surgery. In the past, surgery has focused primarily on the shortening of an overlong soft palate. Today, considering the complex relations between the collapsibility of the nasopharynx and the thickness of the soft palate, there are also recommendations to make the over thick soft palate thinner. However, from human medicine we know the important role of palatal muscles (m. tensor veli palatini) for the physiological function of the auditory tube. So it is not yet clear how much muscle tissue can be removed without negative consequences for the ventilation of the middle ear [...]