Dog breathing worse, eyes puffy after surgery. Is it brachycephalic?

Question

my dog recently had his tail amputated as he kept hitting it on everything then it got infected. Since the op the vet told us he has something wrong inside his throat that stops him breathing properly , like a flap covering his airways &we need to be careful to not get him too hot or excited etc &he might need an operation for it in the future. What I'm concerned about is even tho he's always been a heavy breather it seems way worse since the tail op & his eyes r really puffy & squinty now. Pet's info: Dog | American Staffordshire Terrier | Male | unneutered | 8 years and 10 months old

Andrea M. Brodie, DVM · Accepted Answer

A staffy is a brachycephalic breed, which means the snout is short, but the rest of the head did not get smaller. So the structures in his mouth stayed the same as if the head was longer. This results in an elongated soft palate, which covers the airway and cuts off the air reaching the lungs. This can be repaired with surgery, ie, the soft palate is cut to a smaller size. It is possible that from the inhalation anesthesia, there is a slight irritation of the soft palate, which should go away soon. Here is some information on the problem: https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/brachycephalic-syndrome

Dog breathing worse, eyes puffy after surgery. Is it brachycephalic?

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