My sweetie-girl, my 12-year-old yellow Labrador, is going in for surgery tomorrow. She has laryngeal paralysis. It’s a condition not uncommon to older Labradors, although I don’t know anyone whose Labrador has had it. They’re not sure what causes it and the only way to reverse it is through laryngeal tieback surgery, in which one side of her larynx is sutured permanently open.
It’s difficult surgery. As in any surgery, there is risk of complication. Among all of the risks, the worst is that the patient could develop aspiration pneumonia. She’ll have to learn to eat slowly, even if I have to hand feed her, to avoid inhaling food down her windpipe. She’ll be in the hospital for three nights to make sure she’s stable.
In Angel’s case, her condition came on gradually over the last two years and lately it has been very noticeable. She has trouble catching her breath on our walks and really gasps when she gets excited or anxious about something. Without the surgery she would eventually suffocate because her larynx could fail to properly open and close to allow her to breathe.
I’ve put it off for months, but it’s time. It was a very difficult decision. I hate to subject her to surgery. But except for this condition she’s otherwise healthy. What’s a momma to do?
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