Laryngeal paralysis is a condition in dogs that is caused by nerve and muscle problems to the arytenoids (flaps of tissue and cartilage that protect the airway from food and liquids when an animal swallows). The arytenoids are normally closed to protect the airway and when an animal breathes they actively open due to muscle contraction. When dogs get laryngeal paralysis the muscles that control the arytenoids do not work properly and therefore do not open when they take a breath. This leads to increased airway resistance and turbulence leading to increased breathing sounds and difficulty getting air into the lungs. As the resistance increases, it irritates the tissues and causes swelling and edema, which leads to more airway occlusion and it continues in a vicious cycle. Many times this condition becomes more apparent when it is hot or humid outside, as dogs will pant or breathe more quickly to keep cool.

If dogs can no longer compensate themselves with this condition then there are some surgical options to permanently open the airway and allow them to get air in and out of their lungs.  The surgery involves going in on the side of the neck and placing sutures through the arytenoid to open up the airway.  We only do surgery on one side because dogs are not clinically affected unless both sides are a paralyzed and we do not want to open the airway up too much, as it increases the risk of pneumonia.

Most of these dogs do well for a period of time. They will all get pneumonia at some point to some degree, some worse than others. Also since this is due to the muscles and nerves not working appropriately, they can also have progressive signs of this in other muscles and nerves in the body, but it takes months to years, typically, for this to become an issue.