Brachycephalic syndrome refers to dogs and cats that have short compressed faces like English bulldogs, Boston terriers and Persian cats. Unfortunately, these animals have redundant tissue in the oral and nasal airways that, in some animals, will cause difficulty breathing.

Brachycephalic syndrome consists of mainly three findings:

1. Stenotic nares — smaller than normal nostrils
2. Elongated soft palate — this can cause airway obstruction if the palate falls into the airway opening
3. Everted laryngeal saccules — a secondary change of swollen tissues in the airway opening that also cause obstruction

Dogs can have one or all of these.

The Soft Palate Surgical Procedure

Surgery is performed in order to open the nares, shorten the soft palate and remove the everted saccules.  Most of these dogs do very well, especially if they are under 2 years old and do not have any other issues, like pneumonia, at the time of the procedure.