Hi Y'all,
The dog that has been diagnosed with LP is a 10 year old Lab. He is
being treated for thyroid. I am not sure exactly what kind of problem
or with what meds. He is other wise healthy and active or has been up
to this point.
BTW his name is Larsen.
I have read up on LP. I must admit I had never heard of it before.
He obviously has the kind that comes on as an adult (not genetic). He
appears to be the classic case.
He coughs, chokes, and gasps for air. He drools excessively. He has
been seen by two Vets, neither of them specialist in his ailment.
I understand the disease. I understand that their is a favored
surgery, but also alternative surgeries.
I would like to inquire of anyone that may have a dog or know of a dog
that has experienced LP.
His owner has been quoted 600.00 by one Dr. and 3,000.00 by another
Dr. I believe one of them claims to have done the surgery before.
This is a long distance thing, so I am not sure what the Dr's are
proposing as to type of surgery.
I just know that from what I have read about LP and what I have heard
about Larsen it seems to me a decision should be made either to proceed
with surgery or risk an awful end. Larsen's owner is at work all day
and if he had an attack even if the Vet could temporarily revive him and
give him oxygen, she may not be at home to rescue him.
His play is restricted, he cannot go for walks, he cannot become
overheated. He lives in Fl.
I would appreciate any experience anyone has had with a dog with this
disease. I understand the surgery is not a sure thing and that if he
survives and things do not go right, he could end up with a Trach
permanently or worse.
Please share your information and opinions. I appreciate it. Larsen
is a really great dog and I love him a lot.


Be Free.....Judy

In article ,
(Judith Althouse) wrote:


The dog that has been diagnosed with LP is a 10 year old Lab.

Not surprising.

He
appears to be the classic case.

Yep.

He coughs, chokes, and gasps for air. He drools excessively. He has
been seen by two Vets, neither of them specialist in his ailment.
I understand the disease. I understand that their is a favored
surgery, but also alternative surgeries.
I would like to inquire of anyone that may have a dog or know of a dog
that has experienced LP.


Been through it with 2 "related" dogs. One was my first foster (but of
course, in his adoptive home, at an advanced age). He developed
aspiration pneumonia (common) at some point after surgery, and died. He
was 13. The other dog was my "nephew" lab. He had it at ~10 and lived
to 15.5 with exceptional care.

Please share your information and opinions. I appreciate it. Larsen
is a really great dog and I love him a lot.

I would do the surgery, understanding post-surgical risks. Careful
feeding practices can help a lot. Not doing anything is going to be a
death sentence and painful for the dog, which is grossly unfair. If
afraid/unsure of surgery, euthanasia would be kinder.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"Janet Boss" wrote in message
news:janet-


I would do the surgery, understanding post-surgical risks. Careful
feeding practices can help a lot. Not doing anything is going to be a
death sentence and painful for the dog, which is grossly unfair. If
afraid/unsure of surgery, euthanasia would be kinder.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Didn't one of Mustang Sally's dogs have the tie back? I'm thinking Anna,
but I certainly don't trust my memory.

Beth

In article M6Whi.2309$7k7.1836@trnddc01,
"bethgsd" wrote:


Didn't one of Mustang Sally's dogs have the tie back? I'm thinking Anna,
but I certainly don't trust my memory.

I think you;re right. It's always going to be a risk, but quality of
life is really important. I know neither of my relatives would have
chosen to do anything but the surgery, and I wouldn't hesitate.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Judith Althouse wrote:
Hi Y'all,
The dog that has been diagnosed with LP is a 10 year old Lab. He is
being treated for thyroid. I am not sure exactly what kind of problem
or with what meds. He is other wise healthy and active or has been up
to this point.
BTW his name is Larsen.

I'd never heard of LP until Oppie was diagnosed with it last
fall. It's more common than I would have thought, and Labs seem
to be particularly susceptible. Was Larson's trachea examined
with an endoscope? I understand that this is the "definitive"
way of making a diagnosis.

There is a yahoo LP support group that provides a lot of
information and personal experiences about LP. They were
extremely helpful before and after Oppie had LP surgery; you can
gain access to some of the information and subscribe to the
mailing list he
http://www.geocities.com/lplist/

Oppie is an 11 year old yellow Lab, diagnosed 10/06, had
unilateral tieback surgery 3/21/07. He also had low thyroid
(common accompaniment of LP). He had not had a breathing crisis
when we decided to go ahead with the surgery, but he was getting
worse - noisier breathing, out of breath easily, overheating
easily.

We decided to go ahead based on the reasoning that he would be
more likely to have a smooth recovery if he wasn't debilitated by
the condition - and LP does produce changes in the lungs and
heart that attempt to compensate for the lower oxygen. And that
the alternative of not doing the surgery was ultimately
suffocation or euthanasia. It was a difficult decision, but we
reasoned that we'd rather have him pass as a result of attempting
to give him a chance at a better quality of life than to die of
slow suffocation, which IS pretty much a given with LP, unless
something else kills the dog first.

Yes, there are surgical risks, particularly because the dogs are
typically seniors, and there is a risk of aspiration pneumonia,
because a vocal cord is permanently open. However, without the
surgery there is a risk of AP, too, or he could end up with a
trach because his vocal cords are paralyzed shut.

Most folks on the LP list advise finding a board-certified
surgeon with extensive experience in the surgery. The LP list
maintains a database of surgeons, which makes it easier to find
one near you. It's also important to have 24 hour care for the
dog for the first day after surgery. Most dogs seem to stay over
one or two nights; Oppie stayed two.

Oppie's surgery cost about $2000; there were tests that the
surgeon required because of another unrelated condition that
drove up the cost.

A unilateral tieback is not a complete panacea; it's a compromise
between providing a sufficient airway and keeping the hole small
enough that food or vomit isn't easily inhaled. So you will
still have restrictions: walks are ok, but they need to be kept
short; cooling can be an issue, because there is less air
available for evaporation; you need to be careful about feeding,
particularly anything crumbly that could be inhaled easily -
inhaling vomit is more likely to cause AP, I understand.

I encourage you to contact the LP list. They were very helpful
to me, and I have seen how they help others going through the
decision and aftercare process.

If you have more questions and want to email me privately, just
delete the dog from my email address.

FurPaw
--
The Bush legacy - no child left a dime.

To reply, unleash the dog.

Janet,
I am ever grateful for your reply to my question about Larsen a 10
year old Lab suffering from LP.
I have read everything I can find about it and understand the risk of
surgery and the importance and risk of aftercare.
I totally agree with what you said but I have no first hand knowledge
of LP.
I appreciate you confirming my opinion. I would rather see Larsen die
in surgery rather than gasping for air to try to stay alive or choke to
death while my daughter his owner is at work.
I have one more question for you if you don't mind. Do you know if
the dogs you mentioned surgeries were done by a specialist or a regular
Vet? I guess it would be better to go with the specalist.
My poor child has lost 2 dogs and 2 cats in the last year all of them
in their teens. Larsen is her heart dog.
I just remembered another question. I read something about atrophy
or some kind of pain in the rear legs sometimes being thouht to be
connected to LP. Did the dogs you mentioned have any problems along
that line? Larsen does not seem to have any problems like that now.
Thanks again,


Be Free.....Judy

On Sun, 01 Jul 2007 22:43:56 GMT, "bethgsd"
wrote:


"Janet Boss" wrote in message
news:janet-


I would do the surgery, understanding post-surgical risks. Careful
feeding practices can help a lot. Not doing anything is going to be a
death sentence and painful for the dog, which is grossly unfair. If
afraid/unsure of surgery, euthanasia would be kinder.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Didn't one of Mustang Sally's dogs have the tie back? I'm thinking Anna,
but I certainly don't trust my memory.

You should trust your memory; it was my Borzoi Anna. She did fine
with the surgery itself, did not develop aspiration pneumonia in the
immediate postop period as many dogs do, and learned to eat and drink
very quickly with her 'new throat'. We elevated all the water bowls
and changed her food, and not feeding her dry food wouldn't have been
a big deal. Unfortunately, her surgeon suspected preoperatively that
she might have megaesophagus but didn't do any tests to confirm/rule
out. Although she had no signs/symptoms at the time of surgery, she
did in fact have megaesophagus, and suffered through several bouts of
aspiration pneumonia before we let her go 11 months after the surgery.

If I had/have another dog with LP, I'd do the surgery again, but I'd
make sure megaesophagus was ruled out before proceeding. As far as I
know, there is one other surgery that can help with LP.
Bronchodilators help some dogs, but for the most part medical
treatments aren't effective. Some people successfully manage the
condition without surgery, but that's not possible with every dog.
With most dogs, it's a question of quality of life, and unilateral
tieback usually improves that. It did for Anna, except of course for
the aspiration pneumonia.

Mustang Sally

Beth,
Thanks for mentioning that Mustang Sally's dog Anna may have had the
procedure. Hopefully she will come along and share her story.


Be Free.....Judy

sighthounds & siberians wrote:

Unfortunately, her surgeon suspected preoperatively that
she might have megaesophagus but didn't do any tests to confirm/rule
out. Although she had no signs/symptoms at the time of surgery, she
did in fact have megaesophagus, and suffered through several bouts of
aspiration pneumonia before we let her go 11 months after the surgery.

If I had/have another dog with LP, I'd do the surgery again, but I'd
make sure megaesophagus was ruled out before proceeding. As far as I
know, there is one other surgery that can help with LP.

I understand from reading the LP list that this is debarking
surgery, but while cheaper, it has a lower success rate.

I forgot to mention in my post that we had Oppie checked for
megaesophagus (as you recommended) and the surgeon said that she
would not go ahead with the surgery if he had that condition.

And that Oppie has been doing very well since the surgery 3/21,
with no complications or AP, so far.

FurPaw
--
The Bush legacy - no child left a dime.

To reply, unleash the dog.

Judith Althouse wrote:

I just remembered another question. I read something about atrophy
or some kind of pain in the rear legs sometimes being thouht to be
connected to LP. Did the dogs you mentioned have any problems along
that line? Larsen does not seem to have any problems like that now.

Many dogs with LP have a kind of neuropathy (nerve degeneration)
that affects other things besides the vocal cords. Rear-end
weakness is very common in dogs with LP. Oppie is showing signs
of it, but very mild so far. The unilateral tieback does nothing
to correct the neuropathy; it merely relieves one of its symptoms.

FurPaw
--
The Bush legacy - no child left a dime.

To reply, unleash the dog.