Pug Soft Pallet Surgery

Question
I have a three year old female pug that snores very loudly and seems to have difficulty breathing at times, especially when she plays with other dogs or when the weather warms up. She has problems with reverse sneezing when she gets excited too. I am considering having her go in for surgery on her pallet since it seems to be getting worse as she gets older. The problem is that I am concerned about the risks involved in the procedure. Are you familiar with the success rates and possible problems arising from this surgery? Thank you.

Answer
To my knowledge if done properly, this should be a fairly successful surgery. We have had it done on several of our pugs with no problems. Your vet should use the proper anesthesia and do the surgery by laser. Your pug will have a very sore throat for a while and should be fed canned food until the throat heals and of course, be on pain meds.

Also, if your pug is overweight, this will affect their breathing and heat sensitivity. Does she have stenotic nares? This will affect her breathing as well.  They will probably remove her saccules (sorry, not sure of the spelling) at the time of the elongated soft palet surgery.

According to what I have read, reverse sneezing is due to allergies and not a major issue. Certainly not a reason for surgery.

I wish you luck and please let us know how she does.