Less invasive unilateral arytenoid lateralization: a modified technique for treatment of idiopathic laryngeal paralysis in dogs: technique description and outcome.

Objective: To (1) describe a modification of conventional unilateral cricoarytenoid lateralization (UCAL), called less-invasive unilateral cricoarytenoid lateralization (LI-UCAL) for treatment of idiopathic laryngeal paralysis (LP); (2) report clinical outcome of LI-UCAL; and (3) describe the effect of early discharge after surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective clinical study.

Animals: Dogs (n = 22).

Methods: Medical records (January 2009 to October 2011) of dogs diagnosed with idiopathic LP that had LI-UCAL were reviewed. Signalment, clinical signs, laboratory tests, imaging, concurrent medical conditions, information from the anesthesia record, and hospitalization time were documented. Follow-up was obtained by direct examination, questionnaire, and review of medical records from referring veterinarians.

Results: Dogs included in the study had variable degrees and duration of respiratory distress before surgery. Median surgery time was 32 minutes. Median hospitalization was 6 hours, and median follow-up was 427 days. Long-term respiratory function, as reported by owners at last follow-up, improved in 95.5% of dogs after surgery; exercise tolerance improved by 90%. Major complications included death secondary to aspiration pneumonia (9%), aspiration pneumonia from which dogs recovered within 3 days after administration of antimicrobials (9%), and development of right-sided laryngeal collapse that required right sided LI-UCAL (4.5%). At long-term follow-up, 95.5% of owners were satisfied with the surgical outcome.

Conclusion: LI-UCAL is a feasible surgical technique and resulted in improvement of clinical signs related to LP. Calm recoveries without adverse effects such as respiratory distress were associated with early discharge. LI-UCAL could be considered an alternative to conventional UCAL.