What is BOAS?

BOAS stands for Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome. 

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This syndrome affects certain breeds of dog such as French Bulldogs, British Bulldogs and Pugs. Any breed of dog which has a relatively broad, short skull giving the dog a 'pushed in' appearance.

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How can we help?

There are several procedures that our vets can perform that will help these patients, all procedures are done under a general anaesthesia by our experienced BOAS team at the Nunthorpe surgery. Not all procedures are applicable for all cases and our vets will talk you through which options are appropriate to help your dog: 

 

- Soft palette resection. This procedure involves removal of a portion of the dogs soft palette to help free up space at the back of the throat. 

 

- Removal of the tonsils. The vets will sometimes remove the dogs tonsils to make even more space but this is not necessary in all cases. 

 

- Widening of the nostrils. A lot of brachycephalic breeds have very narrowed nostrils. Our vets can take small portions of tissue from the sides of the dogs nostrils to widen the nasal passage and make breathing easier. 

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Symptoms

These breeds can show symptoms such as noisy breathing especially when sleeping, reverse sneezing, coughing and regurgitation and in severe cases occasional collapse due to an obstructed airway.

 

These symptoms are seen due to the fact that the dog has too much soft tissue at the back of the throat obstructing the airway. 

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What to expect after surgery?

Your dog will have been closely monitored during recovery by our experienced team of vets and nurses. Your pet will only be allowed home once they have recovered to the point the team is comfortable to allow them to go.

 

Inevitably any surgery will cause post operative swelling and therefore the full benefit of the surgery may not be seen for 2-4 weeks after surgery, however a lot of owners report breathing sounds are less as soon as 1 day after the procedure. 

Some patients can cough slightly after surgery and produce some blood stained mucus. This is normal and just some residual ooze following the surgical procedure. 

Dogs are encouraged to eat small amounts of soft food and to drink after surgery, there is no need to starve your pet after the procedure. 

Regurgitation. Some dogs with severe BOAS can have underlying congenital issues. 

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