35 Coughing
SIGNALMENT
All animals presenting with laryngeal paralysis should be investigated for the presence of an underlying cause (see later in this chapter), and this should be especially thorough if the signalment is not typical. Other causes that should be ruled out are traumatic or surgical injury (usually to the neck), masses that interfere with the pathway of the recurrent laryngeal nerves (e.g. mediastinal or neck mass), endocrinopathies and infectious diseases. The prognosis for dogs following surgery that do not have ‘idiopathic’ laryngeal paralysis is likely to be worse and so it is imperative that the underlying cause is found out before surgery is embarked upon in these cases.
MANAGEMENT OF A LARYNGEAL PARALYSIS DOG PRESENTING with SEVERE RESPIRATORY COMPROMISE
• Calm the animal; lightly sedate to reduce anxiety if appropriate (anxiety increases the rate and depth of respiration, often worsening the ability to ventilate in laryngeal paralysis cases).
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