Lar Par Surgery for Dogs: Types, Risk Factors and Background
Surgical Treatment Options for Laryngeal Paralysis
Since the 1980’s, surgery has been the only effective treatment for laryngeal paralysis and will remain the recommended veterinary-medical treatment until the stent procedure gains widespread adoption. You can find financial estimates for various options on the Treatment Costs page.
Surgery has a high likelihood of restoring your dog’s breathing and quality of life to a pre-LP condition. However, surgery is expensive and there are significant risk factors. Each person must evaluate risk factors and cost to determine whether surgery is right for them.
You’ll probably hear different opinions on surgery depending on whether the outcome was good or poor for any particular dog. If you want unbiased information, look to scientific research. You can find a compilation of peer-reviewed veterinary research from over 40 years on the Research and Links page.
Cost/Benefit of Surgery
Weighing the cost vs. benefit of surgery means not just the financial aspect, but also the toll surgery might have on your dog’s quality of life in the short- and long-term.
Is prolonging life with surgery the best thing for my dog?
Risk Assessment
All surgery — human or veterinary — is associated with some risk, which can be broken down in terms of likelihood of occurrence and severity of outcome.
Is laryngeal paralysis surgery risky?
Risk Factors
- Incision site issues — The dog can scratch or tear sutures, or a seroma (fluid buildup under the incision) or bacterial infection can develop at the incision.
How dangerous are incision site issues?
- Anesthesia intolerance — A small percentage of dogs can have adverse reactions to anesthesia ranging from vomiting to stroke and cardiac arrest. Older dogs are at greater risk for anesthesia intolerance.
How dangerous is anesthesia in larygeal paralysis surgery?
- Failure of suture at the cartilage — In some cases, the sutures that ‘tie-back’ the paralyzed cartilage to the laryngeal wall can fail, causing the cartilage to return to its pre-surgery position.
How dangerous is it if the sutures fail?
- Aspiration pneumonia — When contaminants (i.e. anything that’s not air) enter the lungs, an infection is likely to result. This is far and away the biggest risk factor and the most frequent post-op cause of death after laryngeal paralysis surgery.
How dangerous is aspiration pneumonia?
- Coexisting conditions — Existing conditions of the pharynx (throat cavity), digestive or respiratory system can increase the likelihood and severity of surgery-related complications, particularly aspiration pneumonia.
How do coexisting conditions play a role?
Negotiating the Realities
Post-operative complications of laryngeal paralysis surgery are often talked about in terms of likelihood of occurrence without addressing the their potential severity.
How do websites and social media spin LarPar surgery?
Summary & Conclusions
While most sources describe excellent outcomes of laryngeal paralysis surgery, there are possible complications that may result in an ongoing financial commitment and negative quality of life for the dog. Assessing risk factors is difficult due to a lack of science-based research and hard statistics. Online sources tend to frame the surgery narrative in vague terms that downplay the severity of negative outcomes. Social media tends to promote surgery-positive narratives and suppress negative ones. So while surgery can result in a longer, happier life for your dog, no matter what steps you take to minimize it, chance will always play a role in the outcome. Each person must determine for themselves whether the risk involved in surgery justifies not just the financial expenditure, but also reflects the best interests of the companion animal.