My senior dog coughs. Is stent surgery safe, or what are my options?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry to hear that your little girl isn't doing well. If she is urinating and defecating because she is losing consciousness because her airway is obstructing from the collapsing trachea, then yes, you might need to consider either a procedure where a stent is placed to keep the airway open (last resort procedure that has complications and is very expensive), or euthanasia. I would discuss with your vet about why she is urinating/defecating and if she is losing consciousness or not. Also, in the meantime, discuss with your vet about medications to try to decrease the coughing (codiene phosphate liquid, linctol, steroids possibly),but keep in mind this is not a cure, but might help slightly, but has side effects and might not help at all. Unfortunately, with severe collapsing trachea, sometimes euthanasia is the most humane thing to do. I am sorry she is so sick.

Hello and thank you for your question. I hate it that the medications are not providing cough relief for your dog. In my experience, if these two medications are not stopping the cost of a tracheal collapse patient, then surgery should be considered. there are so many great surgical methods and treatments now for collapsing trachea. One of them being a mesh wire coil that can be placed in the trachea to keep it dilated without the possibility of collapse. These are usually performed by surgical specialists and your general veterinarian may have to refer you to one of them. I urge you to make an appointment with your local veterinarian to discuss possible surgical options for your dogs condition. I hope I have helped.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can try using a humidifier for the home or in areas where she resides most frequently. Making sure the home's air filter is changed every year is also a good idea and can help decrease some of the irritating allergens in the air. Using a harness on her instead of a lead and collar around the neck can help lessen stress around airways. Lastly, making sure she is in cool moist air and limiting time spent in hotter weather can help as well. If Tia's symptoms worsen or do not improve, a veterinary visit really is best in order to obtain a diagnosis so Tia can receive the most appropriate care and treatment. Causes of breathing difficulties are many and include heart conditions, certain lung conditions such as asthma or bronchitis, as well as upper respiratory infection, collapsing tracheal disorders, or primary lung tumors. Typically chest x-rays are taken to rule out the above conditions. I hope this helps and I wish you and Tia the best!

If it has been going on for years it is probably a collapsing trachea, in which case there is not much that can be done about it. There are medications that can be used to minimize the cough but it will not "fix" the problem. There is a surgery that can be done to place a stent in the trachea which is curative. A collapsing trachea is not a huge problem other than uncomfortable for them to cough. It should not cause any major issues. You can ask your vet to do a trial of medication to see if it helps and if it does, you can keep her on them long term. ( https://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/collapsing-trachea-dogs-everything-you-need-know )

It's really difficult to know the best option for Chester without fully knowing his case. Tracheal stenosis can happen in different locations of the trachea and have varying degrees of severity. Generally, it comes down to a risk versus benefit conversation that you'll need to have with your veterinarian. If Chester has a poor quality of life (i.e. coughing all the time) due to the stenotic trachea, then it may be worth the risk. You should also have a better understanding of what the perceived risk is. While it's impossible to give an exact prognosis, your surgeon should be able to give you an estimate of how likely he would be to die while having the surgery. If your vet offered surgery as the only option, then this is likely the only option for his case; but in some cases, a stent can be put in - which is much less invasive. It may be worth getting a second vet opinion before going forward with the surgery if there seems to be a big risk involved. I hope that helps and Chester gets better soon.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If it is possible, I would recommend having the x-rays done without sedation and depending on how the x-rays look and how her blood work looks, consider removal of the mass under anesthesia. She is not too old for anesthesia but the risk of anesthetic complications rises with age. As long as her heart, lungs and blood work are normal, she should be fine under anesthesia. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Ginger! Unfortunately due to Ginger's age I really worry about the sudden onset of a cough. If she was young I'd say ride it out and give her time but not at 16 years old. I worry about heart failure and cancer the most. As a Pomeranian she could have collapsing trachea that is a bit aggravated due to allergies or an infection. If she was groomed lately or around other dogs then it could be kennel cough, which tends to run it's course in 2 weeks. The best thing for Ginger is to be looked at by your Vet. I wish Ginger the best!