Mayhew et al: Effect of conventional multilevel brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome surgery on clinical and videofluoroscopic evidence of hiatal herniation and gastroesophageal reflux in dogs
Veterinary Surgery 2, 2023

🔍 Key Findings

• Owner-reported regurgitation improved after CMS, especially post-eating and during activity (P = .012 and P = .002)
• No significant improvement in VFSS measures of SHH or GER postoperatively (P > .05 for all comparisons)
• Laryngeal ventriculectomy and soft palate resection were performed in all dogs, alaplasty in 14/16
• Aspiration pneumonia occurred in 1 dog immediately post-op and resolved with treatment
• Post-op esophagoscopy results varied, with persistent esophagitis in some cases
• Clinical response was variable, with ~25–30% of dogs being “non-responders” based on owner scoring
• 13/16 dogs showed partial or full clinical improvement, despite no change in objective SHH/GER indicators
• Final follow-up at median 36.5 months showed some dogs still on medical therapy; one underwent further surgery