@article{67ef86299fcf4f7d9d73c81792d4ba5d,
title = "Updates in Upper Respiratory Surgery",
keywords = "Airway syndrome, Brachycephalic, Epiglottis, Laryngeal collapse, Laryngeal saccules, Nasal turbinates, Soft palate, Tonsillectomy",
author = "Heidi Phillips",
note = "Funding Information: To newly characterize the palate's role in BOAS, some investigators have used CT or MRI.14,16,17,51,53,61,78,83,84,96 Since the publication of Findji and Dupre's folded flap palatoplasty,47 several investigators have confirmed that thickness of the soft palate, independent of excessive length, contributes substantially to airway narrowing and obstruction in some brachycephalic dogs.1,9,47,51,78, 93–95,97 In 1 CT study, brachycephalic dogs, and French bulldogs, in particular, were found to have significantly thicker palates than normocephalic dogs, and thickness increased with severity of the brachycephalic conformation.78 The investigators hypothesized that muscular hypertrophy, mucosal edema, or both contributed to the relative increase in thickness caused by airflow resistance at the nares, the vestibulum nasi, and the cavum nasi.78 This hypothesis was supported by histologic evidence showing hyperplasia of the superficial epithelium and mucus glands in the brachycephalic palate along with myofiber atrophy, extensive swelling of the interfibrillar matrix, and edema of the lamina propria.87,91,93 Other investigators have focused on measurement of the nasopharyngeal airway using CT and confirmed that soft palate thickness contributes to nasopharyngeal airway obstruction and likely to sleep-disordered breathing in brachycephalic dogs.51,98,99 The author also has found that soft palate thickness is greater in brachycephalic dogs than mesaticephalic dogs when normalized to body weight, most significantly at the rostral aspect of the soft palate, nearest the posterior nasal spine61 (Fig. 7), and routinely employs CT to evaluate soft palate thickness in any brachycephalic dog presented with signs of sleep apnea.",
year = "2022",
month = mar,
doi = "10.1016/j.cvsm.2021.12.002",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "52",
pages = "339--368",
journal = "Veterinary Clinics of North America - Small Animal Practice",
issn = "0195-5616",
publisher = "W.B. Saunders",
number = "2",
}