Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is a lifelong upper airway obstruction in short-skulled dogs: the skull has been shortened by breeding, but the soft tissue inside the nose and throat has not shrunk to match. The result ranges from loud snoring to collapse and death in hot weather, and it raises the risk of every anaesthetic these dogs will ever have. For the NAVLE you need to name the primary and secondary lesions, recognise the dog that needs surgery, and manage its airway safely around anaesthesia.
Key facts
Brachycephalic airway syndrome at a glance- Species and system: dog; upper respiratory tract, with effects on the lower airway and the gastrointestinal tract.
- Breeds: most often English bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs; also Boston terriers and other brachycephalic breeds.
- Cause: conformation. Primary lesions (stenotic nares, elongated and thickened soft palate, aberrant turbinates, relative macroglossia, sometimes a hypoplastic trachea) raise airway resistance; the extra effort then causes secondary lesions (everted saccules and tonsils, laryngeal and bronchial collapse).
- Classic presentation: a young bulldog or pug with stertor, snoring, exercise and heat intolerance, regurgitation, and sometimes cyanosis or syncope.
- Not infectious, zoonotic or reportable. It is inherited and polygenic; affected dogs should not be bred.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention and welfare
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 7 tables, 3 figures, 3 self-test questions and 18 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.