On 14th March, Tyler, my 6-year-old Frenchie, had surgery on his soft palate and had his nostrils widened. I'd often wondered about it without really knowing what I was getting into; I did quite a bit of research into this operation, which was stressing me out because he's my baby after all, and I wanted to know what would happen during and after. I couldn't find much about these operations or people's personal experiences. That's why I've decided to share my daily life with you since the surgery.
21st February
First visit to the vet clinic for this famous operation and to find out if Tyler really needed it (even though we were convinced he did because of his breathing). We were seen by our boy's future surgeon. He gave him a thorough check-up, mentioning that Tyler didn't have any heart problems, by the way. Everything was normal. Phew!! However, he definitely doesn't breathe very well, and the surgery was recommended.
We asked for a quote. The surgery will cost us around £550, with an extra £20 or so if Tyler isn't doing well or isn't eating when he wakes up. The price also includes his post-op follow-up.
So, we went ahead straight away and the appointment was booked for 14th March at 9am.
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Hi everyone,
I just wanted to let you know how things went when I had my 3-and-a-half-year-old English Bulldog, Winston, operated on! I booked the surgery because I could see he was struggling to breathe and getting tired out really quickly. He had the operation on 24th May 2023; we arrived at the vet clinic at 9 am for soft palate and stenotic nares (nostril) surgery. Everything went really well—they removed 7 cm of the soft palate, which is huge, as 2 cm is usually the norm! He was discharged the same day at 4 pm. When we got home, he settled in the garden, breathing really deeply as if he’d never actually breathed properly before! For the first two days he was vomiting and was very weak, but he was doing okay really. After six days, he’s now in great shape, breathing perfectly, and he’s like a different dog—much more lively and handling the heat well! I’d really recommend this surgery if you love your bully, for his own well-being above all else. The all-inclusive price was around £1,600.
It's true he's snoring a bit less. We're going back in a fortnight to have the stitches removed.
His lordship certainly made the most of it, as he had nothing but wet food for four days. For now, he's regurgitating less, but we'll have to see in a month's time when everything is properly healed up.
But honestly, I'm really happy with the vet's work; I was expecting his face to look quite different.
It seems like they nearly all have to go through it, or almost all of them... Poor little things, but it’s brilliant that he's doing better after the op 😉
Hi there,
I’m having the same issue with mine; Oualy has really small nostrils (he’s our second one, and we didn't have this problem with our previous dog). He doesn't seem to get out of breath when he's tearing around like a mad thing chasing bird shadows in the garden—he actually loves it. The problem we’re having is that he regurgitates quite a bit of his dry food after eating or drinking, or a lot of slimy saliva. It really bothers him because it just comes on so suddenly. Plus, you can tell he struggles to breathe from time to time because he starts breathing through his mouth.
He’ll be 4 in April.
The vet gave me two quotes:
1. Surgery on his nostrils including a pre-op check-up, with all costs coming to about £300.
The vet is going to take advantage of him being under anaesthesia to check his soft palate and, if necessary, perform that operation at the same time. The price for that would be around £660.
I have to admit, the word "anaesthesia" really scares us for our little Frenchie (since they’re known to be quite fragile).
I’m a bit apprehensive, but based on the comments here, it can only be a good thing for him. I’m going to look into booking the appointment soon, while it’s not too hot and we aren’t out and about as much this time of year.
Hi everyone,
I’m reaching out because my dog had surgery for an elongated soft palate and nostril widening about a month ago. The operation has made a massive difference to his breathing. However, since then, he’s been struggling to get comfortable in certain positions to go to sleep and his breathing seems quite laboured, especially when he’s drifting off, though it’s fine during the day.
Have any of you noticed similar symptoms with your Frenchie?
Kind regards.
Robeen, my Frenchie, has had soft palate surgery twice in the space of a month, but she’s still not doing well.
Before the first op, she was having fainting spells because her breathing was so bad, and she was only 8 months old. She seemed better right after the surgery, but as soon as we stopped the meds, she started gasping for air again.
We took her back to the specialist, who kept her in and operated again straight away. According to him, there was some kind of protrusion and still some of the soft palate left. He told us that he’d removed everything this time and that she’d be much better. Unfortunately, now she’s off the steroids, she’s starting to struggle again. Her breathing is really poor, especially in the mornings, and she’s hacking and clearing her throat a lot. It’s not worse than before the operations, but it’s still far from great. It’s been a fortnight now; maybe it’s still too early, and perhaps she’s still in pain and things will pick up in a month or two, as I’ve read online.
