Importance of double endoscopic exploration (respiratory and digestive) in french bulldogs

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate endoscopic findings of respiratory and digestive tract in 18 French Bulldogs. Clinical cases included were 3 females and 15 males aged between 8 months and 5 years (2,51 ± 1,21). Clinical signs were respiratory in 3 of them (17%) and a combination of respiratory and digestive in the other 15 (83%). 88% presented long-term clinical signs. 13 out of 18 presented stenotic nares during physical exploration. All patients showed anomalies during the endoscopic examination of the respiratory tract (mainly, elongated soft palate, everted laryngeal saccules, congestive and edematous laryngeal cartilages and congestive trachea with mucous content) and the upper gastrointestinal tract (mainly, gastroesophageal sphincter incompetence, gastro-oesophageal reflux, oesophageal dilation and imaging suggestive of inflammation in the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum). After surgery of the upper respiratory tract anomalies, a marked improvement was obtained for both respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders in all dogs. It was concluded that the results of the present study support that routinely endoscopic respiratory and digestive exploration is of utmost importance in French Bulldogs in order to define the anomalies as a whole presented in each animal.