Background
In May, Cooper, an energetic and playful dog, began experiencing sudden snorting sounds when breathing through his nose—particularly noticeable when his mouth was closed.
The issue first appeared during a beach run with his usual pack of friends. Known for his love of sticks and stones, Cooper had recently undergone surgery at his local vets to remove two stones from his intestines. Despite a smooth recovery, no abnormalities were found during the initial examination of his upper digestive tract. Interestingly, Cooper could breathe normally and silently when his mouth was open.
Diagnosis
At first, nothing unusual showed up during a standard physical exam. However, the combination of noisy breathing through the nose, difficulty breathing with the mouth closed, and no nasal discharge suggested something might be stuck in the upper part of his throat, behind the nose.
To investigate further, our Specialist Surgeon Jan Beranek performed:
- A CT scan – a detailed 3D X-ray of Cooper’s skull to look for anything abnormal.
- A retrograde rhinoscopy – a procedure where a small camera is inserted from the back of the mouth toward the nose to look for blockages.
These tests revealed a foreign object—a piece of wood—wedged in a very unusual spot: just above the soft part of the roof of the mouth, behind the hard bony section.
An Unusual Discovery
What made this case so rare was the location of the object. It’s extremely uncommon for anything to get stuck above the soft palate (the flexible part at the back of the roof of the mouth), making this a particularly tricky diagnosis.
Treatment & Recovery
To remove the object, the Jan performed a short staphylotomy—a small surgical cut through the soft palate—while Cooper was under general anaesthesia. This allowed them to safely extract the piece of wood. Cooper recovered smoothly from the procedure and was able to go home the same day.
We are glad Cooper made a full recovery and could go back to running on the beach with his friends!
Contact Kentdale Vets for more information about our services.
We are one of the UK’s leading Specialist Orthopaedic, Spinal and Soft Tissue small animal referral centres.