Charlotte can breathe again!

Charlotte rivals Izzi on the cuteness factor. This young Pug presented to her veterinarian recently for vomiting and gagging. On the edge of her abdominal x-rays, it was noticed that her lungs were abnormal. Due to her breed, a lung lobe torsion was suspected. This is bad news! When the lung lobe twists around itself (torsion), it cuts off the blood supply to the lung lobe, and that portion of the lung literally dies. If Charlotte didn't have surgery to remove her dying lung lobe, it could kill her!

Charlotte did fantastic during and after surgery, where a torsion was confirmed. The effected lung lobe was removed and the pathologists confirmed that no tumor or other disease caused the problem. Recovery from thoracic surgery of any kind is always hard, but Charlotte did great. It helps that she is a certified therapy dog; her calm demeanor really helps when recovering from major surgery.

Interestingly, Pugs and Afghan Hounds tend to be predisposed to this problem. No one really knows why, but some people think that Pugs might have bronchial (windpipe) anatomy that is different than other dogs and makes this problem more likely. For Afghans, they are predisposed to chylothorax (accumulation of chyle - a type of fluid - in the chest cavity). Most people think that's why they get lung lobe torsions.

It's also interesting that a primary lung problem can initially look like an abdominal problem (vomiting). Charlotte's 'gagging' and 'retching' were likely unusual displays of coughing, due to her rotten lung lobe. That's part of what makes veterinary medicine so fun; the myriad ways that the same disease or problem can be expressed.

For those who are interested...

Lung lobe torsion paper 1
Lung lobe torsion paper 2