# Clinical Approach to Cleft Lip and Palate with or Without Surgical Correction in Ten Brachycephalic Puppies

## TL;DR

This study presents successful clinical and surgical management of cleft palate in 10 brachycephalic puppies to improve their survival and quality of life.

## Contribution

The paper provides a detailed clinical approach for managing cleft palate in neonatal brachycephalic dogs until surgical correction.

## Key findings

- Clinical and nutritional management, along with immunological support, ensured survival until surgery.
- Medially positioned flap repair at four months of age was successful in all 10 cases.
- Post-surgery tube feeding and follow-up showed no complications and good development in all animals.

## Abstract

Cleft palatine is a congenital disease that consists of a malformation of the hard and soft labia and palate (roof of the oral cavity). It can be acquired or hereditary (genetic) and affects puppies early in their lives. Treatment involves a corrective surgical procedure to repair the cleft area to ensure that food ingested by the puppy does not reach the airway. Until the puppy can undergo surgery (due to its low weight and the difficulty in obtaining good surgical access), feeding via an orogastric tube is necessary to prevent food from entering the airway, thus preventing the incidence of aspiration pneumonia in these animals. In addition, general supportive care is recommended until the puppy is of the appropriate age and body weight for the procedure. The objective of this study was to describe 10 successful cases of palatine clefts in newborn puppies of different breeds and the clinical management carried out until the congenital defect could be surgically corrected. Clinical management is very important for the puppies to survive until surgical correction of the cleft is performed.

Congenital defects are among the leading causes of neonatal mortality in small animals. Among them, cleft palate is one of the most commonly found malformations in dogs. Appropriate clinical management and surgical correction are determining factors for the survival of puppies affected by this alteration. Thus, the objective of this study is to describe 10 clinical cases of successful clinical management of cleft palate, highlighting the therapeutic strategies used, the results obtained, and the evolution of patients after treatment. Ten neonatal dogs of three breeds were treated by the Small Animal Reproduction Service of FMVZ, Unesp—Botucatu: French Bulldog (6), Pug (3), and American Bully (1) presented with cleft palate at birth or during the first week of age. Patients underwent clinical and nutritional management, in addition to immunological support. At four months of age, the patients underwent medially positioned flap repair. The animals were fed via an esophageal tube for 10 days after surgery. The clinical management proved to be effective since, throughout the follow-up, the animals showed good development and did not present complications arising from the cleft palate, and the surgical procedures were successful, restoring the quality of life of the animals.