Stenotic nares

Narrowing of the nostrils in animals

Before surgery After surgery

Stenotic nares means the nares (nostrils) are pinched or narrow, making it more difficult for an animal to breathe, and resulting in a lot of open-mouth breathing and panting.[1] The condition is part of the brachycephalic airway obstructive syndrome common to short-nosed dog[2] and cat breeds.[3] Dog breeds commonly affected by stenotic nares include Boston Terrier, Boxer, Bulldog, King Charles Spaniel, Lhasa Apso, Pug, and Shih Tzu. Stenotic nares is a congenital trait, meaning an animal is born with it. Veterinarians can perform a simple surgery to help widen the nares, which can be done at the same time as a spay or neuter surgery.

## Treatment

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Several resection techniques exist to help correct stenotic nares including alar wing amputation (Trader's technique), punch resection, vertical wedge, horizontal wedge, alapexy, and laser ablation.[4] CO2 laser repair of the stenotic nares is bloodless, allowing a clear view of the surgical field and more precise surgical incisions.[2][5]

## Prevention

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Since stenotic nares is congenital, there is no prevention other than breeding the trait out over generations.[6]

## References

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1. ^ Brooks (DVM, DABVP), Wendy (May 5, 2021). "Brachycephalic Airway Obstruction Syndrome in Flat-Faced Dogs". Vin.com.
2. ^ a b Core, Daniel (April 2, 2014). "Laser Bloodless Repair of Stenotic Nares". Aesculight. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
3. ^ Berns, Chanel N; Schmiedt, Chad W; Dickerson, Vanna M; Murphy, Sean M (December 27, 2020). "Single pedicle advancement flap for treatment of feline stenotic nares: technique and results in five cases". Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 22 (12): 1238–1242\. doi:10.1177/1098612X20910539. PMC 10814377. PMID 32175790. S2CID 212729530.1238-1242&rft.date=2020-12-27&rft_id=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10814377#id-name=PMC&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:212729530#id-name=S2CID&rft_id=info:pmid/32175790&rft_id=info:doi/10.1177/1098612X20910539&rft.aulast=Berns&rft.aufirst=Chanel+N&rft.au=Schmiedt,+Chad+W&rft.au=Dickerson,+Vanna+M&rft.au=Murphy,+Sean+M&rft_id=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10814377&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Stenotic+nares" class="Z3988">
4. ^ Keats (DVM, DACVS), Matthew M (April 1, 2012). "Brachycephalic airway syndrome, Part 1: Correcting stenotic nares". DVM 360.
5. ^ Epperley (DVM), Lou Anne (March 22, 2012). "Surgical Lasers Aren't Just For Teaching Hospitals". Veterinary Practice News.
6. ^ Ravn-Mølby, Eva-Marie; Sindahl, Line; Nielsen, Søren Saxmose; Bruun, Camilla S; Sandøe, Peter; Fredholm, Merete (December 16, 2019). "Breeding French bulldogs so that they breathe well—A long way to go". PLOS ONE. 14 (12): e0226280. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1426280R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226280. PMC 6913956. PMID 31841527. "A lenient way to ensure that the prevalence of BS [Brachycephalic syndrome] is reduced among French bulldogs would be to avoid using dogs with severely stenotic nares for breeding. This would lead to progress, albeit at a very slow pace since dogs with moderately stenotic nares would have a negative impact on the progress. However, slow progress must be accepted to avoid a devastating reduction in genetic diversity within the breed."