Short-term surgical outcomes and histomorphological evaluation of thermal injury following palatoplasty performed with diode laser or air plasma device in dogs with brachycephalic airway obstructive syndrome

Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is a common disorder presenting enlarged soft palate, stenotic nares and abnormal turbinate growth. Surgical correction of BOAS abnormalities with caudal palatoplasty is an elective therapy. This prospective study aimed to compare the effect of an air plasma device and diode laser in dogs undergoing palatoplasty. Outcome measures were as follows: (1) intra-operative and immediate post-operative complications; (2) evaluation of thermal injury in histological tissue sections of the excised soft palate. Twenty dogs with enlarged soft palates underwent palatoplasty, using an air plasma device (n=10) and diode laser (n=10). Soft palate specimens underwent masked histopathological analysis to assess post-operative thermal injury. In this pilot study, no differences were observed in surgical times; all dogs were discharged 24h after surgery and had stable respiration. In the air plasma group, post-operative bleeding occurred in two cases and revision surgery was performed. No difference in thermal injury was observed using the two devices (P>0.05). The air-plasma device was a viable surgical option for palatoplasty in dogs with BOAS.