# Redundant Tracheal Membrane



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

I took Scout on a hike today, and halfway through the hike she started acting ill. She was gagging and wheezing, eating massive amounts of grass, and eventually vomited. I was so worried, we came right home.

She was pacing back and forth, crying occasionally, and gagging. She settled down for a little bit, but the gagging wouldn't go away. She kept trying to eat lots of grass, and kept throwing it back up. I called the vet to see if I should come in or give her time to settle. The receptionist didn't know, and I talked to someone on the phone. Bascially, she *drilled* me on what Scout was doing than just grumpily said that she had't a clue what was wrong and that she could *squeeze* us in at 5. How horrible, to be worried about your pup and to have some grumpy person at the vet clinic. This is my baby!

We got in and the vet checked her really good. He was incredibly nice. He palpated her throat, trachea, and abdomen but could not feel anything. Looking down her throat provided no clues as to what was wrong. From the sound of her gagging/cough he felt that it was upper respiratory. I was told I could get an x-ray and know for sure, or I could take her home and wait. Hopefully, whatever it was would work its way out. He felt like it wasn't going to be something that'd kill her.

Not knowing, wasn't much of an option. What if it was really bad and I went home for a whole weekend hoping that it would work its way out? He took her back to do the x-ray and I began theorizing. I was convinced she must've accidentally inhaled a rock. She's picked them up before, and I wouldn't put it past her. The wait was sooooo long. He even had to take a second x-ray to confirm. She has a redundant tracheal membrane--very unsual and uncommon, especially in a large breed dog.

This is how it was explained to me. She has this extra membrane in her trachea and when traumatized the membrane can flap down from the top. This partially closes off the airway,and the flap moved up and down as she breathes. Hers was higher up on her trachea than normal, and bigger than what he's seen (but I am keeping in mind that this generally is a small dog problem, hence smaller everything). He put her on cough suppressants in the hope that it will heal. She has a little bit more than a 50% chance of this healing. If it does not heal, she will have this cough from time to time for the rest of her life. Running and exercising will make it sound worse.

So, now I have to wait and see what her future holds. I have so many unanswered questions at this point and I guess I will have to wait. Is this genetic? Is it congenital? Will this prevent her from doing agility or any type of dog sport? A google search does not bring up much and what it does is link it to tracheal collapse. Gah! Now I have to listen to my poor girl cough and wheeze and I feel sooo bad for her  It seems she gets worse after drinking water.

Anyway, has anyone ever heard of this? Any other experiences out there?


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

So, someone suggested to me that this might be a misdiagnosis. Has anyone ever heard of a dog getting cheek grass (or anything, really) stuck in their trachea and having it abscess? This membrane thing is definitely very weird, I can't find much information on it and I was told (and am finding) that it is really a small dog problem...

The grass is sounding more plausible to me now. I know that is what she was munching on before it happened, and it explains the vomit (the membrane doesn't have a link to her eating grass and vomiting). I will take her back to the vet on Monday and have her checked again...


----------



## Sucker For Gold (Jan 13, 2009)

Did you mean cheat grass? 

This was actually the first thing I thought about when I started reading your post. Foxtail and cheat grass both have barbed seed pods that can cause problems in dogs. The usual problem areas are between toes, and in the ears and eyes. The barbed pods can penetrate skin and membranes and because they are barbed the pods only move in one direction....farther in. I would imagine that eating the pods could pose a problem.


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Yes, sorry, cheat grass. I didn't know this could be such a problem (I knew about foxtails, but not cheat grass). She was munching on grass before the incident starting, and it was that seedy kind.

So, now I am worried but I will try and wait it out for the weekend before I try and get a second opinion. The vet was really nice, but he is also a recent graduate and may have just been mistaken?

If it is this grass, do you think it will come out on its own? How can they find the grass? I live in a small town, and they don't have the equipment to do an endoscopy here, they would have to put her completely out...


----------



## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I would definitely get a 2nd opinion and if it is the correct diagnosis, I'd get to a vet school for a better solution than just letting her suffer!
Poor baby.. hope she feels better fast.


----------



## Sucker For Gold (Jan 13, 2009)

If it is cheat, it most likely will not come out on its own. I saw a foxtail seed once that got between the toes of a lab and over the period of a day or two had "crawled" it's way completely under the skin. The vet had to insert forceps about 3/8" or so INTO the wound to rerieve the seed. The problem is that once the seed imbeds somewhere, it only moves in one direction....farther in.

How is Scout today? Is she still gagging, coughing, or wheezing at all? I really think that is the main symptom you would be looking for if it were a seed pod.


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I have no advice...just wanted to say I feel badly for you and I'm thinking good thoughts. I hope she's better fast.


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

She hasn't been gagging--but he put her on a cough suppressant which basically makes her feel like she doesn't need to cough so that the membrane could heal. So--I'm not sure if that could help indicate it or not. I'm really worried now. I knew about foxtails (which we don't have here), but didn't know about cheatgrass.

One thing he noticed on the x-ray which I didn't put her is that her trachea had an odd dip--like something was pressing on it (a mass or something). He checked the esophagus really well and it was clear and decided that maybe her trachea was just 'funny.' Now I am beginning to wonder if I shouldn't wait until Monday--maybe I should call him? Maybe I need to go to a bigger city and get it checked out?


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

...can cheats migrate like foxtails?


----------



## Sucker For Gold (Jan 13, 2009)

I would more than imagine that once cheat grass penetrates the skin or a membrane it's going to continue moving and sooner or later it will migrate somewhere. In an ear it can penetrate and move thru the eardrum and move beyond. From the the nasal cavity it penetrate into the cranium (with deadly results). 

If she is not coughing, gagging, or wheezing I would be slightly relieved. I tend to think that a cough suppressant wouldn't really help relieve that type of problem, BUT I could be wrong and i would suppose that those symptoms could resolve once the seed starts to move inward. I'm not a vet though and I'm making a lot of guesses here.

Because this is the weekend, I would lean toward the cautious side and at least call your local vet and share you concerns with him or her and see what they think about the situation.


----------



## meadowmist (May 27, 2009)

Thinking of you and your Scout and hoping she is feeling better.


----------



## coppers-mom (Jan 9, 2009)

I hope Scout is doing much better and you got a second diagnosis.
I've gotten misdiagnosis from both recent graduate vets and experienced ones. A second opinion would be a good idea.


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Thanks guys--

I haven't gotten a hold of the vet yet to talk about getting a second opinion. I hate to take her 'in' again until I talk to him--especially since she is acting normal now. And yesterday was a rough day because my parents took their old sheltie in and had her put to sleep. I was right there, but I wasn't in a state to think about this...

Anyway, I am currently waiting for him to call me back. I feel guilty wanting a second opinion because Scout is acting well...but what if? I mean, this diagnosis is weird and if she does have a membrane and it doesn't heal it will affect the rest of her life---and if she doesn't? ??


----------



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

So I talked to the vet today about Scout. Basically, he said it is likely that something else (like an abscess) could be wrong with her. It is hard to say officially without expensive/additional testing--even to the point of putting a dog under and looking. However, he could not see anything (not that that necessarily means anything) when he looked down her mouth. Plus, with something like an abscess the dog *usually* gets very sick. He put her on the cough suppressants to see if the cough goes away in a few weeks after she is weaned off--if the cough comes back, he will suspect something else at that point. If I want to, I can take her in and have blood work done because that often, but not always, will indicate an abscess. He recommends that I wait. Currently, she is doing very well with no cough and acting like your normal, wild little puppy.

So, yeah, I have to stop and think about this one. On the one hand, I feel like this diagnosis is odd and may be off--on the other hand, the vet is recommending I wait to do further testing and such testing would cost more money and may prove unnecessary. Hmm....


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I wonder if they could do a scope and see what is going on? I know they use those to sometimes get something out when a dog or cat has swallowed something they shouldnt have. It has a little camera on the end.


----------



## Sucker For Gold (Jan 13, 2009)

Glad to hear Scout is doing better. How long does she have to stay on the cough suppressant?


----------

