Gomez is an adorable 8 ½ year old French Bulldog who won the hearts of the entire staff at the Animal Medical Center of Seattle. He’s a very active boy who loves to go for walks and when it’s time to eat! Unfortunately, the first time our staff met Gomez was when he presented to our emergency department suffering from severe respiratory distress and was quickly brought back for intensive care. Severe laryngeal swelling was blocking his airway, so an endotracheal tube was inserted orally to open his airway and provide oxygen for him. Gomez began to stabilize after receiving oxygen support, so much so that he began to try and chew his endotracheal tube.

Since we needed to keep an open airway because of the swelling, a tracheostomy procedure was performed. A tracheostomy is a medical procedure where an incision is made under anesthesia or sedation to create an opening so a tube can be placed directly into the trachea. This would provide a more long-term option for Gomez as he wouldn’t need to be kept under anesthesia or heavy sedation to maintain it.

A CT scan was performed to get a better visualization and samples of the swelling in his larynx were obtain. Thankfully, the results came back negative for cancer, and although a definitive cause wasn’t found, allergic reaction or inflammation related to irritation of the area were suspected. Gomez was kept on oxygen support and medications to help decrease the swelling and treat infection. After four days with a tracheostomy tube, Gomez had improved enough to get his tube removed! He was discharged from the hospital a couple days after it was removed to his wonderful family.

Gomez was such a delightful patient and stayed brave throughout his entire stay. Although we all miss Gomez dearly, we are so happy that he was able to go home!