The English Bulldog Puppy Blog

Are these procedures medically needed or are pets simply undergo surgery to fulfill their masters’ vanity?

Cosmetic surgeries aren’t only limited to people nowadays. The hype of having facelifts, tummy tucks, nose jobs, breast reductions, testicular implants and cosmetic dentistry caters may sound like an extreme makeover reality TV show. Get this, patients going under the surgeon’s knife nipped and tucked are not only people but pets.

An orthopedic veterinary surgeon, Dr. Alan Schulman, performs plastic surgery to animals shares that pet are no longer considered property but family members. In this modern day of evolution, pet owners having discretionary salary sees technology and veterinary expertise both useful adversaries to help their animals achieve a better quality of life through reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Schulman often advises his patients to determine for a real medical reason to do some reconstructive repair before any surgeries. Though, the “Veterinarian to the Stars” doctor gets his fair share to perform unnecessary cosmetic procedures from celebrities.

Skin-fold problems
There are legitimate medical needs for such surgeries especially among certain dog breeds that require reconstructive procedures in the likes of an eyelift, full facelift, rhinoplasty or abdominoplasty. The costs of these procedures don’t come cheap with costs as much as $1,000 per procedure. The pet is usually hospitalized overnight and monitored closely after anesthesia.

The most common concerns are skin fold problems, particularly around the eyes, lips, tail and vaginal area. Dr. Schulman says “It’s not uncommon to have skin folds surgically reduced in size or eliminated in order to help the animal from chronic discomfort and infection.”

There a cases when the skin folds of canines becomes prone to bacterial infections due to the difficulty of keeping the areas between the folds clean. Bulldogs, most especially, have a trademark wrinkle over the nose and below their eyes. These wrinkles tend to be so deep and recessed making it hard to manage. Some pet-owners resort to skin fold reduction surgery when infections get out of hand despite application of topical antibiotics.

Nose jobs and chin lifts
Dog breeds which are the most likely candidates for nose jobs are pugs, bulldogs and Boston terriers so as to alleviate breathing problems. While the sharpie and the chow, on the other hand, resort to eyelifts as a very common reconstructive to correct a congenital defect that causes the eyelids to roll inwards and the eyelashes to rub against the cornea.

A chin lift is often performed to curb excessive drooling problems in big dogs namely mastiffs, bloodhounds and Newfoundlands. Droopy lips may be innate in these breeds but excessive drooling can cause chronic mouth infections, which can lead to further complications in the kidneys and liver and worst even cause heart-valve infections.

Orthodontics for dogs
Animals are gifted of the ability to grow back lost teeth yet is subject to misalignment. Some pets are pronounced overbite which veterinary dental specialists have a full array of techniques to combat the problem, including orthodontic braces, bands and retainers. There are, however, no elastic-band color choices for Fido. Dental work can also be required after an injury to the mouth and fractured teeth. Dogs can chew on just about everything including horse and cow hoofs, tennis balls and oddly, ice resulting to dogs having root canal treatment and a crown fitted. The dental expenses are almost the same as in humans. Most pet owners don’t mind spending money just to make sure their pet is not suffering from pain. Thus, it’s not a bad idea to secure a pet dental insurance to cut down rising costs of dental repair.

Before you decide to transform your English bulldog to a wrinkle-free face (spell cosmetic surgery), make sure to discuss with you veterinarian if your pet do have medical needs. Go ahead by all means if it does make your dog’s life better. Be mindful, though, not to drastically alter that pudgy face of your pet. After all, those wrinkles make English bulldogs so adorable.

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