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Stent Or Ring Surgery Recovery Timeline

Waiting for your dog to come home after an airway procedure is hard. It helps to know what is normal and what is not. Every hospital and every dog is different, so treat this as a map to talk through with your team. For the basics of each procedure, see Stents Or Rings.

The Day Of The Procedure

Stent. University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center describes measuring the trachea under anesthesia, placing the stent with fluoroscopy (live X-ray) to guide it, and often using a scope afterward to check placement and take samples. Dogs there wake up in the emergency and critical care unit, where they are watched around the clock.

Rings. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons explains that rings are placed around the outside of the trachea in the neck through an incision and sutured in place.

The First Few Days

The American College of Veterinary Surgeons says most pets go home 1 to 2 days after the procedure, and come back for a recheck that includes removing skin sutures or staples if there are any.

Weeks 1 To 6: Coughing Is Expected

Your dog will very likely still cough after the procedure. In a 2024 review that pooled 15 studies of tracheal stents in dogs, nearly all dogs, 99 percent, had some cough in the first 6 weeks after stenting. The authors chose 6 weeks as the dividing line because that is roughly how long the airway lining takes to grow over the stent. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons describes the same process: in the first weeks the stent wires are visible inside the airway, and after several weeks to months the stent becomes buried under the lining.

After ring surgery, the early weeks are when one serious complication tends to show up. In the 69-dog study, 2 dogs developed laryngeal paralysis at 9 and 14 days after surgery, and 1 had the collapse return at 16 days. Five dogs in that study had laryngeal paralysis at some point after surgery. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons explains that a paralyzed larynx can need emergency surgery.

Week 6 And Beyond

Coughing usually eases but often does not disappear. In the stent review, 75 percent of dogs still coughed after 6 weeks, and about half had a cough that was considered clinically relevant. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons says many dogs keep coughing for the rest of their lives, though the cough is usually milder than before treatment.

The same review pooled how often other problems were reported after stenting:

• Airway infections: 24 percent
• Granulation tissue (thickened tissue near the stent): 20 percent
• Stent fracture: 12 percent
• Collapse coming back: 10 percent
• Stent moving out of place: 5 percent

The American College of Veterinary Surgeons notes that stents crossing the point where the trachea enters the chest are at higher risk of breaking because of neck movement. Ask how your team watches for each.

The Long Run

Rechecks. University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center says periodic chest X-rays will be needed after a stent, with an occasional repeat scope. In the 69-dog ring study, rechecks were done at about 1, 3, and 6 months and 1 year.

Medicine. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons says medical management needs to continue for life, even after a procedure.

Outcomes. ACVS reports that 95 percent of dogs with stents are immediately improved and 90 percent are markedly improved at their follow-up visit, and about 75 percent of dogs improve after rings. In the 69-dog study of grade 4 collapse, survival 36 months after surgery was about 76 percent for dogs with the traditional form of collapse and 91 percent for a less common W-shaped form. ACVS adds that dogs older than 6 years or with laryngeal or bronchial disease have more complications and a poorer long-term outcome.

Making Home Easy On The Airway

• Short, calm walks on a harness, never a collar
• Keep your dog cool and away from smoke and sprays
• Give every medicine as your team directs, and ask before stopping any
• Keep a log of coughing fits to show at rechecks

For questions to ask before choosing a procedure, see Questions To Ask Before A Stent Or Surgery. To see listed practices near you that say they offer stents or rings, use Find A Practice.