Guttural pouch tympany is typically seen in foals from birth to 18 months of age. This disease is more common in fillies and is usually bilateral. Guttural pouch tympany is characterized as a non-painful, fluctuant, soft tissue swelling in the parotidregion. Often times the foal will be in respiratory distress depending on the degree of pharyngeal collapse that is present. Other features include dysphagia resulting in aspiration pneumonia and abnormal respiratory noise during inspiration. Ventral displacement of the roof of the pharynx is seen on upper airway endoscopy. Endoscopy of the guttural pouch is often normal but signs of empyema are not unusual. Often passing the endoscope into the guttural pouch will alleviate the tympany. This will be evident by a decrease in the degree of ventral displacement of the pharyngeal roof.
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