Talked to SIL yesterday, who is a lab breeder. I've read that Labs are the "poster children" for this. She had a 10 year old lab that developed it, opted not to do the surgery feeling the risks were too great plus the dog already had cancer, and he lived for another 3 years. I've somehow managed to get my nerves and stress under control but I'm wondering how long that's going to last! At this point after doing much reading on the subject, I'm more concerned about what's causing the swelling in his throat rather than the surgery itself. Tomorrow's scope will hopefully give us a clear picture of everything.