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Invasive jaw operation

Sweetie

Sweetie

Mama Doe
Hi Everyone

I haven't been on here for quite some time but wondered if there was any experience amongst the bunny folk of removing a section of jaw bone in a bun?

My rabbit Sam (black lop, 4.5 years old) had a large invasive surgery in Feb 2015 to remove 3 abscesses, 3 teeth and part of his jaw bone (in terms of thickness). He has since had two further dentals to remove all of the remaining teeth on his lower jaw so there are no teeth at all on that side. The top teeth have stopped growing and are now discoloured/not in use at all according to my vet. His front teeth and all teeth on the other side of his mouth are all perfectly healthy.

I noticed approx two weeks ago that he had a scab on the outside of his jaw/cheek where the wound had been from the first op. Took him to the vets, hes had a CT scan and the specialist report says that there is a new abscess that has taken over the original site which is likely caused by a tiny section of root that is still there. The scan shows that the bone left is compromised and there are gaps/cracks in it. They can't confirm the integrity of the bone so if we operate to remove the abscess chances are that the entire section of the jaw bone will need to be removed as well as any necrotic tissue that surrounds it. I have seen the scans and had a very detailed breakdown of them from my vet. Sam also has a build up of something in both ears which needs flushing as well.

He is currently on 1.3mls of Metacam, 0.4mls of Baytril and 1.8mls of Metronizadole all twice daily.

I have an appointment later today as Sam has also now started to have white discharge come from his nose. Its not a lot but enough to cause concern.

I'm now in a position where the vet wants me to decide today what course of treatment to take. He hasn't tried to sway me either way but the discussion that we had last week nudged towards the surgery. My problem is that I cannot get my head round the fact that Sam could end up without a lower jaw bone on that side of his mouth and then go on to heal and be a happy bun. I have had experience of letting the vets do a second invasive operation on another rabbit before and it was the biggest regret that I ever had as the bun never got over the surgery and died 6 days later (different vet, different illness etc). I don't want to be in the situation again whereby i have cut a life short because I believed the op was the best thing.

Sam took longer than usual to come round from the GA for the CT scan last week, he normally bounces back straight away when he has had a minor dental under GA but this was just a GA for the sake of having the scan. It took him 3 days to recover which is concerning.

I have researched online and whilst there are many journals, FHB notes and a wealth of information about abscess removal I cannot seem to find any information about jaw bone removal and its success. My vet has done similar surgeries before, both elective and as a result of damage not visible until the op was underway.

I trust that my vet would do all he could and that he would only perform the op if he thought there was a chance of success but I am just not on board with it yet. I am contemplating the idea of ongoing antibiotic treatment until the point where the ultimate decision needs to be made. The issue with that is we don't know what strain the infection is as we cannot penetrate the abscess without surgery. Its in amongst the bone so we don't even know if the antibiotics are the most appropriate although I guess Metronizadole should hopefully be having some impact (the scab has almost gone so we're hoping the abscess growth is contained).

I have looked on the forum quite extensively and can't find any information or experience of others of such a surgery. I am hoping someone may have something that may help, either from a surgery perspective or ongoing non-surgical treatment.

Thanks for reading.
 
I had a rabbit in a similar situation. He was being treated for a weird jaw abscess under FHB. Teeth and bits of jaw (the thinner inner layer) kept falling out when the infection site was surgically cleared. At the last op, we were offered a partial jaw removal (Nigel HB's suggestion). I declined the op. The jaw was fairly useless on one side anyway, but I thought he would be no worse off leaving it there as he was coping well as it was, versus the risk of the op and aftercare - I don't think it was going to be a 'cure' as such, just dealing with the existing damage. Feeding wasn't an issue as we had been dealing with it for some time anyway. We continued with depocillin injections at home (daily, I think) and daily metacam. The infection was managed and the rabbit's quality of life was really good. He lived outside and you couldn't tell in passing how serious it was. It didn't bother him at all.

My vet nurses were really glad that I had declined the op - they did the after care when FHB and her team had done their bit. I still think it was the right decision for our situation.

FHB had a list of about 6 'odd' jaw abscess cases at that time, and 2 (unrelated rabbits) of mine were added to the list. They had similar surgical treatment and daily meds. Both managed about 18 months of good quality life after diagnosis. It was only the last couple of days when an overwhelming infection took over with one, and we lost the other overnight at FHB's post-surgery after one of many dentals.

If you are not sure about radical surgery, I think you are doing the right thing by thinking about it whilst continuing with antibiotic treatment. I would want him in the best possible health before undergoing an op - so getting the discharge cleared would be my priority at the moment. With a history of poor recovery after a GA, I would be wary of any additional risks.

Whatever you decide, your rabbit is in excellent hands.
 
Sweetie said:
Hi Everyone

I haven't been on here for quite some time but wondered if there was any experience amongst the bunny folk of removing a section of jaw bone in a bun?

My rabbit Sam (black lop, 4.5 years old) had a large invasive surgery in Feb 2015 to remove 3 abscesses, 3 teeth and part of his jaw bone (in terms of thickness). He has since had two further dentals to remove all of the remaining teeth on his lower jaw so there are no teeth at all on that side. The top teeth have stopped growing and are now discoloured/not in use at all according to my vet. His front teeth and all teeth on the other side of his mouth are all perfectly healthy.

I noticed approx two weeks ago that he had a scab on the outside of his jaw/cheek where the wound had been from the first op. Took him to the vets, hes had a CT scan and the specialist report says that there is a new abscess that has taken over the original site which is likely caused by a tiny section of root that is still there. The scan shows that the bone left is compromised and there are gaps/cracks in it. They can't confirm the integrity of the bone so if we operate to remove the abscess chances are that the entire section of the jaw bone will need to be removed as well as any necrotic tissue that surrounds it. I have seen the scans and had a very detailed breakdown of them from my vet. Sam also has a build up of something in both ears which needs flushing as well.

He is currently on 1.3mls of Metacam, 0.4mls of Baytril and 1.8mls of Metronizadole all twice daily.

I have an appointment later today as Sam has also now started to have white discharge come from his nose. Its not a lot but enough to cause concern.

I'm now in a position where the vet wants me to decide today what course of treatment to take. He hasn't tried to sway me either way but the discussion that we had last week nudged towards the surgery. My problem is that I cannot get my head round the fact that Sam could end up without a lower jaw bone on that side of his mouth and then go on to heal and be a happy bun. I have had experience of letting the vets do a second invasive operation on another rabbit before and it was the biggest regret that I ever had as the bun never got over the surgery and died 6 days later (different vet, different illness etc). I don't want to be in the situation again whereby i have cut a life short because I believed the op was the best thing.

Sam took longer than usual to come round from the GA for the CT scan last week, he normally bounces back straight away when he has had a minor dental under GA but this was just a GA for the sake of having the scan. It took him 3 days to recover which is concerning.

I have researched online and whilst there are many journals, FHB notes and a wealth of information about abscess removal I cannot seem to find any information about jaw bone removal and its success. My vet has done similar surgeries before, both elective and as a result of damage not visible until the op was underway.

I trust that my vet would do all he could and that he would only perform the op if he thought there was a chance of success but I am just not on board with it yet. I am contemplating the idea of ongoing antibiotic treatment until the point where the ultimate decision needs to be made. The issue with that is we don't know what strain the infection is as we cannot penetrate the abscess without surgery. Its in amongst the bone so we don't even know if the antibiotics are the most appropriate although I guess Metronizadole should hopefully be having some impact (the scab has almost gone so we're hoping the abscess growth is contained).

I have looked on the forum quite extensively and can't find any information or experience of others of such a surgery. I am hoping someone may have something that may help, either from a surgery perspective or ongoing non-surgical treatment.

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

Goodness I am sorry to hear of Sam's significant problems. I am not in a position to advise you as to whether to proceed with what sounds to be radical surgery. I have never had any experience of a Rabbit who has had the extreme surgery you describe, although I do know that an RU member did have a Rabbit who underwent a lot of Dental surgery, including some jaw bone debridement. This is the thread about said Bunny, Nena

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?415173-Nena-s-jaw-tooth-root-abscess

I would certainly want a full blood profile run before embarking on any other procedures requiring a GA, given that you mention Sam's poor recovery last time.

Best wishes for Sam x
 
Thank you Shimmer, that it really useful. I started to hit a brick wall with internet research so its good to read about your experiences, especially with FHB as well.

When Sam had the op the first time round he was under 1yrs old so I didn't even give it a second thought but the change in his reaction to GA, the discharge and the severity of the op are now concerning me so much that I can't seem to see what benefit the op would give him as there are obviously no guarantees. I am concerned that this could be osteomyelitis as the other abscesses were also in and around the bone in which case it won't be cured and as you say, an op would merely deal with this particular instance and surely there are only so many times a rabbit can withhold surgery in the same site?

My vet is Sergio at Manor Vets in Edgbaston, he is an excellent exotic vet so I know he is in good hands.
 
Poor Sam! My first house bunny (this is going back 25 years & my recall is sketchy) had recurrent jaw abscesses. Cultures were taken so the most appropriate antibiotic could be impregnated in to the material used in the area the jaw bone was affected. For my girly it was happy news & a cure - she was only 18 months when she had this & although she only lived til 6 there were no further dental issues. As I say this was many blue moons ago. My bunny was under FHB

I hope you find a way forward xx
 
I think with both of my radical dental buns with abscesses (I have had another 'normal' dental bun who just needed spurs dealing with regularly), a cure was never really an option, so it was really palliative care for as long as needed. The source of the infection was never fully identified (we had x-rays but no scans). One was probably tooth roots, and the other had some cellular changes to soft tissue on the roof of her mouth, rather than a more usual abscess. Both responded to antibiotic treatment and had surgery as needed. I saw no benefit to the rabbit to have a partial jaw removal just because it was crumbling with each surgery - he was managing well with it (and I could cope as well). I couldn't see what positives there would be by removing it - so I didn't go for that option. Both of these rabbits started with dental issues at an older age than yours, though. One was a more sudden onset due to weight loss, the other was identified after a series of more routine dentals. Both needed some level of routine teeth burring for the rest of their lives, in order to maintain the unaffected teeth which were not wearing down normally due to the uneven bite.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Goodness I am sorry to hear of Sam's significant problems. I am not in a position to advise you as to whether to proceed with what sounds to be radical surgery. I have never had any experience of a Rabbit who has had the extreme surgery you describe, although I do know that an RU member did have a Rabbit who underwent a lot of Dental surgery, including some jaw bone debridement. This is the thread about said Bunny, Nena

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?415173-Nena-s-jaw-tooth-root-abscess

I would certainly want a full blood profile run before embarking on any other procedures requiring a GA, given that you mention Sam's poor recovery last time.

Best wishes for Sam x
Click to expand...

Thank you Jane. I remember Nena's journey as she was being treated at the same time as Sam had his first op and by the same vet, Marie Kubiak at Manor Vets in Edgbaston. Yaretzi really went through the mill with little Nena and did an overwhelmingly fantastic job of looking after her over the 3yrs of treatment. I have to say that Nena's journey was the first thread I read when I came back on here the other day as I remembered it from before.

I think thats the trouble with dental abscesses, they can have such devastating effects on the general health of a rabbit due to the implications of not feeding, passing stools etc, its hard to know what to do for the best. I am all for operating where necessary but there is a time when it may not be in the rabbits best interests and the more I think about it the more I think this may be the case here.

Since Sam's first op he has been fine aside from the dentals. We seem to have skipped any less invasive abscesses and jumped straight to an extreme case.

Without asking a daft question is it possible for a blood test to be done without a GA or is it necessary? I have only ever known them be performed under GA before.

Thank you!
 
joey&boo said:
Poor Sam! My first house bunny (this is going back 25 years & my recall is sketchy) had recurrent jaw abscesses. Cultures were taken so the most appropriate antibiotic could be impregnated in to the material used in the area the jaw bone was affected. For my girly it was happy news & a cure - she was only 18 months when she had this & although she only lived til 6 there were no further dental issues. As I say this was many blue moons ago. My bunny was under FHB

I hope you find a way forward xx
Click to expand...

Thank you Joey&Boo. I will ask if there is a way to get a culture but I am guessing not due to the location of the abscess. I did take a sample of the discharge from the nose but it has dried out now. It was a thick white substance. I have read that Snuffles can be caused by stress so that may be the case here, unless its connected to whatever is going on his his ears.

These bunnies are certainly sent to try us aren't they xxx
 
I don’t have any experience of this so I can’t advise, but I’m sending lots of vibes:thumb:
 
Having just had something fairly similar with one of my elderly buns at the beginning of last year; and previously losing another bun the year before through a recurring tooth root abscess. I decided I didn't want to put him through evasive surgery and opted for palliative care with injections of depocillin for the long term. As I say that was at the beginning of last year and amazingly he is still with us, and the swelling appears to have disappeared (both myself and my Vet are mystified). It was a gamble, but I'm glad I didn't put him through surgery. I know it could flare up again at anytime but I feel we've been very lucky to have been given this extra time to have him with us, as I'm pretty certain that even if he had pulled through the surgery, he wouldn't have put up with the constant attention with the aftercare.

I wish you luck with whatever you decide for your little one.
 
They certainly do try us to the max. I don't think my bun had any jaw removed as such, just dead tissue removed - tbh I can't quite remember. Lots of vibes for you & bun. Its a difficult decision xx
 
Sweetie said:
Hi Everyone

I haven't been on here for quite some time but wondered if there was any experience amongst the bunny folk of removing a section of jaw bone in a bun?

My rabbit Sam (black lop, 4.5 years old) had a large invasive surgery in Feb 2015 to remove 3 abscesses, 3 teeth and part of his jaw bone (in terms of thickness). He has since had two further dentals to remove all of the remaining teeth on his lower jaw so there are no teeth at all on that side. The top teeth have stopped growing and are now discoloured/not in use at all according to my vet. His front teeth and all teeth on the other side of his mouth are all perfectly healthy.

I noticed approx two weeks ago that he had a scab on the outside of his jaw/cheek where the wound had been from the first op. Took him to the vets, hes had a CT scan and the specialist report says that there is a new abscess that has taken over the original site which is likely caused by a tiny section of root that is still there. The scan shows that the bone left is compromised and there are gaps/cracks in it. They can't confirm the integrity of the bone so if we operate to remove the abscess chances are that the entire section of the jaw bone will need to be removed as well as any necrotic tissue that surrounds it. I have seen the scans and had a very detailed breakdown of them from my vet. Sam also has a build up of something in both ears which needs flushing as well.

He is currently on 1.3mls of Metacam, 0.4mls of Baytril and 1.8mls of Metronizadole all twice daily.

I have an appointment later today as Sam has also now started to have white discharge come from his nose. Its not a lot but enough to cause concern.

I'm now in a position where the vet wants me to decide today what course of treatment to take. He hasn't tried to sway me either way but the discussion that we had last week nudged towards the surgery. My problem is that I cannot get my head round the fact that Sam could end up without a lower jaw bone on that side of his mouth and then go on to heal and be a happy bun. I have had experience of letting the vets do a second invasive operation on another rabbit before and it was the biggest regret that I ever had as the bun never got over the surgery and died 6 days later (different vet, different illness etc). I don't want to be in the situation again whereby i have cut a life short because I believed the op was the best thing.

Sam took longer than usual to come round from the GA for the CT scan last week, he normally bounces back straight away when he has had a minor dental under GA but this was just a GA for the sake of having the scan. It took him 3 days to recover which is concerning.

I have researched online and whilst there are many journals, FHB notes and a wealth of information about abscess removal I cannot seem to find any information about jaw bone removal and its success. My vet has done similar surgeries before, both elective and as a result of damage not visible until the op was underway.

I trust that my vet would do all he could and that he would only perform the op if he thought there was a chance of success but I am just not on board with it yet. I am contemplating the idea of ongoing antibiotic treatment until the point where the ultimate decision needs to be made. The issue with that is we don't know what strain the infection is as we cannot penetrate the abscess without surgery. Its in amongst the bone so we don't even know if the antibiotics are the most appropriate although I guess Metronizadole should hopefully be having some impact (the scab has almost gone so we're hoping the abscess growth is contained).

I have looked on the forum quite extensively and can't find any information or experience of others of such a surgery. I am hoping someone may have something that may help, either from a surgery perspective or ongoing non-surgical treatment.

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...


Hi there and so sorry to hear about Sam. What a position to be in! It looks like you've excellent vets on board which is amazing.

Sadly I have had some experience of what you're talking about, and I have known of other cases. Consolidating my knowledge and experience together with what you've posted here, I would not attempt to have the operation. The fact that Sam is a relatively young rabbit is good, but as he's taking longer to come around from anaesthesia, I would be concerned on those grounds alone.

I would opt to use daily injections of Depocillin for as long as Sam has a good quality of life. It doesn't always work (sorry if you've mentioned, but has the pus been cultured?) but it covers most bacteria as you probably already know.

I wish you all the very best whatever you decide to do. I know you have Sam's very best interests at heart, and it's a difficult and agonising decision for you to have to make.
 
Your vet should be able to get a blood sample without a GA or sedation. It is often taken from the ear, so there may be a small bald spot afterwards if it has been shaved for better access to the vein. I have had to leave them there for an hour or two sometimes to give the staff the chance to do the procedure as they may not be able to do it in the appointment slot.
 
Sweetie said:
Thank you Jane. I remember Nena's journey as she was being treated at the same time as Sam had his first op and by the same vet, Marie Kubiak at Manor Vets in Edgbaston. Yaretzi really went through the mill with little Nena and did an overwhelmingly fantastic job of looking after her over the 3yrs of treatment. I have to say that Nena's journey was the first thread I read when I came back on here the other day as I remembered it from before.

I think thats the trouble with dental abscesses, they can have such devastating effects on the general health of a rabbit due to the implications of not feeding, passing stools etc, its hard to know what to do for the best. I am all for operating where necessary but there is a time when it may not be in the rabbits best interests and the more I think about it the more I think this may be the case here.

Since Sam's first op he has been fine aside from the dentals. We seem to have skipped any less invasive abscesses and jumped straight to an extreme case.

Without asking a daft question is it possible for a blood test to be done without a GA or is it necessary? I have only ever known them be performed under GA before.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I tend to agree.

As Shimmer has said bloods can be done without the need for sedation :)
 
Sweetie said:
Thank you Jane. I remember Nena's journey as she was being treated at the same time as Sam had his first op and by the same vet, Marie Kubiak at Manor Vets in Edgbaston. Yaretzi really went through the mill with little Nena and did an overwhelmingly fantastic job of looking after her over the 3yrs of treatment. I have to say that Nena's journey was the first thread I read when I came back on here the other day as I remembered it from before.

I think thats the trouble with dental abscesses, they can have such devastating effects on the general health of a rabbit due to the implications of not feeding, passing stools etc, its hard to know what to do for the best. I am all for operating where necessary but there is a time when it may not be in the rabbits best interests and the more I think about it the more I think this may be the case here.

Since Sam's first op he has been fine aside from the dentals. We seem to have skipped any less invasive abscesses and jumped straight to an extreme case.

Without asking a daft question is it possible for a blood test to be done without a GA or is it necessary? I have only ever known them be performed under GA before.

Thank you!
Click to expand...


Sorry I have only just seen this question.

It's taken from a small vein in the ear, and there should be no need for sedation.
 
Hi Everyone

Thank you for all of your comments and useful information. I am very grateful.

The appointment for Sam went better than expected yesterday. My vet checked him over again, and whilst checking the site on the outside side of his cheek he noticed that it had more or less healed, fur was growing back and the swelling had reduced (it wasn't visible to the eye before anyway, only to the touch). The check inside Sam's mouth didn't show any progression inwards/upwards from the gum/bone where the abscess is. The lack of degenerative progression, Sam's maintained weight, the ongoing (yet undiagnosed) nasal problems and the further review of the specialist CT report have led us both to the conclusion that surgery is not the right thing to do here. Sam has, for some reason, responded very well to the Metronizadole so he is now going to be on that for the foreseeable, along with daily Baytril and Metacam. My vet was very surprised that there seemed to be a good response to the antibiotic but we obviously don't know if its just containing the abscess or shrinking it (unlikely but we can hope). We talked at length about the surgery and mutually agreed to not do it. We shall continue as we are until Sam shows signs of any change which we will address at the time.

In terms of his nasal discharge swabs have been taken and I am awaiting the test results. We don't know if the sample is big enough to get a reading but we have to try. The CT report showed that there is pressure in the nasal cavity from the top of the teeth on the opposite side of the mouth from the abscess site (the discharge is from the nostril on the opposite side from the abscess issues too). The antibiotics that Sam is on are not helping with this type of infection so we need to identify what else we need to give and then if there is any other treatment needed. I have been given F10 in a solution to use in a nebuliser to try to help in the mean time.

I have the Metronizadole awaiting pick up at my local Morrisons Pharmacy today and prescriptions for Metacam and Baytril to collect tomorrow from the vets. These will be his long term medications until he presents with any change. We may scan him again in a few months to see what is happening inside but we'll have to play that by ear due to the GA recovery we had this time.

Overall I am feeling more comfortable with the situation. I am content with surgery being written off and that the vet agrees that is not the way forward. I have no doubt that we will need to review the medication and potentially change antibiotics but for now I think we are both happy with our plan.

I didn't ask for bloods yesterday but will do so if I notice any changes or if I think there is something we may have missed.

Thanks again for all of your help and support :)
 
Sweetie said:
Hi Everyone

Thank you for all of your comments and useful information. I am very grateful.

The appointment for Sam went better than expected yesterday. My vet checked him over again, and whilst checking the site on the outside side of his cheek he noticed that it had more or less healed, fur was growing back and the swelling had reduced (it wasn't visible to the eye before anyway, only to the touch). The check inside Sam's mouth didn't show any progression inwards/upwards from the gum/bone where the abscess is. The lack of degenerative progression, Sam's maintained weight, the ongoing (yet undiagnosed) nasal problems and the further review of the specialist CT report have led us both to the conclusion that surgery is not the right thing to do here. Sam has, for some reason, responded very well to the Metronizadole so he is now going to be on that for the foreseeable, along with daily Baytril and Metacam. My vet was very surprised that there seemed to be a good response to the antibiotic but we obviously don't know if its just containing the abscess or shrinking it (unlikely but we can hope). We talked at length about the surgery and mutually agreed to not do it. We shall continue as we are until Sam shows signs of any change which we will address at the time.

In terms of his nasal discharge swabs have been taken and I am awaiting the test results. We don't know if the sample is big enough to get a reading but we have to try. The CT report showed that there is pressure in the nasal cavity from the top of the teeth on the opposite side of the mouth from the abscess site (the discharge is from the nostril on the opposite side from the abscess issues too). The antibiotics that Sam is on are not helping with this type of infection so we need to identify what else we need to give and then if there is any other treatment needed. I have been given F10 in a solution to use in a nebuliser to try to help in the mean time.

I have the Metronizadole awaiting pick up at my local Morrisons Pharmacy today and prescriptions for Metacam and Baytril to collect tomorrow from the vets. These will be his long term medications until he presents with any change. We may scan him again in a few months to see what is happening inside but we'll have to play that by ear due to the GA recovery we had this time.

Overall I am feeling more comfortable with the situation. I am content with surgery being written off and that the vet agrees that is not the way forward. I have no doubt that we will need to review the medication and potentially change antibiotics but for now I think we are both happy with our plan.

I didn't ask for bloods yesterday but will do so if I notice any changes or if I think there is something we may have missed.

Thanks again for all of your help and support :)
Click to expand...

I am pleased to hear that Sam's appointment was better than you had feared and that you have come to a decision as to what is the right way to manage Sam's specific situation. I hope he remains comfortable within himself and that the infection is controlled for as long as possible xx
 
Sweetie said:
Hi Everyone

Thank you for all of your comments and useful information. I am very grateful.

The appointment for Sam went better than expected yesterday. My vet checked him over again, and whilst checking the site on the outside side of his cheek he noticed that it had more or less healed, fur was growing back and the swelling had reduced (it wasn't visible to the eye before anyway, only to the touch). The check inside Sam's mouth didn't show any progression inwards/upwards from the gum/bone where the abscess is. The lack of degenerative progression, Sam's maintained weight, the ongoing (yet undiagnosed) nasal problems and the further review of the specialist CT report have led us both to the conclusion that surgery is not the right thing to do here. Sam has, for some reason, responded very well to the Metronizadole so he is now going to be on that for the foreseeable, along with daily Baytril and Metacam. My vet was very surprised that there seemed to be a good response to the antibiotic but we obviously don't know if its just containing the abscess or shrinking it (unlikely but we can hope). We talked at length about the surgery and mutually agreed to not do it. We shall continue as we are until Sam shows signs of any change which we will address at the time.

In terms of his nasal discharge swabs have been taken and I am awaiting the test results. We don't know if the sample is big enough to get a reading but we have to try. The CT report showed that there is pressure in the nasal cavity from the top of the teeth on the opposite side of the mouth from the abscess site (the discharge is from the nostril on the opposite side from the abscess issues too). The antibiotics that Sam is on are not helping with this type of infection so we need to identify what else we need to give and then if there is any other treatment needed. I have been given F10 in a solution to use in a nebuliser to try to help in the mean time.

I have the Metronizadole awaiting pick up at my local Morrisons Pharmacy today and prescriptions for Metacam and Baytril to collect tomorrow from the vets. These will be his long term medications until he presents with any change. We may scan him again in a few months to see what is happening inside but we'll have to play that by ear due to the GA recovery we had this time.

Overall I am feeling more comfortable with the situation. I am content with surgery being written off and that the vet agrees that is not the way forward. I have no doubt that we will need to review the medication and potentially change antibiotics but for now I think we are both happy with our plan.

I didn't ask for bloods yesterday but will do so if I notice any changes or if I think there is something we may have missed.

Thanks again for all of your help and support :)
Click to expand...


You're very welcome and I am glad that the appointment with the vet went so well!

Metronizadole is a good antibiotic and often used in abscess situations. Glad to hear it's working :)

You have made the decision I would have made, and Sam seems to be doing well.
I hope he continues to do well, having such attentive and caring folk looking after him.
 
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Replies
49
Views
986
twistedtiggerz69
twistedtiggerz69
A
Possible underlying cause for dental issues?
Replies
4
Views
81
Apache
A
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