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- Nov 24, 2022
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Final update on my little Pluie's situation! You can read my past posts for more details, but in summary, in March 21 she developed a hard lump on her lower jaw which turned out to be an abscess. It was drained, and a rotten tooth was removed. On April 1, we took her back to our family vet because she was still showing signs of mouth pain. They noticed a red, painful lump on her gums on the same side the abscess was on. They said it was possibly oral squamous cell carcinoma OR another abscess. They sent us home with a Convenia injection and buprenorphine and told us to wait three weeks.
Knowing how quickly these cancers move, I did NOT want to wait three weeks. I found a dental specialist who specializes in the diagnosis of oral masses, surgical excision, and treatment of rare oral problems in companion animals.
The specialist was 4 hours away, and they had a cancellation! So, yesterday, we left home at 5:00am for our 9:00am appointment.
Our family vet hadn't been able to x-ray her whole mouth because of how small it is. The specialist was able to, and he found no issues with her jaw bones or her remaining teeth (no dental disease like periodontitis). He was able to diagnose her right off the bad with a pyogenic granuloma. She has a Class 3 malocclusion because of the way her skull is shaped. When our general vet removed her bottom molar, it made it so the top molar started digging into her gum tissue. Essentially she was always stabbing her own gums, and this created a granuloma mass.
He removed the granuloma and also removed the top molar that was pressing into it when she closed her mouth. Then, he also found remnants of suture material at the site of her first extraction. This was a surprise to me because when we went back to our family vet on April 1st, she said all the suture material had melted.
The specialist did take a biopsy to send out, but he said he is just doing it for my peace of mind as he has seen a lot of these granulomas in flat-faced cats and dogs, and he's pretty certain that's what's going on.
We're home now (did back and forth in one day) and our girl is SO much more comfortable already.
Knowing how quickly these cancers move, I did NOT want to wait three weeks. I found a dental specialist who specializes in the diagnosis of oral masses, surgical excision, and treatment of rare oral problems in companion animals.
The specialist was 4 hours away, and they had a cancellation! So, yesterday, we left home at 5:00am for our 9:00am appointment.
Our family vet hadn't been able to x-ray her whole mouth because of how small it is. The specialist was able to, and he found no issues with her jaw bones or her remaining teeth (no dental disease like periodontitis). He was able to diagnose her right off the bad with a pyogenic granuloma. She has a Class 3 malocclusion because of the way her skull is shaped. When our general vet removed her bottom molar, it made it so the top molar started digging into her gum tissue. Essentially she was always stabbing her own gums, and this created a granuloma mass.
He removed the granuloma and also removed the top molar that was pressing into it when she closed her mouth. Then, he also found remnants of suture material at the site of her first extraction. This was a surprise to me because when we went back to our family vet on April 1st, she said all the suture material had melted.
The specialist did take a biopsy to send out, but he said he is just doing it for my peace of mind as he has seen a lot of these granulomas in flat-faced cats and dogs, and he's pretty certain that's what's going on.
We're home now (did back and forth in one day) and our girl is SO much more comfortable already.
So glad she is already feeling better. I know how much better YOU are feeling too
