Cross posted from CatChat .... Can anyone offer advice ... Feline Naso-Facial F

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I will add a note to my thread to read Lynns post.

[Mark]

I think repeated ops & recovery isn't a good quality of life for a cat - but if as Lynn says there is a good chance of complete recovery, then hopefully it is all worth it 

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Thanks for your comments Lynn ... it's sometimes hard for people with No vetinary / medical experience to understand these types of posts but I think it unfair to say the cat has a poor quality of life.  the owner and vet appear to be doing everything to sort out the problem so fingers crossed kitty will make a full recovery.

[CurlyCatz]

The initial post may be slightly hard to read/understand.

My take on it is that this cat has an infection which has spread up through the root canal area of the tooth which has since been removed, This has unfortunately spread up into the sinus area which is very closely behind the jaw root cavity, infact once you are through the upper jaw root area you are basically directly below the cats eye.

The infection sounds rather nasty and persistant and could quite probably be encapsulated which will make it hard for antibiotics to reach , or even if it isnt encapsulated the sinus area is rather like honeycomb in design, again taking longer than normal infections to clear up.

The surgery involved in reality probably wasnt has horrific as the post sounded, albeit highly uncomfortable for puss, as with any complex dental work,  it sounds like infected tissue has been removed and flaps of fresh unaffected tissue/gum has been sutured across to try and prevent further infection but still allowing drainage.

I would say the vet sounds like they are doing all appropriate measures and would only add this may take some time with more prolonged antibtiotics and perhaps maybe even necessary for further change of antibiotics.

If the poster reads this section here i might also suggest antirobe antibiotics are excellent for mouth/bone infections and can be safely doubled in dose rate specifically for bone infections  (actually recommended in that situations) so this may be a route to take  , also to make sure she is on adequate non steriodal pain killing medication IE metacam liquid etc as this will certainly help her discomfort.

To my mind the cat is not being put through unessesary treatment as they have so far ruled out cancerous cells and it is hoped this deep seated infection  can be got rid of and when the mouth heals the cat should return to her normal state.

[Mark]

I am having the same thoughts - it reads like a horror story. The poor cat has been through so much already and doesn't sound like it has a good quality of life. I know 15 isn't ancient but I think there is only one decision to make. I am concerned about the method of PTS mentioned. I read somewhere that it s the kindest method but I'm not convinced.

I think Lynn or someone else who understands the medical implications could probably advise better.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

that all sounds terrible and makes me feel quite sick reading it.

 i know nothing about this and not knowing the cat or lady concerned, its maybe easier to give a hard line and to be honest i would be very concerned about the cats quality of life, the vet who is doing this sounds ummmmm rather lacking in concern for the cat or its human.

obvioulsy we dont know if the cat is insured and the availability of money and the expert qualifications of the vet involved.

with some thing that sounds this serious and with the past problems with this vet i would only let my cat be treated by a recognized expert in the field.

Please read Lynns post above cos she has knowledge about this as she was a vet nurse.

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

I saw this post on CC and was wondering if anyone had any advice for this lady:

My 15 yr. old cat had a rotten tooth that was somehow ignored by my Vet. I started to notice her bad breath and weight loss...long story cut back...when they went to extract perimolar, there was a rotten fistula completely into head, sinus area. A quick palate flap over didn't work...she broke the stitches, smell was gone, but after 5 days Clindacure, postOp, and 14 days preOP, she had raging diahrea, vomiting and the final shock was 2 cups of blood...everywhere. Her packing had fallen out.
 
Emergency trip back to vet with them ready to Box Gas her, when I just held her body, Vet held head, and tech put new packing in within 3 seconds. Secondary Vet has been constantly bringing up Squamous cells, even though they took tissue, from an infected sack within nasal cavity, first by aspiration and then by tissue removal around perimeter, and did stain test on first surgery, which was negative. He actually threatened to leave the gaping hold in her palate if he THINKs there may be cells HIDING ....Needless to say, I had a reaction you may not wish to hear about....24 hours later, another surgery..2 hours under, 3 cut section flap from hard palate pulled over hole, then 3 cut section flap from cheek, pulled over the hard tissue...major stitching, with a ball of stitches behind her canine tooth.

Whew...What has me concerned is that she is knawing constantly, she chokes if she tries to eat her, ID-canned-Food-watered-down-slop,by herself...I syringe it, and water and her Homeopathics, Callendula, Arnica, Hypericum, even with this, I am sure food MUST be getting trapped in there, How could it not? with a flap still connected to cheek? ( Unable to look at surgery site as she, just can't take any more at present...6 more days of antibiotics...this time Zithromax, for less gastro intestinal upset, but she had horrible diahrea anyway. Poor girl can't leave the box..it is so soft she can't move it out...and I can't bulk up her food because it would become ensnared in the stitching network...Worse, her breath on that one side, of extraction fistula, smells infected. I just called for check back, as they didn't schedule it and asked if I could make a dental rinse for her to help...they only wanted to sell me CET Rinse.

So, I'm going to try Some Anti-Viral Drops, drop of 30ppm Silver Colodial and warm water...UNLESS someone has a really better idea to help?

OH, did I mention she's Blind, due to past treatments from Vets, and suffers neurological "ticks" ?...Just thought I'd mention what I have to work around. Well, that, and the other 6 Recue Cats!...Thanks for any suggestions

Just had visit from friend who checked her out...the soft tissue graft snapped loose...AGAIN.
Hard graft has most of hole covered with small opening...I just can't put her through another surgery 


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