Lump/Bruise on gum

tk123

Just noticed this in Bailey's mouth this evening - any ideas guys?! There should be a little tooth there ...is it an abscess?! He didn't mind us poking at it btw. (My friend's blue nails btw not mine! :pac:)

maggiepip

It could be an Epulis, my terrier had one on a few years ago which half surrounded his back molar but I think they can cover the entire tooth. Not serious and vet removed it under anesthetic.

DBB

Is the little tooth still there?
Has he been chewing on hard treats or anything that could potentially have caused some damage?

SillyMangoX

Sorry I don't have anything constructive to aay, but I thought the ad placement on this thread was quite amusing!!

tk123

DBB wrote: »

Is the little tooth still there?
Has he been chewing on hard treats or anything that could potentially have caused some damage?

I can't feel it - the lump is too big. It's soft to touch and he doesn't cry when I push down on it. He had lamb breast on Sunday, was chewing a stick in the park the other day and gave a yelp the other day when playing with Lucy so I wonder if she might have hurt him? He had the rest of the lamb bones yesterday and didn't have any problems.... If he was stung would the swelling be localised like that? He seemed to get a fright yesterday in the park - there's wasps in the grass in places.

How is the vet going to examine him though?! Last time when he was there for bloods he was shaking because he was that afraid. For bloods I'd muzzle him but for this? I don't know if he's going to need sedation first?!

DBB

I wonder if he has lost the tooth? That little tiny tooth has feck-all root on it, I suppose it could be relatively easily knocked out if he chewed on something at just the right angle? I don't know though, I'd have thought it'd be a bit sore.
Or maybe it's a sting, but I'd have thought that'd be pretty sore and swollen.
How would he be if the vet came out to the car park to examine him? Rather than doing the whole waiting room routine?

tk123

There's no carpark! He lies down/tries to hide when we see her outside - she parks on our road sometimes lol :pac: I have new calming pills for him I got on iherb to try (Zylkene gives him the runs), will get a bigger Thundershirt for him today/tomorrow and I also have a lavender "aromatherapy tag" I picked up at an expo.

tk123

Update - the vet has never seen anything like it(!). Could be a splinter or sting but as it's not hurting him she wants to hold off doing anything with it for now and see if he's able to expel it himself. If it doesn't rupture by tuesday he's to go in for a biopsy. It's bigger than it looks in the photo too - it's down into the gum on either side of the jaw.

tk123

Won't be collecting him until 4:00 as he's still recovering. It was much bigger than we thought and down into the bone - he has a 1cm diameter cavity so they had to make a flap to stitch it up. Vet took chest X-rays (which were clear) and a biopsy of the lymph node as well. After everything we've gone thru with his legs the thought of it being cancer and that's it? Worrying times ahead

minipink

The poor thing, and poor you! From reading about him on this forum, he's a trooper, fingers crossed for a positive update!

muddypaws

I'm really sorry TK, I hope its not cancer. Poor lad after all he's been through. Fingers and paws all crossed here for you both.

toadfly

I hope Bailey will be ok, mind yourself x

andreac

Oh fingers crossed for Bailey, im sure you are very worried.

aonb

Poor you - sickening to have such a worry - keep us posted. Hope Bailey isnt too sore after his op - some nice soft food for a few days huh? Everything crossed here for you too.

mymo

Any news tk?
Poor Bailey, wishing him a speedy recovery! Xx

tk123

mymo wrote: »

Any news tk?
Poor Bailey, wishing him a speedy recovery! Xx

He's eaten since he came home (added water to his food to make it extra soft) and is snoozing now. Lucy sniffed all around his face for ages inspecting him when we arrived home He's on painkillers and antibiotics and now we just wait for the results. Hopefully we get them this week! His chest X-rays are clear but there's bone erosion in his jaw where the tooth was. Tooth was also sent off in the samples. My poor baba - I was expecting a splinter of bone or worse a grass seed but nothing like this.

muddypaws

aw, the poor lad, I hope the results come through quickly.

borderlinemeath

Poor Bailey:(, I really hope it's nothing too serious at all.

Whispered

Thinking of you tk x

tk123

Thanks everyone! He's fine in himself today - enjoying his soupy meals and seems ok for pain although he never shows his pain anyways! 2 boxes of assorted Zukes treats just arrived in work so we'll have to save them for him until he's ok to chew.

aonb

Poor boy - no doubt he is enjoying the pampering - hope he makes a speedy recovery & that the test results dont show anything bad.

minipink

I keep thinking of bailey, I feel I know him as he shares a lot of the same issues as my Lola with regards to anxiety. Have my fingers and toes crossed that it's all ok in the long run. And hope you're not too emotionally drained by the whole episode, you're a great fur-parent

tk123

:D:D

Preliminary results are that it was/is reactive - an infection and not cancer. They found 2 tiny pieces of "plant like substance" Back in tomorrow for a wound check and more antibiotics. They've still to run further checks on the tooth but it looks good so far.

The relief! I was doing my best today not to think about it and not google but all i did was think about it and got really worried.

borderlinemeath

Whoohoo!! That's brilliant news!

Vets are feckers for giving the worst case scenario, and letting you fret and worry!

tk123

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Whoohoo!! That's brilliant news!

Vets are feckers for giving the worst case scenario, and letting you fret and worry!

In fairness she gives a best/worse case and said she couldn't call it because it didn't add up. My friend wanted to stick a needle into it the other day - vet said it was a good thing I didn't let her because it would have kept going and fallen into the cavity!:p

aonb

Great news - we were all rooting for Bailey on here I think!

tk123

Thanks!! :D

tk123

So more results are in and the jury is out as to what it is! It could be something dodgy BUT it's localised, won't spread and won't kill him. I have the print out upstairs and have NO intention of reading it because I know I'll start googling and finding the worst outcome! Back again next week for another check up.

tk123

Another update! Last set of results that came in say it's not cancer.. But the vet want's a second opinion/confirmation on that and that it's not going to cause more damage/erosion so we may have to get imaging done in a few weeks. The wound opened up as of Tuesday morning but is starting to heal itself. So at the moment it's so far so good.


And now they think it might be cancer again and we have an appointment on Monday(!)....and I've no cover in work so my boss is going to think i'm MAD tomorrow when I approach him about this!

fiounnalbe

Hi Tk, been following your post since my dog had something similar a few years back....Im a bit confused at your vet though, how do they keep changing opinion on what it is so much? Maybe I am missing some info but if they removed all the lump and presumably sent it to a pathologist surely they would know for definite what it is?? Im just concerned they're needlessly putting Bailey through the stress of a scan...also wouldnt a regular xray show if there was bone erosion??

Sorry for all the questions or if it seems im being nosy, im just geniunelly bewildered how they could change their minds so much on something I thought would have been a definite yes histopath shows its cancer or its not...

tk123

There was 3 sets/stages of results from the lab - preliminary, then more in-depth on the mass and then on the tooth itself. The vet wants a second opinion/scan to make sure it's not invasive and not going to erode more of the bone away. There's too much erosion for her to be comfortable accepting the lab's findings. She's had 2 specialists look at the xrays and both agreed with her on what we should do next. I trust her 100% so going with what she's suggesting.

fiounnalbe

tk123 wrote: »

There was 3 sets/stages of results from the lab - preliminary, then more in-depth on the mass and then on the tooth itself. The vet wants a second opinion/scan to make sure it's not invasive and not going to erode more of the bone away. There's too much erosion for her to be comfortable accepting the lab's findings. She's had 2 specialists look at the xrays and both agreed with her on what we should do next. I trust her 100% so going with what she's suggesting.

Oh ok!! Sorry my bad, I didnt realise there were 3 sets of results for different tissues, I read it too quickly and thought it was the vet just chopping and changing his mind every few days...yes I completely agree so that a scan is a good idea! Best of luck with it, I hope it shows no more erosion

tk123

They took him in earlier - going to do the CT scan tomorrow. He wasn't happy to be left behind and Lucy gave out when we came back without him!

jimf

hope all goes well the waiting is terrible

mistress_gi

fiounnalbe wrote: »

Hi Tk, been following your post since my dog had something similar a few years back....Im a bit confused at your vet though, how do they keep changing opinion on what it is so much? Maybe I am missing some info but if they removed all the lump and presumably sent it to a pathologist surely they would know for definite what it is?? Im just concerned they're needlessly putting Bailey through the stress of a scan...also wouldnt a regular xray show if there was bone erosion??

Sorry for all the questions or if it seems im being nosy, im just geniunelly bewildered how they could change their minds so much on something I thought would have been a definite yes histopath shows its cancer or its not...

Well if the infection is really bad and depending on the bacteria that is causing the infection surrounding cells could look a bit strange indicating cancer, it is a strange disease and often not so easy to diagnose!

minipink

Tk123, do you mind me asking how he copes at the vet without you? I'd need to bring a sleeping bag for myself if Lola was kept overnight which thankfully she hasn't needed to and hopefully never will. She really has woeful,separation issues.

tk123

minipink wrote: »

Tk123, do you mind me asking how he copes at the vet without you? I'd need to bring a sleeping bag for myself if Lola was kept overnight which thankfully she hasn't needed to and hopefully never will. She really has woeful,separation issues.

When he was at our vets the other week they said that he wasn't happy but at the same time he wasn't in hysterics barking. Just kind of hiding in the crate and not wanting to talk to them! My vet sedates him while he's still with me though because she knows he gets anxious.
He's had bad experiences where is is now so I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to stay there - he knew when we were driving in where we were and was already crying.

minipink

Poor bailey, he's really had a tough time with the vet. I'm a teacher so Lola's been with me for the past month and a half pretty much all the time, I'm dreading September and getting her used to leaving her in my grandmothers during the day. Hoping she will not try decorating the house by removing lumps from the wall this September!

tk123

He had an ultrasound and bloods done today. CT and biopsies tomorrow and we should be able to take him home tomorrow evening. They said he's been very good for them Lucy was very upset and unsettled all afternoon without him - didn't really settle until I came home and brought down the blanket from Bailey's bed for her.

DBB

Oh gawd, poor Bailey
I'd be heartbroken leaving one of mine at the vet's for the night, and I can feel a shocking twinge of sad thinking of BaileyBum spending the night in there too
It must feel really weird not having him about, and if it's weird for you, I can only imagine how weird it is for Lucy
Good luck Bailey!

tk123

Yeah poor BB - it was hard leaving him - you of all people could imagine what he was like DBB after seeing him react to being taken a few steps away from me before(!) Hard leaving him in a strange vets as well - our vets is all of 2 mins walk away and they all know us. We'd often see the nurses and vets when we're out for walks or if they were parked on our road and they'd say hello to him - some received more gratefully than others by Bailey lol

Lucy has really surprised us - we didn't realise she was that attached to him. They don't cuddle up together and if she say got up on the couch beside him he'd always move after a few mins. Even when they lie on the bed they'd have a space between them or if they're sitting in the hall they sit on separate mats but she's very quiet and obviously missing her big bro!

tk123

He's home with a shaved tummy and arms(!) Scan results in a few days, biopsies next week. Now we wait...

fiounnalbe

Fingers crossed for him. Bet its great to have him home

tk123

I'm dreading taking him out and everyone quizzing me asking what's wrong with him/why is he shaved - it's pretty obvious! I only told one friend here - didn't want everyone asking me about it and speculating about what it could be etc

fiounnalbe

Just tell them -with a very serious expression- that you're trying out a new hairstyle!!!

boardbrowser

Fingers and toes crossed for your Bailey that all results come back clear.
Poor little mite, i'm sure you and Lucy had a sleepness night while he was away but hopefully he's now in find fettle and you can all rest easy until you hear more.

tk123

:eek: Just got a call there - he has to have surgery(!) Sooner rather than later before it spreads and so the imaging is still relevant. THANK GOD i took him to the vet to get it checked out and thank god my vet decided we needed a second opinion. There's such a trend these days NOT to go to the vets and to try something natural/alternative- especially on raw/barf groups and forums etc Glad I trusted my gut. My mum is going to cry when I tell her(!)

angeldaisy

Fingers and paws crossed her that all goes well! Thank heavens for fast intervention!

minipink

The poor sweetheart, well done you for being proactive! Hopefully he sails through everything

muddypaws

Crikey TK, that is a shock. Well done for getting him seen so quickly, and all of our fingers and paws are crossed here for him.

borderlinemeath

tk123 wrote: »

:eek: Just got a call there - he has to have surgery(!) Sooner rather than later before it spreads and so the imaging is still relevant. THANK GOD i took him to the vet to get it checked out and thank god my vet decided we needed a second opinion. There's such a trend these days NOT to go to the vets and to try something natural/alternative- especially on raw/barf groups and forums etc Glad I trusted my gut. My mum is going to cry when I tell her(!)

Poor Bailey. And poor You.
But great that it's been caught early and hopefully get it once and for all out of his system.
I think we all know in our gut when something isn't right and needs a vets opinion, I'm all for alternative treatments for certain things but lumps and bumps are not something to be left to chance. Good on your vet for following through.