A Swollen Face

L

lucasthesheltie

Forums Novice
This is the gallery for my dogs picture: http://imgur.com/a/F1EUo My dog has been suffering from a sort of virus/disease/infection and would like some advice as to how to go from this.. Last September, our dog's playful demeanor seem to have changed and became relatively weak for a few days. Worried that he might have caught some virus or might have eaten some foods that he shouldn't have had.. we brought him in to the vet. for some evaluation. This is him days prior to the event ... http://i.imgur.com/aGMGQgD.jpg After a day or two in the hospital... a diagnosis that he was suffering from hypothyroid thus he gets quite big every now and then. but a day after the diagnosis.. a portion of his face had swollen and his eyes turned red. http://i.imgur.com/9UMQi6a.jpg http://i.imgur.com/TbGAFcP.jpg Upon seeing what had happened we asked our local vet for help and there diagnosis since our dog was checked in the hospital for 2 nights already.. their diagnosis was it might have been just an insect bite of some sort.. we were not convinced with the vet's answer as they did sound unsure of their answer.. so we switched to another veterinarian, (we have been consulting them since then). We asked for their second opinion.. They said that this might have been cancer or some sort.. so we did some CT scan to make sure before we do anything.. Thank God whatever it is has not travelled to his brain.. but we found out that the cause of the swelling is a PUS that has piled up and blocked his air canal eventually causing it to move to his cheeks. Our pet underwent a successful surgery to have the PUS drained out.. for a while there was a tube placed through the portion of the swelling in order for the PUS to come out. There were various antibiotics along the way as his medication to fight against the "infection".. http://i.imgur.com/Ab7Ayn4.jpg We had to clean it everyday and drain the PUS out before he underwent a surgery to removed the hardened "PUS".. This was a picture of it healing.. http://i.imgur.com/kOaQ8G9.jpg After a few weeks of battling against the PUS.. our dog underwent a successful surgery to removed whatever was causing his cheek to swell.. and the antibiotic that helped dry out the PUS was "Clindamycin".. This is a picture of him last January, I believe.. http://i.imgur.com/rdnxlOW.jpg FINALLY, after CT SCAN he was free from the infection. Fast forward early June 2015... this is a picture of my dog.. http://i.imgur.com/dOL7Wns.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7BwKZBp.jpg Last June 12, 2015 (Friday), my sister told me that a portion of his face seems to be swelling again. Scared enough to jinx the dog, I told her it doesn't seem so and didn't entertain any thoughts of it anymore. So the following day, it has swollen to where we are today.. http://i.imgur.com/DNPT8mV.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ltALl2p.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7HFSpE5.jpg The initial diagnosis of the doctor is that this might be a CHRONIC DISEASE of something dangerous, and prescribed some medicine for it to remove the swelling and have surgery to remove the PUS and enlarge the air canal in his ear to avoid it from getting stuck and moved to his cheeks. Fast forward to last week, post operation, my swollen face seem to have been back. Whats the diagnosis for this? Right now, we're checking if this is due to his thyroid. TL;DR: Vet's diagnosis is an Infection blocked the air canal from his ear and eventually moved to his cheeks. They suggested to have another surgery to enlarge his air canal and prevent it from blocking the passage. It is in our best interest to move forward from this debacle and free him from this disease. I would like to know what your opinions are and how do we move forward from this? Is the diagnosis accurate? Is this indeed a chronic disease?
 
what an ordeal for you and Lucas. Such a sweet face by the way. I don't have any experience with anything like this, but I am hoping you find the right answers. Inflammation and infection are never easy to eradicate. :no:
 
I have never heard of such a thing-would recommend having your vet do a full workup on your sheltie.

I had a rescue sheltie that was prone to ear infections of all kinds in her one ear. before I got her, the ear canal had closed up some and was very narrow but she never had anything like that happen.
 
it sounds a bit like something my belgian sheperd had once. he had his big canine molar split into 2 pieces. we hadn't noticed it, but his cheek was swollen and pus coming out at one spot right under his eye. they had to remove this molar and clean the whole area to get rid of the pus.
are his teeth okay? our dog had been chasing one of our shetland ponies and got kicked.
are you seeing a specialist yet? i think it is beyond the knowledge of a normal vet by now.
i hope you will find a permanent cure for your dog. this has lasted long enough.
 
Perhaps there is a communication problem here.
I do not know what an 'air canal' is on the side of a dog's face. There is the ear canal,there is the trachea or 'airway', and there is the eustachian tube connecting the ear to the throat.
I think you need clarification.
The location of the drain makes me wonder if the parotid salivary gland might be involved- this is a large gland that lies just below the ear. An abscessed salivary gland could cause the kind of frustration you are dealing with, though presumably multiple CT scans would have revealed any connection.
As all here, I am sorry for what you are going through and hope things turn around soon.
 
I am so sorry you and have to go through this ordeal... I wish I had words of wisdom to add to this thread! There must be some way to stop this from recurring...

I would hope you can investigate the possibility suggested in the previous thread...

The location of the drain makes me wonder if the parotid salivary gland might be involved- this is a large gland that lies just below the ear. An abscessed salivary gland could cause the kind of frustration you are dealing with, though presumably multiple CT scans would have revealed any connection.

Hoping and praying you find a resolution soon! :fl:hugs:fl
 
I'm having a little bit of deja vue here.

When my pup, Bacca, was only about 7 months, we woke on a Saturdary morning and his lower jaws was completely swelled out and he was chocking on his saliva. Brought him to emergency. I thought maybe he had swallowed a twig or ate something.

First thing they told me was the dreaded cancer. After repeated tests, it turned out that he was hypothyroid.

To be honest I no longer the details of him being hypothyroid, because he later succumbed to liver shunt disease which kinda took over the hypo. He was only 6 years old.

That being said, Hyptohyroid is very treatable through meds and diet changes, though expensive as it requires ongoing bloodwork each year.

I would go back to your vet and insist on full hypo bloodwork. There's about 4 tests that need to be done regularly. At least every 6 months to start. I can't remember off the top of my head which ones, and I've filed my Bacca's paperwork away so its not easily accessible. But T4, T3, spring to mind. And I do remember to make sure you ask for a FULL profile.

Bacca would have lived a good and full life with his hypo treatment....except he had an added complication of the liver shunt.

Good luck to you.
 
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