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Dental Any experience of abscess under jaw?

Reggie&Chunk

Reggie&Chunk

Junior Guinea Pig
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Just wondered if anyone has had any experience with an abscess under the jawbone, right under the point of the jaw under the ear if that makes sense. Kim seems to think this is what we are dealing with, with Chunky and we are trying to beat it with antibiotics. He was doing really well, still on all his meds but was eating almost normally again. Since Christmas Day, he has started eating less and less for himself again and has dropped down to 800g 😢

I am going to try and call Kim in the morning, she did say there was another combination of antibiotics we could try. We did discuss surgery but she did say it would be very risky due to where it was (close to nerves and jugular). Obviously getting the abscess cleaned out and sorted would be the best option but it’s very risky and I don’t know if I want to take that risk but I also don’t want him going up and down constantly. I think the other antibiotics are worth trying first but just worried if they don’t work, where to go from there 😔
 
Hi! Can you please tell us what meds Chunky is on?

You are already in the most experienced hands with Kim and Simon as they see more facial abscesses in guinea pig than any other vet in this country. I have trusted Kim with the life of my own guinea pigs repeatedly and implicitly, inlcuding Hywel's incisor/jawbone abscess, which thankfully was in a position where it could be operated twice after antibiotics didn't do the trick.

@furryfriends (TEAS) is our member with the biggest experience in facial abscesses.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi! Can you please tell us what meds Chunky is on?

You are already in the most experienced hands with Kim and Simon as they see more facial abscesses in guinea pig than any other vet in this country. I have trusted Kim with the life of my own guinea pigs repeatedly and implicitly, inlcuding Hywel's incisor/jawbone abscess, which thankfully was in a position where it could be operated twice after antibiotics didn't do the trick.

@furryfriends (TEAS) is our member with the biggest experience in facial abscesses.
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He is currently on Emeprid 0.5ml twice a day, Loxicom (1.5mg/ml) 0.3ml twice a day, Zithromax 0.5ml twice a day and Itrafungol 0.5ml once a day.
When he was healthy, he was a hefty boar of 1300g and to see him at 800g is breaking my heart, I just want my chunky boy back!

They really are brilliant and I completely trust her judgement but I’m just so worried about putting him through surgery. I will see if I can speak to her in the morning and see what she thinks and what we should try. Will keep you all posted 😊
 
Reggie&Chunk said:
He is currently on Emeprid 0.5ml twice a day, Loxicom (1.5mg/ml) 0.3ml twice a day, Zithromax 0.5ml twice a day and Itrafungol 0.5ml once a day.
When he was healthy, he was a hefty boar of 1300g and to see him at 800g is breaking my heart, I just want my chunky boy back!

They really are brilliant and I completely trust her judgement but I’m just so worried about putting him through surgery. I will see if I can speak to her in the morning and see what she thinks and what we should try. Will keep you all posted 😊
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Fingers very firmly crossed! It is always so hard, as I know myself, when you are up against something very tricky and very much at the limit of veterinary ability. :(
 
Wiebke said:
Fingers very firmly crossed! It is always so hard, as I know myself, when you are up against something very tricky and very much at the limit of veterinary ability. :(
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Thank you for your support, I just hope Kim can come up with something. I’m syringing Chunk again as much as I can but we both hate it 😔 he is on the Itrafungol as the syringing had given the poor boy thrush! Hopefully she is in tomorrow and I can have a chat with her and see where we can go from here 🤞🏻
 
Sundae had a facial abscess in that area... it was painful for her to chew and kept on causing uneven wear of her teeth and weight loss (the teeth issues actually showed up long before the abscess was apparent, and it was probably arising from a tooth root.) She had an incision and drainage with the wound left open to drain, was only daily cleaning with sterile saline to express any pus, and was on an antibiotic. It did eventually heal, but took several months of care to do so! Hope this helps a bit!
 
Freela said:
Sundae had a facial abscess in that area... it was painful for her to chew and kept on causing uneven wear of her teeth and weight loss (the teeth issues actually showed up long before the abscess was apparent, and it was probably arising from a tooth root.) She had an incision and drainage with the wound left open to drain, was only daily cleaning with sterile saline to express any pus, and was on an antibiotic. It did eventually heal, but took several months of care to do so! Hope this helps a bit!
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This sounds very familiar! I also think that this abscess could have been hiding for a while. If Simon thinks that the operation is possible and relatively safe then I’m happy to go for it as I think it’s going to be the only way to beat this damn abscess!
 
Yes, very similar. A beautfiful girl called ‘Titch’ had one in that place. It first showed as her jaw going very wonky and her teeth out of alignment. She carried on eating but started to,lose weight dramatically. It presented itself very quickly.

We had the same agonising choice and went for the surgery. I’ll try and dig out some photos if I still have them. The wound was huge and stitched open. All down the side of her jawline. Horrific to see but, with antibiotics, twice a day flushing and use of medical grade manuka honey it healed very nicely in about 8 weeks. Because they removed it completely it never came back and she went back to normal very quickly.
 
Guinea Slave said:
Yes, very similar. A beautfiful girl called ‘Titch’ had one in that place. It first showed as her jaw going very wonky and her teeth out of alignment. She carried on eating but started to,lose weight dramatically. It presented itself very quickly.

We had the same agonising choice and went for the surgery. I’ll try and dig out some photos if I still have them. The wound was huge and stitched open. All down the side of her jawline. Horrific to see but, with antibiotics, twice a day flushing and use of medical grade manuka honey it healed very nicely in about 8 weeks. Because they removed it completely it never came back and she went back to normal very quickly.
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Thats very encouraging! And I’m so pleased your girl recovered well 😊 I am more than happy with gruesome wounds and cleaning if it means he can eat properly again and eventually have his quality of life back.

Photo of the little man when he decided that is where he wanted to sit whether I liked it or not 😂
 

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He is gorgeous! I love his colour, reminds me of palomino horses!

Yep it is gruesome...so much so that after a horrifically busy day at work, having had no breakfast or lunch, the worry of her...when I arrived at the vets and saw the wound all stitched open I am ashamed to say I passed out! I was 45 then and it’s the first time in my entire life...and I have never lived it down since lol!

Then my husband found rubber gloves and a hyperdermic syringe in my handbag (for the saline flushing solution) I still don’t think he’s ever got over it :yikes::yikes:. The whole experience has lead to many funny after dinner conversations..

Honestly though, joking aside, as long as you have an experienced vet (which you do) then I’d just get it done.

Good luck!
 
Guinea Slave said:
He is gorgeous! I love his colour, reminds me of palomino horses!

Yep it is gruesome...so much so that after a horrifically busy day at work, having had no breakfast or lunch, the worry of her...when I arrived at the vets and saw the wound all stitched open I am ashamed to say I passed out! I was 45 then and it’s the first time in my entire life...and I have never lived it down since lol!

Then my husband found rubber gloves and a hyperdermic syringe in my handbag (for the saline flushing solution) I still don’t think he’s ever got over it :yikes::yikes:. The whole experience has lead to many funny after dinner conversations..

Honestly though, joking aside, as long as you have an experienced vet (which you do) then I’d just get it done.

Good luck!
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I am biased but he is a beautiful boy 😍 he is like a palomino!

I am more than happy with grusome, I had one of my ponies gelded (neutered) and they had to leave an open wound to let fluids drain and it looked horrendous, healed very well though.

Haha I can imagine, nothing like a bizzare conversation starter!

I have managed to speak to Kim and have an appointment with her on Saturday morning 😊 she said that she is hoping there is swelling that she can lance or his loss of appetite might be down to more dental changes that need looking at again. Fingers crossed she can help my little man 🤞🏻
 
Sorry I can't really help much but I wanted to offer some support to you. Wanted to say best of Luck to you and Chunky, hope he feels better soon x
 
Reggie&Chunk said:
This sounds very familiar! I also think that this abscess could have been hiding for a while. If Simon thinks that the operation is possible and relatively safe then I’m happy to go for it as I think it’s going to be the only way to beat this damn abscess!
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Most abscesses don't clear with antibiotics alone, so if there's an option to lance and drain (or possibly remove the whole thing- unlikely to be possible in that area), it's probably the best option. Best of luck and hope everything goes well!
 
Freela said:
Most abscesses don't clear with antibiotics alone, so if there's an option to lance and drain (or possibly remove the whole thing- unlikely to be possible in that area), it's probably the best option. Best of luck and hope everything goes well!
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Last time she examined him two weeks ago, she said it was hidden very deep and close to vital structures hence trying to fight it with antibiotics first. Hopefully (possibly the wrong word!) it has grown so that it is easier to get to, will keep the thread updated with what she finds on Saturday 😊
 
This sounds really similar to the point where my Clover had her abscess. It came up in July 2017, Simon marsipulated it once I noticed her teeth were incredibly wonky and my local vet said her teeth were fine! At the time she was on zithromax. Unfortunately it had brewed for such a long time that there must have been pus sitting in it still, so it came back again after it had initially healed in December 2017. Since then I’ve had to pick off the scab every couple of days. She’s no longer on antibiotics, only pain relief when she needs it - but it did change the way her teeth wear and now we have to visit Simon every month to allow her to have a dental.

Even the fact that it still hasn’t healed, Clover isn’t aware that there’s anything wrong with her. She still eats the same as my other piggy and is happy as larry :-)

You’re in the best hands! Hopefully all goes well and it can be sorted soon x
 
Bill & Ted said:
How is poor Chunky, hope he is doing ok?
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He isn’t doing too bad, he is eating some veg and hay by himself but is still a skinny boy, still only 800g 😔 but he hasn’t dropped any weight for the last three days so that’s something. He is bright in himself and still got a bit of his usual attitude so that’s always good too 😄
 

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Chunk has gone very quiet tonight, took veggies at 6pm and by 7.30pm (took him out for medication and syringe feed) his eyes are narrowed and he is hunched up and not fighting as much as normal. I’m hoping the 15ml of mushed pellets and freshly heated snuggle safe will perk him up 😔 so glad we are seeing Kim tomorrow!
 
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