1286. Trust & Audit Case Study: A rare case of a hamburger tumour inside the mouth of an old dog

Good dental hygiene is very important for people and dogs as some oral tumours form when the mouth is not clean. Yearly dental check ups will be ideal. In February 2013, I encountered a case of a dog with bleeding in the mouth and face.

"Oro-nasal fistula also known as malar abscess or carnaissal abscess," I said to the two interns very confidently as this was a common problem in old dogs that seldom if ever was sent for dental check ups or scaling.

I was 50% correct. There was a large oral tumour shaped like an oval elongated tumour! Veterinary medicine throws surprising oral tumours to me even after 40 years of practice! The dog was eating food under this tumour which expanded to fit the length and width and height of the oral cavity.  I doubt I will ever see another case similar to this.

1285. Update: Toe warts in dwarf hamsters will not disappear

1283. Follow up: The tough hamster goes home

Feb 12, 2013 
3rd day of Chinese New Year

The young lady and her friend came at 10.13 am to bring the hamster home.

"She's panting," she noted.

"Yes," I said. "She is not well as she had bacteria in her upper nose and upper lips for a long time. When did you see the black ear in the right ear? The cut off ear is inside this shoe box brought by you earlier. "
It is sometimes good to provide evidence of surgery.

"I saw the ear tumours about one month ago," the lady said. "My hamster keeps scratching them off,"

"Most likely her right paw had damaged the right half of the nose skin and bacteria went in. There is now a bad smell from her as the nose is still infected."

In dogs and cats, it would be easy to give antibiotic injections and IV drips. In dwarf hamsters, there is a small amount acceptable owing to the small body area.

"This hamster can still eat after surgery," I parted the litter and the young lady could see at least 20 small stool pellets. At home, the lady had to peel off the shells and hand fed her. But after surgery, this hamster could crack the sunflower seeds and ate. The proof of good appetite is in the passage of the faecal pellets.

The white hamster said to be less than one year old, panted more whe

n handled. Her eyes were now open instead of sealed up as I had put eye drops.

"Is she still dehydrated?" the lady asked. "Shall I still peel the seeds and hand feed her?"

"She seems to be less dehydrated as you can see that the skin does not stand up when I pull the neck skin. She weights 25 g now. I am so surprised she has eaten."

"She is a greedy hamster. She has lost a lot of weight," the lady said.

This was one of those cases that I expected not to survive after surgery and yet she had eaten. 

"Medication for another 4 days and keep her in a very dark place for the next 7 days."
"Shall I cover her cage with newspapers?" the lady asked.
"Best to keep her in a dark room and take her out only for medication and clean the nose with warm water as it is still smelly. It is not so swollen but it still has bacteria."

Today is a bright sunshine day unlike the last 2 days which had showers and dark clouds. I hope this hamster will survive with proper nursing.

Never give up hope when there is no hope for a very ill hamster. Life is full of twists and turns.

1282. Chinese New Year Feb 10, 2013

TOA PAYOH VETS toapayohvets.com Date:   11 February, 2013     Focus: Small animals - dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs & rabbits The hamster has a gangrenous ear and swollen nose  Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS Date:   11 February, 2013   toapayohvets.com  Be Kind To Pets Veterinary Education Project 2013-0131 1281. Feb 10, 2013. Chinese New Year. 10 am to 1 pm I opened the clinic for half a day on this Chinese New Year so that I can check on the sick animals feed and clean up the kennels. Singapore is a developed country that is thriving and has low unemployment rates. So there are high rentals and high manpower and operating costs. The vet must be hands-on as it is costly to employ more and more inexperienced staff who will job hop after a few months of experience. Other vets poach experienced staff and that is part of life. The phone did not ring throughout the morning. I reviewed the severely dehydrated hamster with the ear gangrene and large nose abscesses operated yesterday at 4.30 pm. 17 hours after surgery. Would she be alive? She was less than one year old but from her hagged appearance with leg skin folds raised, I thought she was very aged. "Very little chance of surviving anaesthesia and surgery," I told the young lady who brought in this hamster on the eve of Chinese New Year. "You have two options," I said. "Euthanasia or surgery with a high possibility of death during or after surgery." The hamster was not eating or drinking as her upper lip was bursting with pus starting from the bridge of the nose towards the upper incisor teeth. In addition, two black gangrenous tumours filled up the right ear pinnae. "My mum said to operate," the young lady said on this last day of the old year. It was 4 pm and this would be my last case for the ear. "If there are bad news, can you phone us early in the morning on Chinese New Year?" "No news is good news," I dislike deaths on Chinese New Year and here, there was a very high risk patient that could not wait for surgery as she was downhill in her health, being scarcely awake. "I will give a 0.1 ml of dextrose saline under the skin now and operate soon." The images illustrated the surgery. I was surprised that the hamster was still alive 17 hours after the surgery. Not moving but alive. This was a very tough cookie. 5950 - 5956. Ear gangrene  Updates and follow up at webpage: http://www.sinpets.com/F6/20130211hamster_gangrene_ear_abscesses_nose_toapayohvets.htm Toa Payoh Vets Clinical Research

Copyright © Asiahomes All rights reserved. Revised: February 11, 2013 Toa Payoh Vets

1281. Adult dog sleeps on poo

	Inbox		x

C@yahoo.com.sg>	Feb 6 (5 days ago)
to judy

I have a poodle abt 9 mth old. Seem timid of human contact maybe abused by pet shop. Sleep on his own poo/pee. Paper train but somehow Forgotten abt it.

 

Any toilet training lesson and training for that. Wanted him to be active.

Best regards

C

REPLY FROM DR SING DATRED FEB 11, 2013

 

 

 

This dog has lost his cleanliness instinct. You will need to confine him to a small room/crate for a few weeks to get him to learn again his toilet habits but this takes a lot of patience and time. It will need your personal attention to train. Or you can take him outdoors to pee and poop daily twice a day at fixed times.

1280. eyeball enucleation in a dwarf hamster - surgical illustration

Case had been written up. Intern Ms Toh had produced a video

1279. Swollen eyes in two terrapins - hospitalised

Recently I had 5 terrapins with swollen eyes. It takes a few days for the eyes to open, but not all will recover as much depends on the severity of the infections and the immune system.

The 2 cases here recovered after 7 and 17 days of hospitalisation. I will post the day 1 images later.
Chinese New Year's Eve is tomorrow Feb 9, 2013 and the terrapins are the last 2 to go home.

 is quite a joyous occasion to see patients recovering fully in both eyes. Owing to economics, some owners may want prompt results of a day or two to get the eyes opened, but this may not be possible.