Toothy Thomson

“I don’t want to disfigure my dog”. ..
This is something I often hear when presenting surgical options to pet parents for their pet’s oral tumours.
I KNOW the idea of a maxillectomy (or mandibulectomy) can sound very intimidating and maybe even ‘disfiguring’, however I am here to tell you - and SHOW you - that face you LOVE can still look pretty similar post-op!
I admit I am very biased being this handsome fella’s surgeon. .. but I think he looks quite dapper post-maxillectomy.
And it’s not “just” cosmesis. .. dogs (and even cats) can function very well even with part of their jaw missing.
This handsome and boisterous guy’s family noticed a big bump on his muzzle BEFORE his 4th birthday. 😿Unfortunately, it was cancer and given the size, location and type (Fibrosarcoma) an intraoral-extraoral surgical approach was needed.
*note the movement of his skin (ONLY initially) when he breaths through his nose. .. as there is NO bone*
I was able to get clean margins, with only a small area of narrow excision next to his nose (nasal planum). This combined with the aggressive nature of the tumour, he had radiation following surgery.
We had hoped he would come back a “red head” but NO, white is how the hair came back. .. as expected.
AND you can see none of this has slowed him down!
LOVE YOU MARLEY, ♥️
Have you had experience with a pet or patient that has had oral oncological surgery? What was your experience??





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