11 Dec Watch out for grass seeds causing oral lesions!!
When I was in private practice, I used to see a lot of grass seed foreign bodies between the toes of dogs. These nasty seeds (aka foxtails) can migrate between the toes and cause significant pain and discomfort. Even worse, they don’t migrate out but rather embed themselves so it festers until it has to be manually removed.
Last week, a sweet Corgi was referred to me at MVS for recurrent abscess below the eye. It was initially seen by our wonderful ophthalmologist, Dr. William Miller, and he examined and said that there was nothing wrong with the eye and it may be an oral problem.
We sedated ‘Stylle’ and followed the track from the base of the eye and found a very small puncture hole behind her last molar. After flushing carefully this is what I found. Long story short, think outside the box….and “Stylle” is now back to normal and feeling great!!!
Grass seed found in the abscessed gingival/sub ocular area of a puppy
Gutta percha used as a fistulogram to isolate the draining tract and exit of the lesion
Dr. Barden Greenfield Your Pet Dentist of Memphis and Little Rock