Mandibulectomy From Oral Fibrosarcoma

[Guest WarmheartedPups]

I am so sorry you are going through this. It sounds really difficult. Keep writing and it sounds like you are doing a great job for your pup.

[Guest itdoesnotmatter]

Sending out to Mattie...

 

We are in San Diego county too... but my vet is actually in San Diego. Where is the Vet that you've gone to? Where was the surgery performed?

 

I've been taking her to the VCA on Hotel Circle, Dr. Holly Mullen is the surgeon. Is your vet good with greyhounds? I'd love any suggestions!

 

Good morning and thanks for all your hugs and prayers, and for checking in. The swelling is still bad so I called the vet last night (they're a 24-hour hospital). They said I could come in today at 11:30 (completely inconvenient but my only option!) so I'm taking Mattie in. My father-in-law said her salivary gland is probably blocked and they will hopefully be able to flush it. I could have taken her in last night but they would have charged me a lot of money and I'm already so deep in the hole from the surgeries I'll let you all know how today goes!

Thanks again everyone

[Guest ss556]

Sending prayers and looking for an update. I'm sorry you and Mattie.

[greypuppyluv]

Sending out to Mattie...

 

We are in San Diego county too... but my vet is actually in San Diego. Where is the Vet that you've gone to? Where was the surgery performed?

 

I've been taking her to the VCA on Hotel Circle, Dr. Holly Mullen is the surgeon. Is your vet good with greyhounds? I'd love any suggestions!

Her vet is Dr. Lewis at Harmony Animal Hospital. Dr. Lewis has been treating greyhounds for probably 25 years (maybe more). She is married to GAC's president, Darren Rigg, and both are very knowledgable about the breed. I've heard that she doesn't charge an arm and a leg for her services either. You may want to give her a call.

 

Harmony Animal Hospital

3994 Park Blvd

(between Lincoln Ave & University Ave)

San Diego, CA 92103

(619) 293-7600

[Rickiesmom]

Joining others in checking in and hoping.

[Guest Machbragal]

I've been praying for Mattie. She's gone through SO much! As have you. I just wish things were improving!

[Guest itdoesnotmatter]

Hey everyone! Well, after so many bad days, we finally had a semi-good day today. I took Mattie in and the swelling in her neck had gone down (although there's some hangy skin under her neck that is apparently some sort of fluid accumulation) and Mattie has gained over three pounds since last Thursday! The sutures under her chin came out and there is some tissue growing back on the exposed bone. I am going to call Dr. Lewis today, so thanks for that recommendation, and I'm still waiting to hear back from Dr. Couto. I emailed this morning to make sure that he'd received the path report from my vet but he hasn't responded. I'm sure he's a very busy man! My husband and I have sort of decided we're just going to see how things go for now. I need to talk to an oncologist about the possibility of radiation, but since we don't know the exact location of the cancer and it would likely be very expensive, we're probably just going to keep Mattie as healthy and happy as we can for now and see how she does.

Thank you all for your support! It really means so much to me

-Mara

[Guest HeatherDemps]

Mara- that's so great to hear that Mattie is doing better. I'm so glad that she is putting on some weight! As far as the fluid in the neck goes, Dempsey also had that after his amputation and it'll go away after a bit. Thanks for keeping us posted!!

[Guest itdoesnotmatter]

Not sure if anyone is still even following this thread, but just in case I thought I'd add a quick update. Mattie didn't have the best weekend. I think she's lost about three pounds since last week and I'm not really sure why. She has lost some of her gusto for eating and she seems depressed. I had to drag her to her food bowl this morning. I can't tell if she's in pain or just feeling generally out of sorts. Her tongue is also getting very dry and has a few sores on it. I bought some gel to put on there and we'll see if that helps. We have an appt on Friday with the oncologist and I'm still waiting to hear back from Dr. Couto. Hope everyone is doing well.

-Mara

[Burpdog]

Sending lots of prayers and hugs.

[Neighsayer]

Hope she starts feeling better soon?

[patricia]

Sending prayers and very gentle hugs.

[Xan]

Poor gal!

 

Have you heard yet from Dr. Couto?

 

Sending happy, healing, comforting thoughts in Mattie's direction!

[Guest jettcricket]

Not sure if anyone is still even following this thread, but just in case I thought I'd add a quick update. Mattie didn't have the best weekend. I think she's lost about three pounds since last week and I'm not really sure why. She has lost some of her gusto for eating and she seems depressed. I had to drag her to her food bowl this morning. I can't tell if she's in pain or just feeling generally out of sorts. Her tongue is also getting very dry and has a few sores on it. I bought some gel to put on there and we'll see if that helps. We have an appt on Friday with the oncologist and I'm still waiting to hear back from Dr. Couto. Hope everyone is doing well.

-Mara

Awww...poor baby. Dr. Couto is pretty good and responds fairly quickly.

 

Prayers for your girl and you and your family.

[MrAlexTheDog]

i'm a late arrival to this thread. our first greyhound had a partial mandiblectomy to remove an amelanotic malignant melanoma from between two incisors in his lower jaw. my wife spotted the growth, kept an eye on it for years, then we had it examined when she noticed it growing. he lost four teeth and part of his lower jaw because this type of cancer is aggressive, does not respond to chemo or radiation, and needs to be surgically removed with wide margins. part of his lower lip was sewn over the resulting hole. alex drooled a little because of the surgery but lived on for several years thereafter. you would only notice the surgery if you looked up at him from underneath. our surgeon did an amazing job on him.

[Guest itdoesnotmatter]

Dr. Couto had responded, but I haven't heard as to whether or not he got the fax from my vet last week. I know he's very busy so I'm not surprised, just curious to get his opinion.

 

I wish I could say the surgeon did a great job on Mattie! Cosmetically the surgery is not exactly pleasing - as I've mentioned before, there is a large piece of exposed jaw bone and the small amount of jaw that Mattie has left sort of sags to the right. I could handle "normal" drool, but Mattie's is so thick and viscous that I've started referring to her as "Slimer," since she leaves a snail-trail of slime wherever she goes! Her salivary glands are still swollen and I'm wondering if that has something to do with the weird saliva... And of course the most disturbing thing is Mattie's weight-loss. I'm afraid to walk her in public because honestly it looks like I starve my dog. She is so thin - I can see all of her vertebrae and all of her ribs, and her eye sockets are hollow-looking. When all this started, Mattie weighed 58 pounds. She was down to 49 as of yesterday.

 

Anyway, I really do appreciate all the thoughts and prayers. I will keep you updated!

[queenwinniesmom]

Though I'm just seeing this now, please know that so many people are following Mattie's story. And if you can, check back often so we can know how she is doing. Also, I think it helps to be able to write about this, and there are lots of people here who are so knowledgeable. And I don't know if you've checked out Circle of Grey. They are a site especially for Grey owners who are dealing with life threatening illnesses, especially various types of cancer. Though it is most commonly osteo, there may be someone there who also has experience with this type of cancer. I just feel so bad for you and for her. What a lot to go through, especially when your husband has just been deployed.

Sending prayers and white light for healing.

[Devotion]

loads of prayers for you, DH and sweet Mattie. How truly stressful for you. I so hope she rallies and finds her zest for eating again. Please keep us updated.

[Batmom]

Thinking of youse guys and sending many hugs.

[Guest vahoundlover]

Keeping you guys in my prayers

[tydyelady]

Just got a chance to read this thread in its entirety - PLEASE keep us informed on Mattie's progress. This must be so horrible for you, and her. Thoughts and prayers for a good outcome for Mattie.

[Guest tricolorhounds]

Sending and good thoughts Maggies way.

 

Let us know how it goes if you see Dr Lewis. Her office is right at the corner of Park and Lincoln, just down the street from the Zoo.

[Hawthorn]

Just wanted to let you know that I have been following Mattie's story but haven't responded before as I have no experience to share or advice to offer.

 

Sending you and Mattie lots of good thoughts and many prayers .

[Guest itdoesnotmatter]

good morning everyone. last night was one of the worst nights so far. i came home and took mattie for a walk and tried to feed her dinner, but she wouldn't really eat. i was cleaning her up and noticed that there was a huge swelling under her tongue (like a very large blister). i decided to take her to the vet because i was worried that it might get bigger and make it hard for her to breathe. i got to the vet at 6:20 and they took mattie straight to the back. i waited until 7 and finally asked what was going on and they told me they were working on an estimate. i didn't even know what was going on so i started to get very worried. they finally put me in a room and sent in a very young vet to talk to me (the surgeon that performed the surgery, dr. mullen, had been there and looked at mattie but left before talking to me). basically, mattie has a ranula under her tongue, apparently an accumulation of blood and saliva from the issues with her salivary glands, which i had told them about last week and they told me it was not a problem. they gave me a quote for $2000-$2500 and said mattie would have to have a surgery to remove the ranula. they wanted me to leave her there overnight and do the surgery this morning. i was distraught. mattie has lost all the weight she had gained and is back to 50 pounds. she has obviously not been eating because of the pain in her mouth. i called my father-in-law and he told me he didn't want to do anything until he spoke with dr. mullen this morning, so i had them drain the ranula (they got about 10 cc of saliva and blood) and took her home around 8:30. that cost me $55. mattie bled a lot when i got her home but she slept through the night. this morning her tongue is about the same as it was yesterday. i'm waiting to hear from my father-in-law before i take her back in. there was also an odd lump next to the exposed jawbone on the left side that i had asked dr. mullen about (sort of a hard swelling under her gum) and she told me it was "normal after surgery," whatever that means. well, last night as i was going to leave the vet i noticed a metal pin sticking out of her gum where the lump had been, so obviously it was not just a swelling but an actual piece of metal. it's incredibly sharp and must be very uncomfortable. i asked the tech what it was and she took mattie back, showed it to the young vet, and came back out and said that dr. mullen could look at it when she looked at the ranula. very helpful, as you can imagine. by the time i got home at 9 i was pretty much exhausted from the worrying and crying. i talked to my husband last night and we both agreed that another surgery needs to be avoided at all costs, as i'm not sure mattie could handle another one. i can't feed her right now so she is still going to lose weight, and surgery might keep her from eating for another few days. i just don't think i can risk that. i still haven't talked to an oncologist so i'm not even sure what the prognosis is.

right now i'm just sitting and waiting...i will let you all know what's going on when i hear something.

-mara

[Guest lizmego]

I am so sorry to hear about the complications. Maddie and your family are in my prayers and thoughts.