Kebo Is Finally Home. 3 Weeks Postop And Looking Good.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Aww poor snaggle-toothed Kebo. Sending hugs his way!

 

He and Lucas do make a good pair, one overbite one underbite. I think we need a pic of that!

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Aww poor snaggle-toothed Kebo. Sending hugs his way!

 

He and Lucas do make a good pair, one overbite one underbite. I think we need a pic of that!

 

We do have a uniqued matched set. When he can keep the cone off without scratching, I will have to wrangle them together for a photo.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

So I called NC State yesterday to see if they had the final histopath results yet. They are in surgery much of the day on Wednesday so I am hoping to hear from them today. The waiting is killing me. Please call and tell me you got clean margins.

 

Here he is almost 3 weeks postop. He is still our handsome boy...

 

Edited April 28, 2011 by greytkidsmom

[Guest greytkidsmom]

See what happens when you impatiently post to GT?

 

CLEAN MARGINS! They got it all!

[Guest Stripeyfan]

WOO-HOO! I am so pleased for you and Kebo! Please give your handsome boy a from me.

[sweetdogs]

 

Wonderful news!!!!!

 

Kebo looks great - no more cone of shame? How's he feeling? Ooo, I'm so happy to hear this!

[Patsy]

What wonderful news--and he looks marvelous! Scritches all around.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Wonderful news!!!!!

 

Kebo looks great - no more cone of shame? How's he feeling? Ooo, I'm so happy to hear this!

 

He has graduated from being a conehead 100% of the time to being cone-less for 90% of the time. He continues to breathe quite heavily which we have come to love. (unless it is in the middle of the night and he is freaking out about the thunder.) We see the vet again tomorrow to see how the inside of his mouth is healing. If it is healed enough, we will be able to rescue purple bear and green bone from exile for him to play with. We found a burt's bees lip balm with sunscreen in it that we apply a few times a day to keep the scar soft and protected from the sun. He and his humans are quite on the mend from this ever-evolving drama.

 

The boys sharing a sunbeam - Lucas with the overbite and Kebo with the underbite - a perfectly matched pair, I think.

[sweetdogs]

 

The boys sharing a sunbeam - Lucas with the overbite and Kebo with the underbite - a perfectly matched pair, I think.

Yes they are.

 

I think you mentioned he always had a yucky mouth. Can't help wondering if all that yuck built up to whatever the heck this was. Is his mouth clean now? I wonder if prophylactic antibiotics might help him. Did any vet mention any thinking along these lines?

 

 

[Guest greytkidsmom]

 

I think you mentioned he always had a yucky mouth. Can't help wondering if all that yuck built up to whatever the heck this was. Is his mouth clean now? I wonder if prophylactic antibiotics might help him. Did any vet mention any thinking along these lines?

 

Yes, he has that classic greyhound mouth. Right now, it seems super yucky. Part of it is that he isn't allowed any hard chews and boy does he miss his greenies He had dental cleanings at least every 6 months and had gotten the vaccine and several boosters. At the time he was diagnosed with the initial lesion, we had been doing pulsed antibiotic therapy for about 4 months. We went in for a regular checkup and she thought he looked so good we would wait another 6 months (a year total) for his next dental. 2 weeks later the pea-sized lesion appeared. He was in to see another vet in the practice for acupuncture and she looked at it and said it should come off. My mistake may have been scheduling the dental/biopsy without discussing it with my regular vet because she was quite perplexed to find him on her table. She did a cleaning and biopsied the lesion because it is her practice not to cut stuff out unless a biopsy has proven that it is bad. That first pathology came back negative. The next pathology came back as basically an epulis that had turned into a fibrosarcoma.

 

Fast forward to February when the thing was the size of a grape and the saga of the offended surgical resident commenced. Our vet recommended stopping the pulsed antibiotics through all of the treatment until a final diagnosis was reached. Unfortunately she has left the practice. Tomorrow that is one question I will pose to our new vet. I think it was starting to work, we'll see what she thinks. She is a smart cookie.

 

What I plan to do is to go back to regular brushing of what teeth remain when the internal stitches have healed. After a month or so, we will look and see if he would benefit from a cleaning. We will also monitor his lower canines to see if they place too much friction on the outside of his muzzle. When it is time for a cleaning, (if you go by our q6month schedule that would be May/June) I think we will take him back to NC State where they can do a good exam of his surgical site, a good cleaning, and evaluate whether or not the lower canines should stay or go. This should be far enough away from his original surgery that he should be healed and healthy enough to tolerate any more stress. They may also have some extra recommendations for long term dental care. We will return to our regular vet for future dentals.

 

Now that I have a cancer-free dog, guess I have to return to the "mundane" world of keeping on top of his teeth. Who ever knew how happy that would make me?

[sweetdogs]

[Our vet recommended stopping the pulsed antibiotics through all of the treatment until a final diagnosis was reached. Unfortunately she has left the practice. Tomorrow that is one question I will pose to our new vet. I think it was starting to work, we'll see what she thinks. She is a smart cookie.

 

Now that I have a cancer-free dog, guess I have to return to the "mundane" world of keeping on top of his teeth. Who ever knew how happy that would make me?

 

Maybe the abx pushed the critters to the surface in the form of the growth, trying to encapsulate an infection. Will be interesting to hear what she says.

 

You still have your work cut out for you but hopefully things will rapidly improve for Kebo. Including purple bear & green bone.

Edited April 28, 2011 by sweetdogs

[Guest kydie]

Been following,,so happy you boy is O.K. and thanks for posting,, this was very informative

[JJNg]

Kebo looks great, and glad they got clean margins! Did they decide for sure that it was a fibrosarcoma? Sounds like you have a good plan regarding his upcoming dental care. Daily brushing is still the best way to go for home maintenance of dental health, but there are a number of supplemental products available as well.

[4greyhounds]

Great News!!!!!!!!!!!! :yay praying for a quick uneventful healing!!!!

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Kebo looks great, and glad they got clean margins! Did they decide for sure that it was a fibrosarcoma? Sounds like you have a good plan regarding his upcoming dental care. Daily brushing is still the best way to go for home maintenance of dental health, but there are a number of supplemental products available as well.

 

Our usual routine is toothbrushing with CET toothpaste and we use the CET water additive as well. Tried the petzlife and they wouldn't let us come near them with it.

 

You know, I was so happy to hear the "got it all" part I forgot to ask about the diagnosis. I'll call back and see if they can fax the report to my vet - they usually do but it should say it on that, right?

Edited April 28, 2011 by greytkidsmom

[Batmom]

Awesome news. And handsome boy .

[sweetdogs]

Biotene products are another option.

[JJNg]

You know, I was so happy to hear the "got it all" part I forgot to ask about the diagnosis. I'll call back and see if they can fax the report to my vet - they usually do but it should say it on that, right?

It should if they were able to find any remnant of the original tumor in the additional tissue they removed. It's not unusual to not find the original tumor when going back for clean margins, though, as the 'dirty' margins are usually cells at a microscopic level. In that case, you might need to track down the original mass that was removed at VA Tech to recut more slides so that they can do the additional stains needed to make the differentiation. Based on the size of the original mass, I'd be surprised if there wasn't some of it left after the original slides were prepared. Most pathology departments save the remaining tissue, and I would hope VA Tech follows that protocol.

[Houndtime]

Good news!

[Xan]

Just seeing this. He looks great, really! I'm so glad it went as well as it did, and he can get on to healing now.

 

Wabi, in particular, thinks he looks fabulous, and sends some snuggles his way.

 

[EllenEveBaz]

Woohoo Kebo! Way to go!!!!!!

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Awesome news! I hope that the rest of his healing goes well.

[45MPHK9]

So glad to read this good news about Kebo!

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Just seeing this. He looks great, really! I'm so glad it went as well as it did, and he can get on to healing now.

 

Wabi, in particular, thinks he looks fabulous, and sends some snuggles his way.

 

Wabi is the first hound we thought of when we heard about how Kebo would look after surgery. We are happy that he looks as fabulous as she does He says that if she ever needs defending from birds, squirrels, or the occasional "passer by" that he is happy to bark them away for her.