Loss Of Facial Cheek Muscle

[moofie]

No idea what the technical terms are, but wondered if anyone has experience of this?

 

i noticed earlier this week that Throp's cheek on his left side of face has sunken so his eye socket looks more protruding (i'll try get a photo when its light). He'd been occassionally rubbing top left side of head on leg or bedding, i checked his ear and skin in that area at the time then realised he looked uneven. We saw the vet Thursday as Hattie was in for her jabs anyway. Vet checked for feeling in muzzle, ear & eye reaction & all seemed to be working, he's eating ok and seems to chew biscuits both sides from what i can tell, but he doesn't have any back teeth now. Vet said it could be a paralysed nerve and idiopathic. They could do biopsy to see whats going on with the muscle but for now just to monitor.

 

Today he saw hydrotherapist for his laser treatment ( usual water treadmill out of action) and she noticed his face before we mentioned it (i assumed she mean't the dirty tongue stained fur on that side ) she did some checking of his muscles in that area. He's seeing the ortho vet later this week for a check up so shall see what his opinion is.

 

Throps currently on tramadol, PLT & cartrophen injections for his dodgy leg & otherwise seems fine in himself.

Edited January 3, 2016 by moofie

[XTRAWLD]

This happened not too long ago to someone else on the forum and I suggested it was Bell's Palsy (having a human friend experience it). Apparently the vet agreed with that suggestion on that grey so I know it can affect canines. Are those symptoms similar?

[moofie]

Thanks for the suggestion, I looked up the symptoms for Bells Palsy.

Throp doesn't seem to have any symptoms at the moment apart from his sort of facial muscle loss on one side. His eye itself looks ok, and he seems to be eating ok with no signs of any drooling.

[4My2Greys]

Sobesmom had the same thing happen to her Diana. She posted about it just recently.

[MP_the4pack]

My Brindle had it. The vet said it could have been from her major thoracic surgery 3 months earlier. We had to get Doggles because she wasn't able to blink on that side of the face. He said it would last about 3 months and it did.

 

She passed 14 yrs ago, so I don't remember too much about it.

[moofie]

Thanks, I had a read through sobesmoms thread too. (So i can find it again) http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/315510-facial-nerve-damage/?do=findComment&comment=5878596

 

Saw the Orthopedic vet tonight (his legs doing better at least) so he had a look & said its the Trigerminal nerve that has 5 strands off main hub so is why only that cheek is effected, the muscle withers away quickly. He said he could of had a blow to head thats damaged the nerve as its just under ear at side of head or maybe a nerve sheath tumour, not one large enough for him to feel but maybe worth doing an MRI to see what's going on.

The nerve tumour tends to be benign but spreads both directions so would eventually effect the other nerve strands wherever it is.

 

The head scratching can be due to a pins & needles feeling & that may get worse before it gets better if it is healing.

 

We've another appointment in 2weeks so will wait & see theres any change. Must also call insurance company to make sure they'll pay for an MRI, he had one on his leg in June/July.

[NeylasMom]

I don't want to scare you, but I would get the MRI. A friend's dog had something similar to what you're describing. They dx'ed it as Bells Palsy, but I was skeptical. Eventually she started having seizures and it turned out she had a brain tumor. It was benign, but the swelling was affecting her.

Edited January 7, 2016 by NeylasMom

[moofie]

Yes expect a brain tumour squishing the nerves would have similar effects. My friends greyhound had a brain tumour, I didn't know her back then but she opted for palliative care after seeing various vets.

 

I would prefer to know what's going on & hopefull insurance will agree to MRI as different condition, but as we don't have funds to pay ourselves it will rely on their decision. Just been looking at what neurology specialist vets there are. I know with Throps leg how quick the bills can mount up, he's gone through £4k already which is the limit (per condition per year) but thanks to timing its renewed luckily.

Edited January 7, 2016 by moofie

[GreyTzu]

Yes, this is what Danger had. The left side of his head caved in, but since he was behaving normally, we chatted with our regular Vet and we took a wait-and-see stance on it. Several months later, he developed an eye issue and we took him to an Eye Vet who strongly recommended a Neurology exam. The Neurologist took one look at him and knew what it was. She said we could do an MRI or watch it. We did not do an MRI as there is no cure or real treatment and it would not alter the course of events for Danger. Plus we just could not afford it. We tried pred. for a while and saw no improvement.

 

Danger thrived for well over a year after the muscle cave in. He did have multiple eye issue with the same side eye that required constant treatment. We kept his eye lubricated with an OTC eye gel for people. The deficits started showing up, but he did fine for a while. The deficits starting worse and severe enough that he was having trouble walking and such. His eye finally blew up and we could not keep it in check. We knew he was at the end. Good luck.

[moofie]

oddly thought i had replied to my thread, i must've lost post & too fed up to re-type it.

 

Sorry to hear about Danger, though i'm glad to hear that he had a reasonable time thriving before the decline. I would likely make the same decison about scan in your situation.

 

The insurance OK'd the MRI and we called a few referal centres to get quotes on cost, one practice wanted £300/$430 just for the consult , thankfully the one closer to home was more reasonable so we've an appointment to see their Neurologist on Monday. Throp went to our vets on wednesday for his cartrophen injection and has a mouth ulcer on left inner lip, vet thought he'd probably bitten it but ran his bloods just to check organ function which came back normal.

 

The muscle above the eye has also wasted a bit recently, though his eye seems to be functioning ok still. I think Throp gets fed up with the sensations in his head, though is glad to have rubs to make it better. I thought he seemed a bit tired last week, but he perked up at hydro, probably nice to have a warm walk on water treadmill as its been bitterly cold out. Has another Hydro & laser session in the morning and was steaming ahead on our walk today.

 

I'm trying to stay positive but feel bit worried & sad that my baby boy doesn't look the same .

Edited January 23, 2016 by moofie

[greysmom]

You might talk with the vet about adding gabapentin for Throp. It's a drug that deals with nerve pain (amongst other things) and it might help if he's having that pins-and-needles pain in his head. Our girl Toni was biting her leg so much she had open sores and our vet thought it might be nerve pain from a related issue we've been keeping an eye on. We upped her gabapentin and added in some codeine for pain and she's been good since then. She's getting 300mg three times a day right now, which is close to the max, but it's got a huge dosing range and is easily adjustable for individual needs.

[moofie]

Throp was such a good boy & so tolerant during the examination today, he had paper stuck in his eyes to measure the tear production, the end of a pair of scissors jabbed into various points on his head to check sensation, bopped all over with a reflex hammer, limbs manipulated & a plastic board put under a paw then pulled away to see how his mobility is affected. He did show some reduction on his left side limbs & i assume vet already took into account the old injury to right fore as we discussed it. Its the Trigerminal nerve branch to the jaw as noted & also branch to the nose that are currently being pressed on

 

So the outcome is he has a tumour, pressing against the brain stem & there's nothing to be done . On the upside that type (schwannoma i think he said) tends to be slow growing, its likely been there a while before the muscle loss was a noticeable level and although can't give us any timescale for the inevitable deterioration, Throp may hopefully have some months .

 

Spot the tumour & can also see the muscle reduction compared to right side

 

Some dogs can apparently end up dying of other illnesses/old age despite the sunken head look due to slow tumour growth, however Throp's is already remodelling the skull & brain structures around it so that's unlikely. It's also a relief to know its not a tumour believed to be painful when in the brain & most dogs just get the pins & needles sensations, Greysmom He didn't mention any medication to help but its not currently at a level which is distressing him, shall bear that in mind to ask in future.

 

The neurologist vet was lovely & very clear explaining it all (he's also a vet school lecturer),he did prep us pre-scan that a tumour was likely and i found myself very leaky eyed while waiting to sort insurance stuff out after. A couple then came in also clearly upset (turned out were PTSing the dog) which had me struggling not to full out blub in the waiting room. A kind lady seeing i was upset, chatted to me which helped, her own dog had a secondary tumour form post op that had paralysed its rear end & probably only had weeks left, but bless her taking time to make me feel better.

Edited January 25, 2016 by moofie

[tbhounds]

I'm so sorry to see this. I lost my Shannon to a different type of brain tumor. Did they mention any type of treatment? Medication? Radiation?

[Batmom]

Lots of hugs for you and your good boy.

[moofie]

I'm so sorry to see this. I lost my Shannon to a different type of brain tumor. Did they mention any type of treatment? Medication? Radiation?

 

He said due to location they wouldn't be able to operate and radiation/chemo hasn't been found to be effective in treating that type of tumour.

[moofie]

Lots of hugs for you and your good boy.

 

Thanks i need them, he's the quietest of the 4 but can't imagine being without my special boy. I want to rewind so i don't have to face losing him

 

He's a happy fellow, is currently blissfully unaware and at least won't dwell on what may have been & get depressed like we humans tend to when ill. Maybe we'll do a froppychops bucket list, Some greytalkers will remember his littermate Hector, who passed away suddenly at 5 & i'd of loved to have had just a bit more quality time as of course you take for granted that you'll have tomorrow together. Even recently i felt sad that i hadn't taken more photo's this year now Throp's head is a bit skelator , though he'll always be cute,

[Remolacha]

I am so sorry you didn't get better news Hopefully you will have some good quality time with him

[greysmom]

I'm so sorry this wasn't better news. {{{SMOOCHES}}} for Throp and {{{HUGS}}} for you.

 

I'm not sure how far you want to go, but I think it was someone on GT - maybe Murray??? and his dog parents - who used, or thought about using a radiation knife?? Something like that. Human technology being used to treat canine brain tumors. It did manage to shrink the tumor womewhat, from what I remember.

 

ETA - Trica and Burke - 45MPHK9 - had Murray!

Edited January 26, 2016 by greysmom

[NeylasMom]

I'm so sorry this wasn't better news. {{{SMOOCHES}}} for Throp and {{{HUGS}}} for you.

 

I'm not sure how far you want to go, but I think it was someone on GT - maybe Murray??? and his dog parents - who used, or thought about using a radiation knife?? Something like that. Human technology being used to treat canine brain tumors. It did manage to shrink the tumor womewhat, from what I remember.

 

ETA - Trica and Burke - 45MPHK9 - had Murray!

Yes, it's called Cyberknife. My friends also used it with their dog, Tasha who I mentioned earlier. Its very expensive though so it's not for everyone.

 

I'm surprised they didn't prescribe any medication. I know Tash had meds for seizures, which wouldn't apply here, but they also gave Pred to reduce swelling in the brain and I think she was on pain meds.

 

I'm very sorry you didn't get better news. I hope you have a lot more time.

[Hawthorn]

I'm so sorry to read this moofie . Hope you have lots more happy times with him.

[45MPHK9]

Just seeing this. Yes, our Murray had cyberknife radiation for a pituitary macroadenoma. Not all tumors are amenable to this type of treatment, though. Murray was on prednisone to help keep swelling in the brain in check. Slow growing tumors are slow to shrink, so the pred helped with that. Murray lived four months past his diagnosis, far shorter an amount of time than we expected. He got very sick at the end.

 

Enjoy your time with Throp. Everyday past diagnosis is a gift. I'm so sorry.

Edited January 26, 2016 by 45MPHK9

[robinw]

I'm so sorry to read this

[Neighsayer]

Hoping for many good days together. Hugs!

[carronstar]

I've been lurking here because Throp has always been a favorite. I am so sorry for this diagnosis. I hope you have many more special moments with your lovely boy.

[JustSnoozing]

Sorry to hear this. Sending lots of love and hugs to you and Throp. Hope Throp has many more good days.