From:
Kelly T Zellers
Date: 2004-09-10 22:10:17 UTC
Subject: Abscess Tooth in 6 Year Old
To: Ferrethealth <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <20040910221017.60554.qmail@web13921.mail.yahoo.com>
One of my 6 year old girls has an apparent abscess in her upper jaw that I discovered as a bump under her eye socket. The vet saw her and prescribed cepha for 2 weeks and asked us to call in with her progress. His initial assessment was that it was either a cyst or an abscess.
After the first 2 weeks of cepha, the swelling went down about 1/3 and she was more active. The vet prescribed another 2 weeks of cepha. We asked about surgery or a course of treatment in addition to or as a follow on to antibiotics. He said that we need to discuss the risks/benefits of dental surgery to resolve this and maybe we don't want to do surgery because of her age. And he said this without doing any bloodwork to determine whether or not she'd be a good candidate for surgery.
He seemed to suggest an extended course of antibiotics as a possible alternative. Something about that just doesn't seem ok to me. There is a problem in there that I feel probably needs to be removed.
We are in the 3rd week of antibiotic treatment. Phoebe doesn't seem to be in pain and is eating and running around. This is a healthy ferret otherwise. She has not had any health problems in the 3 years that I have owned her. I need to know how to proceed with the vet. Does this sound like a surgical case despite her age? If not, any suggestions?
Many thanks-
Kelly