One year old Minnie came to see us back in March. She had become clingy and lethargic at home, and her owners noticed that when she was trying to eat her food she would let it fall from her mouth without swallowing. She is a real chewer, and the week before had chewed up her bed, which had been replaced with a new red bed. Her owners wondered if her chewing could be the cause of Minnie’s problem.
On examination, our vet Selenia could feel no obstruction or tension in Minnie’s abdomen which would indicate a foreign body. However, when Selenia examined poor Minnie’s mouth, all became clear. There was an unpleasant smell, indicating something wasn’t quite right, and when Selenia looked at Minnie’s tongue, she could see some red thread had become wrapped around it – from Minnie’s new bed! It was too painful to remove in the consultation room, so Minnie was taken into theatre.
Under anaesthesia, we could see that poor Minnie’s tongue had been deeply lacerated on both sides. Fortunately the offending thread came away easily, and Selenia then flushed the wound before stitching Minnie’s tongue.
Mouth wounds have an incredible capacity for healing. Just 8 days later, at Minnie’s second post-op check, all but one stitch had dissolved, and the tongue had already healed so well it was difficult to see where her breath-taking injuries had been.
The photo below is of Minnie post recovery. We are delighted that she is completely better. None of us can tell where Minnie’s horrific injury was! Take a look!
