ROB HARPER - AN INTERESTING CASE

Rob Harper is an 11 year old neutered male border collie. He attended a senior well pet clinic before having his booster in November 2005; these involve an appointment with a nurse who will discuss  any coincerns you have about your older pet. The nurse will also check your pet's weight, teeth, coat condition, mobility and behaviour.
Whilst examining Rob's mouth, janette the nurse noticed a small lump behind rob's lower left canine tooth (main 'fang')
and alerted the vet to it. It was decided to keep a close eye on it.

One month later and the lump had grown so he was anaesthetised and a wedge of the lump was removed and sent for histology - this is where a specialist laboratory examines tissue microscopically to determine what it is. The lump was in fact an "acanthomatous epulis" - a tumour of the canine jaw which can spread into tissue or bone close by but not known to spread to other parts of the body.
The vet, Gerard, discussed what options were available to Rob, including surgical removal of part of his jaw, and it was decided to monitor how the lump grew and to operate when necessary.

Three months later, the lump had grown bigger and seemed to be causing discomfort for Rob. He was anaesthetised and his jaw xrayed. There was very little change in the bone under the tumour so the first three inches of his lower jaw, including the tumour itself, were removed. Obviously this would be very disfiguring for a human but as Rob has a long nmose, his upper jaw and his lips cover the lower jaw and unless you look very closely, he looks just as he did before.
Rob is a notorious mummy's boy(!) and we knew he'd refuse to eat in our hospital kennels so he went home that night with strong painkillers and various diets for him to try.
At his 3 day post op check, he was healing very well and trying to eat but couldn't quite work out what to do with his mouth so Mrs Harper was syringe feeding him. The next day he'd got the hang of it and was eating well and picking up his toys. It was a joy to hear he was back to his old self.

I don't get to see Rob at his best since when he's at the surgery, his eyes are bulging and his tail is clamped between his legs (bless him - we're not surely that bad?!)
but Mrs Harper assures me he's a very happy boy at home, chasing and catching tennis balls and retrieving floating toys from the river.

He had a check up recently , 3 months after his operation and is doing fine.