Introduction
It is not uncommon for a cat to break its jaw due
to a traumatic incident; usually falling from a height or being hit
by a car. The lower jaw (the mandible) usually fractures right in the
middle of the chin which is very painful and renders the pet unable
to use its jaw to eat. Fortunately for most cats, they heal very well
when the jaw is wired back together. Now if only they can remember
not to run across the street again......
Symptoms and
Diagnosis
In almost all cases of jaw
fracture the diagnosis is obvious. The pet is drooling, the jaw hangs
down, and it is unable to eat. There are frequently other signs of
trauma present somewhere on the body.
Palpation
of the jaw (under anesthesia)
reveals the extent of the problem. The location of this
fracture is called the symphysis of the
mandible.
Treatment
The two halves of the lower jaw
(the mandible) are wired back together with stainless steel wire. The
wire is kept in place for approximately one month, then the cat is
anesthetized again and the wire removed. Most cats begin eating
within 1-2 days of the repair, and only rarely do we have to place a
feeding
tube in so they can ingest
adequate calories. If there are no other problems almost all cats
heal completely.
This area contains graphic
pictures of an actual jaw repair performed at the hospital. It may
not be suitable for some children (and some adults
also!).
A special stainless steel wire is placed
around the lower jaw. To be anchored properly, and to stay in place until
healing is complete, the wire must pass through the underside of the jaw.
The
surgeon then aligns the 2 fractured pieces and gently
tightens the wire. When finished the wire passes under the
tongue but over the lower jaw.
The
ends of the wire pass out through the skin under the jaw.
The wire is pushed up against the skin so it does not
interfere or snag on things.
This
radiograph gives an inside view of the wire.
The roof of
the mouth (the hard palate) is bruised because this cat was
hit by a car. Fortunately the hard palate was not fractured,
so no further treatment was needed.
The
tongue was severely bruised also. This is the type of
lesion, that when added to the fractured jaw, can prevent a
cat from eating. Luckily the bruised tongue healed within a
few days and this cat started eating soon. If not we would
have put a feeding
tube
in.
Jaw fractures can be quite
painful, so it is common for us to use pain
medication.
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