No Cream For Peaches After Dog Attack
5 years ago 
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A poorly pet cat who was left unable to eat after being savaged by a dog is now happier and hungrier than ever after the swift intervention of a Yorkshire vet centre.
Poor Peaches was bitten on the head during the attack, which caused significant wounds and left her unable to close her mouth.
A dislocated jaw was suspected but CT scans at Paragon Veterinary Referrals, in Wakefield, revealed the damage was even more severe – there was also a fracture of the symphysis between the left and right side of the lower jaw.
The injuries were so severe that Paragon’s soft tissue surgeon David Barker decided the only remedy was immediate surgery – a procedure which required him to remove the joint on the left side of Peaches’ jaw and wire the fracture back together between the lower parts of the jaw.
He explained: “Peaches had a chronically dislocated jaw which had become permanently stuck out of place. This meant she was unable to close her mouth at all.
“To resolve this, we needed to operate and remove the joint on the left side of her jaw entirely, leaving just the joint on the right side.
“Her jaw immediately relaxed and Peaches could open and close her mouth again.
“Next, I wired together the fracture between the lower two parts of the lower jaw. Both procedures went very well and Peaches had near perfect dental occlusion after the surgery.”
The drama wasn’t over, though, as Peaches recovered slowly after surgery, hampered by the inevitable swelling and discomfort in the jaw which left her unwilling to eat. This meant more treatment was required.
David added: “A few days after the operation we had to place a gastrostomy tube through the skin and into Peaches’ stomach. That way we could give her food without her needing to chew.
“Thankfully, Peaches responded well and quickly began to improve and we allowed her home as soon as she was able to eat a little food herself.
“Finally, after a few days at home, she returned to us at Paragon and we were able to remove the stomach tube and the wire from her jaw, as her fracture was now very stable.
“She’s since made a good recovery and is a very happy cat again – a happy cat and a very hungry cat.”
For more information on Paragon Veterinary Referrals, which is part of the Linnaeus Group, visit www.paragonreferrals.co.uk.
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