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  Discussion on Bone swelling?
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New Member:
lkb8190

Posted on Friday, Jun 22, 2007 - 10:59 am:

I just got a call from a friend, asking me to come check out a swelling on her 3yo filly's jaw. I've never seen anything quite like it, it's hard, feels like bone, right on the mandible just below the jowl. There is a small spot where the hair has been rubbed off, just below the swelling. The filly is eating well, and acts normal, but she doesn't like having the swelling palpated with any pressure, she is ok with a light touch, though. I can't feel anything jagged, or anything moving, and there is no heat in the swelling. Since she's eating I doubt that anything's broken, but I've never seen anything like this and don't know if there's any treatment for this? My friend is not sure of how it happened, but did find a T-post pulled loose, and we think it's likely that the filly got her halter caught (bad practice, I know, but she's not my horse, she's a half-wild rescue case) and this is the result. DrO, I'm hoping you can shed some light on this for me! Thanks.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jun 22, 2007 - 9:25 pm:

Welcome Lisa,
I am afraid your description does not provide enough information to make a likely diagnosis though your scenario of trauma is plausible. I think your best bet is to study the article on swellings that may provide enough information to help you with deciding what is going on, see Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Swellings / Localized Infection / Abscesses » Diagnosing and Assessing Swellings in Horses.
DrO
New Member:
lkb8190

Posted on Friday, Jun 22, 2007 - 11:31 pm:

Thanks DrO, I did read the article on swellings and it's *great*, really good information. I was expecting to find an abscess when I initially went to check on this horse, so was really surprised by what I actually found. I really think this swelling is from trauma, not from any sort of abscess.....partially because of the way the swelling looks - it's both inside and outside of the mandible, but not symmetrical, sort of diagonal, and there's a sort of 'indentation' in the middle - and also because of the lack of heat or any swelling at all in the surrounding tissue. I could certainly be mistaken, but it doesn't share ANY of the characteristics of the 'normal' under-jaw swellings. In the lack of x-rays, is there any sort of treatment for the bony swellings mentioned that are caused by trauma and subsequent calcification, or is the best course 'watch and wait' like we're doing now? Should we expect a bony swelling to go away, or is it likely to be permanent? I don't *think* it likely that there was enough force involved in this to splinter/fracture the bone (we've had a lot of rain and the ground is soft, so the T-post should have given way pretty easily), but what should I be watching for, in case there is more damage to the bone than just swelling? I know I'm asking a lot, but I'm in unfamiliar territory with this one. I just wish it was a simple abscess, that I'm all too familiar with. I'll be seeing her again tomorrow, so will see if there's been any change in 48 hours - her owner said she didn't see any apparent change tonight. Thanks again, Lisa
Member:
juliem

Posted on Friday, Jun 22, 2007 - 11:53 pm:

Several of the young horses I've had have had hard swellings along the bottom of the jaw as their teeth erupted. Are you familiar with this? Sometimes they are a bit tender.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jun 25, 2007 - 12:51 pm:

Hello Lisa,
For a number of reasons we avoid doing 2nd person consults but primarily it is because we only have a limited time to help our members and almost always second hand information is incomplete.

You should recommend to your friend that if there is significant concern over this they get their veterinarian out to examine this swelling and it may well take radiographs before any questions about this specific problem can be answered.

Julie we cover tooth root swellings in the article referenced above.
DrO
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