I am going to do my best to explain what we discovered when we did the Dental Cone Beam Cat Scan with Chance yesterday and what is happening with him today. The pictures appear to be a mishmash of bones on top of bones. That pretty much is what is going on with the right side of Chance's Head.
The scans tell us he is closer to a year old but not any older. When he was very young, something traumatic happened to him that shattered his right Cheek Bone (Zygomatic Arch) and his bottom jaw toward the back. Chance's developmental months is when the injury occurred. When his bones were still developing, the traumatic injury crushed bones that collapsed on top of other crushed bones. The collapsed bones grew together as one new unit.
In the process of everything collapsing onto itself, the jaw skirted off to one side. As the bones became calcified, the jaw became locked into the position it is in now. During all of this malformation, Chance's lower lip became tight and is now caught under his top jaw as you can see in the pictures. How Chance has survived is a Miracle beyond Miracles.
As traumatic as all of the above is, miraculously Chance's left and right TMJ (TemporoMandibular Joint) and ear canal are fine with no abnormalities. Dr. Kristin Scott at Hospital Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Matthews, NC did Chance's thorough dental examination and his Cat Scan. She came up with a surgical plan that required him to be transferred back to Carolina Vet. Specialists in Charlotte, NC.
Dr. Dan Merten will be performing surgery on Chance once all of the operational logistics have been considered and planned out. One of the significant issues is that Chance cannot be intubated the standard way because they cannot get a tube down his throat to keep his airway opening. will have to have a tracheotomy done before his surgery. An incision will be made in Chance's throat, and then a temporary tracheostomy tube is placed within the trachea with an opening on his upper chest/lower throat.
Once Chance has his tracheostomy tube in place, Dr. Merten will be able to perform his surgery. There will be several Surgeons in with Dr. Merten to assist with any complications should they arise. The plan right now is to remove the bone fragments in the cheek and lower jaw that have fused together. The surgery is extremely complicated. Once the fragments have been removed which will be a significant portion of his cheek, we will have to do physical therapy to get Chance's jaw functioning normally.
I know this is a lot to take in and understand. I hope I explained it well enough for you to understand what has happened and what will happen to get him well. His zygomatic arch and vertical ramus of his jaw will be removed sometime today. We are not even close to the funds we need for these procedures. This is a Journey we are committed to taking to get this special pup eating, drinking and breathing normally. Please, Help Us, Help Him by DONATING.
