Importance of radiology case report: Bella, a 15 year old Chihuahua ,was presented for a suspect Oronasal fistula (ONF). This is a hole between the mouth and nose which causes significant infection. The patient had a long history of sneezing and right sided nasal discharge. Many of the teeth had already been extracted or fell out, including many of the maxillary incisors. The patient was placed under general anesthesia and a complete oral exam was performed. There was no fistula in the typical location (inside of the upper canine) (a) . However, there was a small fistula noted in the area of the missing right upper incisors.(b) A dental radiograph was exposed, which revealed an upper incisor tooth within the nasal cavity associated with a significant area of bone loss. (c) This indicated significant long term infection. The tooth was surgically extracted along with a significant amount of thick pus. The area was then cleaned, flushed, and closed. The post operative radiograph confirmed that the tooth was completely removed (d). The tooth was covered in calculus. (e) The patient recovered normally and the nasal issues and discharge resolved. This case illustrates the critical nature of dental radiographs in treating oronasal disease. If dental radiographs were not exposed, the fistula would have been closed, but the tooth would have remained in the nasal cavity resulting in continued infection. This would have required a second anesthesia and surgery, if the client would have pursued further therapy at all.
Posted on: Thu, 15 May 2014 22:10:37 +0000
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