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Original poster

Help please. Cat went to vets for dental work, came home with badly broken jaw :(

26 replies

kipperydippery · 19/04/2016 09:58

I don't know what to do. Elderly cat went in to have 2 dodgy top teeth removed. when he was under GA they found a damaged lower canine tooth. When trying to remove it they have badly broken the cats jaw! :(

I gave consent for them to remove any bad teeth they found while he was under the GA. He is nearly 17 so we try to avoid GA as much as possible due to the risks. I did not consent to him having his jaw wrecked.

His jaw is now all wired together. He is eating a tiny bit of the Hills critical care food & he is dosed up on Metacam.

WTF do I do now? I haven't paid the bill yet.

Has anyone had any experience of this? I have done extensive googling but I also know not to believe everything I read on Dr Google.

TIA

OP posts:
Daftaboutthecat · 19/04/2016 10:18

Kippery sorry no advice but didn't want to read and run. What a shame for your poor cat. I think I would be inclined to call and question how this happened ie is it a risk of pulling the tooth or has something went wrong when they have carried out the procedure?
Must be very upsetting for you Sad

Vinorosso74 · 19/04/2016 10:26

Oh your poor cat. Did they go through any possible risks such as this beforehand? I think you should speak to the vet to find out what happened.

SingingMyOwnSpecialSong · 19/04/2016 10:27

Hi, really sorry about your poor cat and hope he makes a full recovery. My own cat (and our previous dog) has had a couple of dental ops and I don't think risk of jaw damage was ever mentioned.

I think I would be asking for a full debrief of what happened from a senior vet at the practice and putting in a written complaint at the very least regarding lack of information about potential risks and therefore no informed consent. If you have pet insurance is there anything there that would help you with legal advice if you are unhappy with vets response.

Original poster
kipperydippery · 19/04/2016 11:01

Thanks for the replies. Just been back down the vets to get some more licky licks food for him as he liked that. I said that a broken jaw had not been mentioned to me as a possible risk of surgery.

I think they know they fucked up. They were all extremely nice to me & the small matter of the £500 bill hasn't even been mentioned yet which is very unusual for them.....

OP posts:
AddictedtoGreys · 19/04/2016 11:09

Have they given you a plan of action for repairing your cats jaw? They probably got a bit rough tying to remove the bottom teeth and damaged the jaw. I assume they told you about it when you collected your cat?

Fluffycloudland77 · 19/04/2016 14:37

I wouldn't pay for a broken jaw to be wired.

They should have referred you to a specialist if they couldn't do it safely themselves.

Ask for a copy of the consent form.

cozietoesie · 19/04/2016 15:45

Is he insured, kippery ?

Original poster
kipperydippery · 19/04/2016 18:06

He isn't insured. Once he got older the cost per month was very large so I took the decision to stash a bit away each month instead just in case. Possibly not the wisest decision but I paid 12 years cat insurance & never once claimed.

They told me when I collected the cat yesterday evening, they were very cagey with me over the phone beforehand so I knew something was up.

Cat has post op appt tomorrow pm so I will see what they say then.

OP posts:
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/04/2016 19:09

My cat Harry broke his jaw back in January. We've no idea how it happened but he also lost 5 or 6 teeth, including all the canines. His jaw was wired (it finally came out yesterday) but it hasn't stopped him doing anything - if it wasn't for the wires poking through his chin you wouldn't have known there was anything wrong. Once he recovered from the operation he was back to normal, even eating biscuits!

I'm certainly not an expert on broken jaws but if I can help at all please let me know. The last few months have been a rollercoaster but Harry seems none the worse for it.

Flowers to you and puss

LanaorAna1 · 19/04/2016 19:57

Bloody hell. You must be livid. Accidents happen, but they ought to be busting a gut to help you and your poor kitty, not billing you for it.

Check out what the Royal College of Veterinarians has to say on the subject.

Hope you are both feeling better today.

Original poster
kipperydippery · 19/04/2016 21:30

Cat is doing remarkably well all things considered. Still not eating or drinking much, but has had some food & fluids. DH & cat currently curled up on sofa watching the snooker, they both like watching the balls roll around! :)

I haven't been billed yet, it hasn't even been mentioned, & they have been very helpful.

Post op appt tomorrow so I will discuss things more then.

Pink I'm so sorry Harry has had to deal with a broken jaw. I'm glad he is doing so well. I'm no expert either, & just starting this rollercoaster ride. If you don't mind I may need to contact you through PM depending on how things go tomorrow.

OP posts:
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/04/2016 22:18

Harry didn't eat very much when we first got him home. We also had the problem that he only ate dried food so we had to try and find a wet food that he liked. It took a while (and Battersea did very well out of it!) but we eventually got him sorted.

It's no problem to PM me Kippery, if I can help in any way (even just moral support) I will.

Original poster
kipperydippery · 20/04/2016 23:27

I am delighted to report that tescos brussels pate off my mums fingers made all the difference 　 Once he had some food in him he perked up. I got back from the kids dentists appts to find cat stuffing his face with cat biscuits, totally ignoring all the special food for him 　 I called the vet to check if he could have it, her response "hes a tough old bugger isn't he" I quite agree :)

OP posts:
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 21/04/2016 12:01

That's brilliant! He does sound like a tough old bugger, a bit like Harry.

cozietoesie · 21/04/2016 15:38

Glad he's improved a bit. Keep us up to date? Smile

MilnersGold · 31/07/2016 23:49

Just to update (kipppery here), cat has had his jaw rewired 3 times, has been on full strength antibiotics for months now, he has a nasty bone infection in his jaw :( No progress

Unfortunately we are now looking at palliative care. I'm totally gutted, he is my boy I've had for twice as long as I've had kids!

He is happy at the moment, but DH & I have decided no more vets trips for him, he hates them & it won't change anything.

ophiotaurus · 31/07/2016 23:53

I'm so sorry this has happened. It's heartbreaking Sad Flowers

Fevertree · 31/07/2016 23:55

Oh God how awful I'm so sorry. I'd be livid at the vets, hope you didn't pay them x big hugs x

fuxxake · 01/08/2016 00:07

Aw that's very sad. Sorry for u and your poor cat. Unfort fractured jaw is a established risk of dental extractions partic with lower canines tho thankfully does not occur very often unless excessive force or pre existing weakness/abnormality in the bone itself. Not excusing your vets if they were heavy handed but given you said cat is old and the fact there's some deep seated infection present makes me wonder if it's possible he suffered a pathological fracture ie due to bone weakness, often early stage bone cancer/tumour. This is far more common cause than heavy handed dental work. Did your vets take any X-rays or give u any info about how fracture occurred? Not that it changes the outcome in any way. Hope he's on some nice pain relief to keep him comfy

cozietoesie · 01/08/2016 08:49

Poor lad. I'm so sorry.

chemenger · 01/08/2016 10:45

When little boy had to have both lower canines out (teeth misaligned) when he was a kitten we were warned that there was a significant risk of damaging the jaw. The teeth had to come out because they were causing him pain so we had to take the risk. We would have had to pay for the cost of wiring his jaw because we had had the risk explained and agreed to go ahead. In the event he was fine and not having bottom fangs has caused him no problems at all, as the local mouse population can attest.

NarcyCow · 01/08/2016 11:09

Oh, the poor old guy, and poor you : (

One of ours went to the vet with a leg injury two years ago and came home badly brain damaged and blind (and still with the leg injury). We don't bring her to the vet any more either, I couldn't put her through it.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 01/08/2016 12:09

Your poor cat and poor you.

Did the vet mention a referral to a dental specialist? I understand he's older than Harry, but when he had his problems, our vet suggested referring him.

I don't blame you for not taking him back to the vet though, it's traumatic for them - even though Harry isn't particularly fussed I hate taking him.

Flowers to you all

RubbishMantra · 01/08/2016 13:55

I recently took MCat in for tartar removal. It was explained to me that they might find a decayed tooth that would need removal, under the tartar, (they didn't) but at no point did they explain that his jaw could break.

I'm so, so sorry for poor puss and you.

I really hope they didn't bill you.

RubbishMantra · 01/08/2016 13:58

Logic toothpaste helps prevent tartar build up, and they like the taste of it. I just have to get myself into a routine of giving it to the boys. Blush