Lump on jaw.

Dr. Marie replied:

It sounds like you guys have been through some frustrating times!

I have had a few cases like this. I had a recent case that was very similar except that it was in a dog. He had a lump on his neck and it didn't go away after antibiotics. Then we lanced it and put him on antibiotics and it didn't go away. We ended up doing a surgery where we completely opened it and flushed it out and also cultured the infection to make sure we were on the right antibiotics. After the the thorough surgery and a long course of antibiotics it went away. I'm not saying this is exactly what is happening for Kiya but I just wanted to share with you that this kind of thing can happen.

When there is a swelling on the lump of a cat's jaw or neck there are only a few things that it can be. The most likely is that there is some kind of an abscess (i.e. infection). The next possibility is that there is a tumor. What you are describing definitely sounds more like infection than cancer. Also, the aspirate of the lymph node that says, "reactive lymphoid hyperplasia" tells us that this is not cancer. What this phrase means is that the lymph node is reacting to something, and that is almost always infection.

So now the question is why is this not healing?

Many abscesses will not heal without surgery. When cats build an abscess they often build a very thick wall all around the center of the abscess. Often, that wall can be very hard for the antibiotics to penetrate. If this is the case then it won't heal unless it is opened up which means surgery. Another possible reason for it not to heal would be if there was something inside of the abscess. I had a cat patient once with an abscess that wouldn't heal. I did surgery on it and found that there was an entire cat tooth inside of the abscess! Once we removed it he did fine!

However, I'm a little bit confused about what it is that your vet is recommending. If the whole area is swollen I'm not exactly sure what it is what they want to remove. Has she had a surgery to explore the area? Perhaps this is what they are thinking of. From what you have described, if this was my case, that would be the next step. I'd want to do an anesthetic and cut open the swollen area and see if I can find a foreign object. If I couldn't find anything I would culture the area deep inside. This is where we put a swab in and send it to the lab to find out what kind of bacteria is growing there and exactly which antibiotic will work. And then I would thoroughly flush the area out.

I can understand your hesitation to do surgery as Kiya is bright and happy and eating well. While there is a small possibility that things could get better on their own, there is a larger possibility that she could get much sicker all of a sudden. If this is infection and it is not dealt with now, there is a chance it could spread and this could be potentially disastrous. I have had animals with horrible infections where the skin sloughed off. These have been extremely expensive to deal with.

It sounds like your vet is doing all of the same things I would. I think the plan to go with surgery is a good one.

I hope everything is ok!

Dr. Marie.


Do you have a pet website? Interested in learning more about SEO for Wix?

---

Check out our dog age calculator and cat age calculator.

Dr. Marie replied:

LOL! When you end up in the loony bin you can blame it all on your cat, ok? :)

Every vet has had cases like this. Remember that case I told you about with the dog and the abscess in this area? When I did surgery on it I must have nicked the jugular vein. There are so many serious veins arteries and nerves in this area. The darn thing bled like crazy. I eventually got it to stop but it was not an enjoyable surgery. I can definitely understand why your vets would want to refer.

By the way, the report from the pathologist (the one that was sent away) is going to be the most accurate. Usually if there is cancer it is super obvious, especially to a pathologist. So, this does look like something that can be cured. Now we just need to get down to the bottom of things!

Dr. Marie replied:

Abscesses can be hard or soft. It really doesn't make much difference either way.

Dr. Marie replied:

Interesting! It certainly is possible that it drained. Perhaps the body managed to get on top of the infection. I'd definitely see your regular vet and hopefully you won't need to go to the specialist!