Bump under eye? Retrobulbar abscess? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

renee_rn · 12-26-2015, 02:34 AM

I have a 14 month old yorkie named Ellie. I noticed about 1 1/2 weeks ago that her left eye appeared swollen, more squinty than the right. I thought the eye was irritated from her hair. I pulled her hair up and a day later noticed the eye looked no better. The next night before I left for work (night shift nurse) I was telling her by and petted across her face and felt a pencil eraser size knot under her eye. When I got off the next morning I took her to the vet. He checked her and said all her teeth looked great but there could be a crack that he couldn't see. He started her on Clindamycin suspension twice daily. After a few days I felt the knot was maybe a little smaller. Wednesday this week she finished the Clindamycin. I called the vet and told him that the knot had maybe decreased in size some but still was definitely there. He suggested another round of Clindamcyin. I noticed now the knot feels very liquidy when it was very hard in the beginning. The skin on the knot is red but Ellie appears to be in no pain at all. My vet did tell me this would probably open up and drain but it has yet to do so. I feel like at this point it may need to be drained by him. Any suggestions? I am ready for her to be done with antibiotics and I don't want her skin or fur to be affected by this knot if it does open up itself. He talked about removing the tooth he feels is causing this and I am ready to have that done as well to keep her from going through this again. I just need some advice from others who have went through this, please! Thanks so much fellow yorkie parents!

Wylie's Mom · 12-26-2015, 04:18 AM

Hi and welcome to YT

.

I agree w/ you...I'd want that possible tooth removed asap, and the abscess drained off as well. You'll have to put her under for the tooth issue, but it would be worth it if it's causing infections that could spread...

Scoobstersmom · 12-26-2015, 05:58 AM

Generally retrobulbar abscesses are so painful that a vet can't even get the dog's mouth open wide enough to check the teeth. It sounds like maybe your pup is heading in that direction with an infection, but maybe the abscess is not full blown yet. If you know your pup has a cracked tooth it will have to be dealt with anyway, so might as well get it taken care of before it gets worse.

I've had two dogs with retrobulbar abscesses. This is my experience.

The first was a little rescue poodle. He was dropped off at my vet, and never picked up. We were fostering him and trying to get him healthy for a dental. He seemed fine Friday night and woke up very sick Saturday morning. His face was quite swollen on one side and he couldn't completely open his eye on that side. He was also running a fever. Waiting for the vet to open and before we could get him there, the abscess opened up and drained some real nasty stuff. The hole that opened up wasn't bigger than a pimple (but a lot of yucky stuff came out) and did not leave a scar and he didn't lose any hair. He had emergency surgery that morning. The abscess was caused by a cracked rear molar. He had the molar removed. The abscess had mostly drained but they cleaned it out a bit. He did a round of Clamavox afterwards and was acting normally within a day or two.

The second was also a toy poodle. Hers was not caused by a tooth. She had poked the roof of her mouth chasing a stick and ended up with a very nasty infection. Her whole face swelled, mostly around and above her eye. Since she was a quite older dog and with chronic allergic bronchitis, our vet did not want to put her under to drain the abscess unless it was absolutely necessary. Hers was treated by a veterinary ophthalmologist. She decided to treat her medically with very strong antibiotics for 72 hours to see if we could get the abscess to drain on it's own. She had an antibiotic by IV every day (can't remember which one) for three days, and also two oral antibiotics. Baytril and Clamavox. On the third day, the abscess finally drained on it's own, through the corner of her eye. It never broke through the skin. It was much worse than the one caused by the tooth and surgically drained.

Believe me, a true retrobulbar abscess is really, really nasty, and if you can possibly avoid it, you do not want to have to deal with it or for your dog to have to go through it. You are much better getting it taken care of now before it becomes a major problem. My vet says those upper back molars crack very often and cause abscesses. After those two experiences with the retrobulbar abscesses, I am paranoid. I have had those two upper molars removed with the spay/neuter on my last two dogs. They don't miss them and it's proactive prevention for me. LOL My vet agrees that it is a lot easier to remove them when they're already under than have to deal with it later.

Diana

12-26-2015, 02:34 AM	#1
renee_rn YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Moultrie, Ga, USA Posts: 5	Bump under eye? Retrobulbar abscess? I have a 14 month old yorkie named Ellie. I noticed about 1 1/2 weeks ago that her left eye appeared swollen, more squinty than the right. I thought the eye was irritated from her hair. I pulled her hair up and a day later noticed the eye looked no better. The next night before I left for work (night shift nurse) I was telling her by and petted across her face and felt a pencil eraser size knot under her eye. When I got off the next morning I took her to the vet. He checked her and said all her teeth looked great but there could be a crack that he couldn't see. He started her on Clindamycin suspension twice daily. After a few days I felt the knot was maybe a little smaller. Wednesday this week she finished the Clindamycin. I called the vet and told him that the knot had maybe decreased in size some but still was definitely there. He suggested another round of Clindamcyin. I noticed now the knot feels very liquidy when it was very hard in the beginning. The skin on the knot is red but Ellie appears to be in no pain at all. My vet did tell me this would probably open up and drain but it has yet to do so. I feel like at this point it may need to be drained by him. Any suggestions? I am ready for her to be done with antibiotics and I don't want her skin or fur to be affected by this knot if it does open up itself. He talked about removing the tooth he feels is causing this and I am ready to have that done as well to keep her from going through this again. I just need some advice from others who have went through this, please! Thanks so much fellow yorkie parents!

12-26-2015, 04:18 AM	#2
Wylie's Mom Furbutts = LOVE Donating Member Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 35,889 Blog Entries: 2	Hi and welcome to YT . I agree w/ you...I'd want that possible tooth removed asap, and the abscess drained off as well. You'll have to put her under for the tooth issue, but it would be worth it if it's causing infections that could spread... __________________ ~ A friend told me I was delusional. I nearly fell off my unicorn. ~ °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° Ann \| Pfeiffer \| Marcel Verdel Purcell \| Wylie \| Artie °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨°

12-26-2015, 05:58 AM	#3
Scoobstersmom YT Addict Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Fountain Hills, AZ USA Posts: 385	Generally retrobulbar abscesses are so painful that a vet can't even get the dog's mouth open wide enough to check the teeth. It sounds like maybe your pup is heading in that direction with an infection, but maybe the abscess is not full blown yet. If you know your pup has a cracked tooth it will have to be dealt with anyway, so might as well get it taken care of before it gets worse. I've had two dogs with retrobulbar abscesses. This is my experience. The first was a little rescue poodle. He was dropped off at my vet, and never picked up. We were fostering him and trying to get him healthy for a dental. He seemed fine Friday night and woke up very sick Saturday morning. His face was quite swollen on one side and he couldn't completely open his eye on that side. He was also running a fever. Waiting for the vet to open and before we could get him there, the abscess opened up and drained some real nasty stuff. The hole that opened up wasn't bigger than a pimple (but a lot of yucky stuff came out) and did not leave a scar and he didn't lose any hair. He had emergency surgery that morning. The abscess was caused by a cracked rear molar. He had the molar removed. The abscess had mostly drained but they cleaned it out a bit. He did a round of Clamavox afterwards and was acting normally within a day or two. The second was also a toy poodle. Hers was not caused by a tooth. She had poked the roof of her mouth chasing a stick and ended up with a very nasty infection. Her whole face swelled, mostly around and above her eye. Since she was a quite older dog and with chronic allergic bronchitis, our vet did not want to put her under to drain the abscess unless it was absolutely necessary. Hers was treated by a veterinary ophthalmologist. She decided to treat her medically with very strong antibiotics for 72 hours to see if we could get the abscess to drain on it's own. She had an antibiotic by IV every day (can't remember which one) for three days, and also two oral antibiotics. Baytril and Clamavox. On the third day, the abscess finally drained on it's own, through the corner of her eye. It never broke through the skin. It was much worse than the one caused by the tooth and surgically drained. Believe me, a true retrobulbar abscess is really, really nasty, and if you can possibly avoid it, you do not want to have to deal with it or for your dog to have to go through it. You are much better getting it taken care of now before it becomes a major problem. My vet says those upper back molars crack very often and cause abscesses. After those two experiences with the retrobulbar abscesses, I am paranoid. I have had those two upper molars removed with the spay/neuter on my last two dogs. They don't miss them and it's proactive prevention for me. LOL My vet agrees that it is a lot easier to remove them when they're already under than have to deal with it later. Diana