Mysterious Illness - Sunken Eye And Not Eating

[gilliwigs]

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A friend of mine has a male lurcher x whippet who must be about 5 years old and who isn't very well. All his blood tests have come back normal. Apparently his symptoms are a sunken eye and he's making a sort of puffing noise from his mouth - sorry, not very good description but I've had to rely on what my friend has said. He's had an eye x-ray as they thought it might be a tumour but things are still very inconclusive. He walks a bit then flops down and is eating but not very much. Has anyone any suggestion as to what might be wrong with him? Think the vet is baffled.

 

[FeeFee]

Do you know how long this has been going on and if the dog has any other symptoms - eg temperature, poor coat, weight gain or loss, loss of appetite etc?

Any localised infection (eg ear or salivery glands) could cause a sunken eye and make him feel generally unwell, but I'd assume the vet has already ruled out obvious causes.

Things like thyroid problems or Cushings would be a possibility, both conditions can be hard to diagnose and wouldn't necessarily show up in a normal blood test. If he's obviously ill with a temperature and is reluctant to move or seems to be in pain then meningitis would be a possibility, I know some people here have experience of that in whippets so could give more information on what to look for.

I hope your friend gets a diagnosis and that he's OK :luck:

 

[gilliwigs]

Do you know how long this has been going on and if the dog has any other symptoms - eg temperature, poor coat, weight gain or loss, loss of appetite etc?
Any localised infection (eg ear or salivery glands) could cause a sunken eye and make him feel generally unwell, but I'd assume the vet has already ruled out obvious causes.

Things like thyroid problems or Cushings would be a possibility, both conditions can be hard to diagnose and wouldn't necessarily show up in a normal blood test. If he's obviously ill with a temperature and is reluctant to move or seems to be in pain then meningitis would be a possibility, I know some people here have experience of that in whippets so could give more information on what to look for.

I hope your friend gets a diagnosis and that he's OK :luck:

Thanks Fee, I'll see if I can get some more information about how he is :thumbsup:

 

[Whippets Rule]

nothing to offer except my wishes and prayers that he can make a speedy recovery.

 

[wild whippies]

Sinuses are in close proximity to the eye socket. It's impossible to know what imaging was done of the eye. X-rays themselves are limited in that they're a 2 dimensional image and can be easily obscured by bone of varying density. The fact the eye itself is a soft tissue organ lying within the skull makes it particularly difficult to see and the floor of the eye socket is literally paper thin. Not surprising that an x-ray was inconclusive but it would hopefully rule out big tumours that were destroying bone at a significant scale.

If the only symptoms seem to be localised to this area, I'd be inclined to seek a specialist referral with specialised imaging i.e. MRI, CT scanning and possibly a nasoendoscopy (a fibreoptic scope of the sinuses and throat)

By all accounts the vet's admitted this is beyond their field and imagine they're probably thinking the same as they've ruled out some suspects.

What would be wise to do beforehand would be to ensure there are no dental problems. Some tooth roots actually lie within the sinus and an abscess can go undetected due to it discharging into the sinus. ( I appreciate that they've stated the eye has sunken but there's the possibility that the surrounding tissues are swollen, mimicking the effect of a sunken eye)

I expect the vet's already done this though and probably an even more thorough exam of the mouth while the dog was having their x-ray.

 

[gilliwigs]

Sinuses are in close proximity to the eye socket. It's impossible to know what imaging was done of the eye. X-rays themselves are limited in that they're a 2 dimensional image and can be easily obscured by bone of varying density. The fact the eye itself is a soft tissue organ lying within the skull makes it particularly difficult to see and the floor of the eye socket is literally paper thin. Not surprising that an x-ray was inconclusive but it would hopefully rule out big tumours that were destroying bone at a significant scale.If the only symptoms seem to be localised to this area, I'd be inclined to seek a specialist referral with specialised imaging i.e. MRI, CT scanning and possibly a nasoendoscopy (a fibreoptic scope of the sinuses and throat)

By all accounts the vet's admitted this is beyond their field and imagine they're probably thinking the same as they've ruled out some suspects.

What would be wise to do beforehand would be to ensure there are no dental problems. Some tooth roots actually lie within the sinus and an abscess can go undetected due to it discharging into the sinus. ( I appreciate that they've stated the eye has sunken but there's the possibility that the surrounding tissues are swollen, mimicking the effect of a sunken eye.

I expect the vet's already done this though and probably an even more thorough exam of the mouth while the dog was having their x-ray.

Hi, thanks for your reply. It's a bit difficult to get precise information as I'm not actually friends with Bennie's owner but heard of him through Muffin's breeder, Gwyneth. I know she took Bennie in for a while but found him too much as she already had Muffin's mum, brother and sister, so she rehomed him. He's either with a relative or a friend but Gwyneth is still in touch with them. He's on a strong antibiotic at the moment and is due back at the vets tomorrow. Meningitis has been mentioned but if there's no improvement by tomorrow then he will be referred to a specialist - not sure what sort though!

If I find out anymore I'll let people know :thumbsup:

 

[gilliwigs]

Quick update on Bennie. He had an MRI yesterday and it turns out it's something to do with his inner ear (not sure of details). He should be fine in about 6 weeks or so

 

[meddling]

good news!

 

[FeeFee]

Excellent news, I hope he recovers quickly :luck:

 

[~Sarah~]

Glad to hear it isn't too serious. Hope Bennie is on the mend soon. :luck: :luck:

 

[tinabow]

BRILLIANT NEWS

 

[gilliwigs]

Having now been in touch with Muffin's breeder and Benni's one-time fosterer, it appears Benni has meningitis after all. I'm hoping I can put his owner in touch with one or two people on here and Facebook (as long as they don't mind) who've had experience of this as I doubt whether his owner knows much about it, so I'm really hoping she contacts me - so much nicer to have support from people who have been through the same thing. :thumbsup: