1983 bay Thoroughbred gelding

 

 

                                                  Never Bend

                      Royal Design

                                                  Great Goddess

                                                  Sandoval

                     Winged Cap

                                                  Capred

 

Foaled in 1983, Fitzhugh Lee is a big, hefty 26 year old Thoroughbred gelding. He arrived in August 2008, but its only in the Spring of 2009 that he’s really come into his glory.

  

The dentist called while she was with Fitz to ask just how much work TREES wanted to fund. His needs went way beyond a routine float. (In the end she donated most of her time...he made a big impression on her.) He had several infected teeth and she said his whole bottom jaw felt somehow unstable. The supervising veterinarian even theorized that Fitz’ jaw may have been recently fractured. At that visit, one tooth was removed and the dentist and vet returned several weeks later to extract a second. That helped and Fitz began to gain some weight.

As several months passed, space became available at TREES, and arrangements were made to accept Fitz into the sanctuary.
 

Soon after his arrival, based on the unstable jaw comments, we had Fitz’ jaw x-rayed. Some areas looked like they could have been healed cracks in the jawbone, but it wasn't clear what might have happened or when. More significant was that Fitz’ teeth, particularly his incisors, were not normal and he had serious periodontal disease.

 

 

 

During the first several months he was here, Fitz just seemed "not right" in general. He sweat a lot when it wasn't very hot. He had a serious systemic reaction to vaccinations (sweating, colic, fever, etc,) he got very winded after trotting only a few yards, and his gums became bright crimson with a tiny bit of exercise. And he had a significant heart murmur. When we spoke with the vet about these symptoms, she immediately scheduled a cardiac ultrasound. Nothing appeared to be wrong with the heart valves, so the vets kept looking for the cause of the murmur. Finally, they got to the "bottom" of his heart and there was a large bacterial infection in one of his ventricles.
 

 

 

 

  

November 9, 2008

 

  

Meanwhile, since he was sedated for the ultrasound, the vets took a closer look at Fitz’ teeth. His gums were receding so much that the roots of two teeth were almost entirely exposed. One had a huge tartar cap on it that was so hard it took a Dremel to drill through it and break it apart. (We've since heard this abnormal tartar buildup called a "cementoblast.") As the vet drilled into the cementoblast, the bit went right through what should have been tooth behind it and into dead bone. The infection in the tooth had moved into the bone and caused some decay. A second infected incisor was also removed, but there was no bone involvement in relation to that one. That left one more incisor with most of the root exposed, but it still seemed to be firmly in place and not infected, so it was left alone for the time being.
 

 

 

 

We treated Fitz’ heart infection for the first time the last half of December 2008 and all seemed well. In April 2009, however, during a routine exam at vaccination time, the vet was not happy with Fitz’ heart sounds, so we treated again, this time for four weeks. Somewhere during the third week, Fitz suddenly started to pack on weight. So much so that we've cut his food back by half and may need to cut back more. He’s confident, full of energy and showing a playful side we hadn’t seen before.

 

February 14, 2009

 

 

All of Fitz's problems ultimately related to his teeth. As happens in dogs, cats and humans, it appears that the infected teeth, gums, and bone led to a systemic infection that led to the bacterial colony in his heart.

All the information the dentist was able to find on similar cases points to this periodontal issue being chronic. Fitz will need to be monitored for that frequently, and may eventually lose more incisors. Theories say it’s likely related to an underlying endocrine abnormality, (Cushings would be one possibility, though we haven't seen any other symptoms of that) leading to a suppressed immune system in general.

For now, though, our big Thoroughbred is feeling better than he has in some time.
 

 

 

 

 

Senior Spa Day courtesy of the University of Mary Washington Pre-Vet Club