Bullet foreign body removal with partial zygoectomy in a 4 year old mixed breed dog

Abstract

A 4-year-old dog presented to the Cornell Hospital for Animals for a foreign body removal surgery to retrieve bullet fragments. On his right check, ventral to the zygomatic arch, a large focal swelling was present with a small visible draining tract. The rest of the physical exam was fairly unremarkable. CT performed a month prior showed multiple foreign bodies of various sizes located on the medial aspect of the right zygomatic arch. A partially zygoectomy was performed to gain sufficient access to the location of the foreign bodies. As many of the bullet fragments were located and extracted as possible without damaging branches of the auriculotemporalis, buccal infraorbital, and maxillary nerves as well as the maxillary artery and the deep facial vein. A Penrose drain was placed in the abscess to facilitate drainage and healing. Over the next few weeks the skin incision healed and the abscess and draining tract resolved.