05/06/2026
A pesky grass seed was causing all the issues for Mallow.😱
Amazing work at the New Zealand Veterinary Dentistry Ltd. 😍
Meet lovely Mallow 💛
Mallow presented to us with unusual and concerning signs of suddenly being very painful, with a protruding left eye, and the inability to open his mouth fully.
He was referred to the wonderful Dr Crystal at New Zealand Veterinary Dentistry Ltd., where he underwent an urgent CT scan to assess the structures in his head to try and locate a source of the problem. There was potentially a very small foreign object located deep within the orbit of the left eye, behind the globe, but it was so small it was hard to declare definitively.
During the treatment period, he improved in his ability to open his mouth, but the swelling returned repeatedly, and prominently. He returned to see Dr. Shanaka, for an ultrasound of the area, as now the suspicion for a possible migrating foreign body was higher.
Using ultrasound guidance, Dr. Shanaka found the true culprit – a tiny grass seed! He was able to carefully retrieve this from the delicate area around the eye whilst preserving all the eye and surrounding structures, no easy feat by any means! The above pictures slow the location of the grass seed on a model, and the guilty seed itself!
Mallow made a full recovery with no further complications, and all clinical symptoms resolved, much to the delight of his devoted family and veterinary team. Truly a fantastic result and a great demonstration of the value of close teamwork between primary care veterinarians and specialists to achieve the best possible outcome for our patients.
