Abstract
There are necropsy reports of stranded cetaceans, where lesions related to sinusitis caused by different pathogens been described.1-3 In this paper, we describe a clinical case diagnosed and successfully treated in a bottlenose dolphin. Xunah is a 27-year-old female bottlenose dolphin who presented with a small bulge in the caudal portion of the palate below where the pterygoid sinus is located. Xunah presented in apparent pain and signs of inflammation. We thought that it was a traumatic injury caused by food or some object. The next day we observed an abscess where the lesion was before. The animal had decreased food intake associated with the pain in the oral cavity. We decided to cooperatively debride the abscess and clean with antiseptics, and systemic antibiotic therapy. The abscess once debrided continued with purulent discharge after one week. Subsequently the lesion began to be associated with signs that had appeared a few years ago as a sporadically discharge of yellow purulent exudate in the right ear. By this point we had a presumptive diagnosis suggesting a probable injury secondary to sinusitis. To reach the right treatment, we used different diagnostic tools such as x-rays, CT scan and real time fluoroscopy.4 The real-time fluoroscopy gave us some images where we could observe the path that the fistula followed with iodinated contrast media. The contrast entered through the right caudal portion palate and continued until reaching the pterygoid sinus continuing to the rostral portion of the bullar sinus, confirming to us that there was a connection between the sinus and the fistula. Once we had a diagnosis we proceeded to administer different local treatments and systemic antibiotics that are described in sinusitis management like amoxicillin clavulanate and supersaturated saline solution. These being the ones that helped the complete recovery.5
*Presenting author
+Student presenter
Literature Cited
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