Gunshot Injuries to a Dog's Face

Facial injury from a gunshot is a serious emergency.  The degree of soft and hard tissue destruction is related to the caliber of the gun, the orientation of the bullet penetration, the type of bullet (hollow point) and the distance between gun and the point of penetration.

After the critical care issues are stabilized, dog jaw fracture repair is a very important management issue. Jaw fracture stabilization allows the dog to return the mouth function and substantially reduce pain.  Feeding tubes are always useful in the early phase of patient management to allow easy feeding and medication administration.  Many pet patients, however, return to eating and drinking with adequate stabilization, after being treated for a facial gunshot injury.  In our experience, pet owners are very surprised and pleased to see how well their pets function immediately after surgery.