Ferret with an Ossifying Epulis of Periodontal Ligament Origin

Fidgit is a 5 year old female ferret presented with a firm mass surrounding the base of the left upper canine tooth. Note the raised area of pink tissue above the tooth.

A digital dental radiograph was taken and an area of raised mineralized tissue was seen (arrow).

The ferret was anesthetized and a punch biopsy was taken and submitted to the veterinary pathologist to determine what this was. The pathologist report came back as an ossifying epulis which is and rare tumor in the ferret. The tumor is benign (not likely to spread elsewhere in body) and originated from the periodontal ligament which normally holds the tooth in place in the bony tooth socket. In this case a large amount of bone matrix predominated in the biopsy core and therefore it was termed an “ossifying epulis”.

Even though the tumor was determined to be benign, it could still grow locally and invade the surrounding tissue until it became uncomfortable. Therefore it was decided to take Fidgit to surgery to remove the mass while it was still small. In this image a scalpel has been used to cut the surrounding gum tissue and now a freer elevator is being used to loosen and elevate the gum tissue away form surrounding bone.

Next a high speed dental drill with a burr attachment was used to cut the bone that surrounds the epulis tumor.

The canine tooth and surrounding tumor and bone is then elevated and removed.

Quite a defect is left in the upper jaw area where the tumor was removed.

In order to control bleeding, VetSpon®, a dissolvable hemostatic sponge, is packed into the defect. This is followed by Consil®, a synthetic bone graft particulate that encourages new bone formation.

Lastly the surrounding gum tissue is sutured over the defect in order to finish the job. Fidgit required several days of force feeding Oxbow Carnivore Care, a food supplement for ferrets that can be mixed into a palatable gruel for syringe feeding