Paging Hutash or other vets 12.5 Year old Golden with Sinus Fungus.

[skideeppow]

Hi, I have a 12.5 year male golden retriever. 4 weeks ago, he started discharging out of his right nostril. He had no loss of appetite or energy level. I took him to the vet, and they said it could be a foxtail or something in there that was aggravating the nose. They did not recommend anything.

After another few days, blood appeared in the discharge. I went back to the vet, and they did a CT scan. The radiology report is in the pictures below. There were two spots on the scan that were concerning. They prescribed some antibiotics and recommended a rhinoscope procedure. This was tough, as there are no vets in this area who do that procedure.
The bloody discharge had gotten worse and about halfway through the anti-biotic regimen (last Sunday) I woke up and it looked like some was murdered in my house. My dog had been sneezing and blood was everywhere. By day's end, the bloody discharge had gotten better, but it was still an issue. We found someone who could do the rhinoscopy on Tuesday.
They went in and did not find anything. The two spots that showed on the CT scan appeared to be gone. I was wondering if he sneezed them out. They took a culture of the tissue, and CSU has confirmed 90% that it is a fungus.

They flushed his nose really well, and the discharge had gotten better, but it has come back. It is mostly clear with some green in it and a little blood. The green and blood are not constantly present in the discharge. Additionally, my dog aged from the CT scan the rhinoscopy. He is unsteady and moves very slowly,while also peeing in the house.

I took him to CSU this morning, a 4 hour drive each way. The fungus is basically eating the bone matter in his head. There are two treatments:
1. Oral medication. This is very had on the dog with tough side effects and it does not work so well.
2. Surgery, where they drill a hole in his head and directly apply the medication. This will be very hard on a 12. 5 year old dog.

I have a follow-up appointment with internal medicine at CSU in three weeks.

I wanted to see if any of the vets have experience with either of these treatments and what their thoughts are. I am afraid that the fungus will start to get painful before my next appointment. Right now he is not bothered from the fungus. But the procedures really set him back .

[Core Shot]

Ouch. Goldies are the best. You got maybe two and a half more years left. 15 is the usual if they don’t have genetic defects.

Never heard of dog fungus. Vibes.

[DBdude]

My ex father in law died from a nasal fungus while being treated for leukemia

It was a real kick in the nuts for everyone


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[skideeppow]

Ouch. Goldies are the best. You got maybe two and a half more years left. 15 is the usual if they don’t have genetic defects.

Never heard of dog fungus. Vibes.

I know. And the Ct scan and rhinoscopy kicked his ass.
I’m not going to put him down and he does not appear to be in pain. But I guess if he regresses I’ll have to make that decision.

[bennymac]

Aww that’s a good looking good boy. I’m not a vet so can’t offer advice - just vibes. This shit is hard on the heart - pets go from being like newborns to kids to adults to elderly family members in such a short span of time - it’s like a microcosm of life. And they’re generally so innocent which makes it that much more difficult when facing these decisions.

You could try the oral meds and if he’s tolerating it great and if not then decide if surgery is a good idea?

[Danno]

I lost my golden at 13, went from happy and healthy to heart failure over 48 hours. He was the best boy and I still miss him.

I got nothing for you but +++vibes+++; good luck to your buddy.

[PB]

Not a vet (married to one though - I'll run it by her later), but after having my own nasal fungus issues, I can attest to invasive fungal infections such as your dog's, being utterly brutal. At that age, as you've alluded to, the treatment is probably worse than the immediate disease. Anti-fungals are comparable to cancer chemo, even if directly applied. Provide all the love, care and support you can, until it's time.

[skideeppow]

Not a vet (married to one though - I'll run it by her later), but after having my own nasal fungus issues, I can attest to invasive fungal infections such as your dog's, being utterly brutal. At that age, as you've alluded to, the treatment is probably worse than the immediate disease. Anti-fungals are comparable to cancer chemo, even if directly applied. Provide all the love, care and support you can, until it's time.

Thank you.