Expert: Jessica - 8/12/2009

Question
A week ago I found a kitten in the middle of 4 lanes of traffic.  She was bleeding around her eye and from her mouth.  I immediately took her to the vet.  Her eyelid was cut & part of her bottom lip was torn off.  The vet gave me an ointment for her eye and oral antibiotics to administer.  He said that her lip would recover - that it won't look 100% normal, but that she'd be okay.  
I am concerned because she is having a problem with things sticking to her little mouth - litter, food.  I wash it off which does NOT make her happy, but I am concerned that leaving this untended would cause infection to set in.
Is this the best way to handle this?  How long will she have the problem with foreign matter sticking to her mouth/gum area?  Will her lip grow back?  How exactly does a cat's mouth recover from the trauma of her lip being torn off?
I have searched the internet and have yet to come across anything close to her condition.  I've seen where a cat's lip was torn & stitched up, but nothing about how their lip can recover.  Please help!

Answer
Hi Becky.  The poor baby!  But she is luck you found her.  If the lip was torn off, then it won’t grow back, unfortunately.  Scar tissue will form in its place, but the kitty should function just fine.  

Traumas like this can be difficult to treat.  Since the tissue flap has been removed completely, there is nothing to suture it to.  And because there is such a wide gap in the flesh, the body can have difficulty closing the wound with granular tissue – the foundation of healing, where new blood vessels and collagen form.  There are ointments that can be applied that help form this bond, such as Granulex.  However, because of the location of your kitten’s injury, the vet may suspect that the she would just lick the ointment off, causing more harm than good, and he is almost certainly right.  In this location, I think that only time will heal the wound.  It may take a few weeks, but slowly, you should see the wound begin to become less sticky and heal from the edges inward.

As for cleaning it, you do want to make sure nothing becomes stuck to it to prevent infection.  But over-drying the wound will lead to delayed healing, so if you are using an antibacterial or soap when cleaning the wound, limit its use to 2-3 times daily.  For in between cleanings when food or litter gets stuck to the wound, use only warm water to remove debris.

Best wishes to you both!