09/23/2026
This is quite a long post, but any time taken to read it and any advice or experiences shared would be massively appreciated. ❤️
Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone might have some experience with this or be able to point me in the right direction because I’m willing to explore every possible option for my girl.
My 6-year-old Cane Corso, Yeti, has been diagnosed through biopsies/histopathology with a peripheral odontogenic fibroma (POF), also called fibromatous epulis of periodontal ligament origin (FEPLO). It is a benign tumour in her gums and her pathology report specifically says that it should not invade the underlying bone or metastasise elsewhere in her body.
She originally had biopsies taken in June and then surgery in August. During the August surgery they removed a large amount of the mass, removed three of her upper front teeth and removed some underlying tissue/bone. Unfortunately they weren’t able to completely remove everything during that operation. A second lot of tissue was sent away because the vet was concerned by how quickly it seemed to be growing, but this again came back confirming benign POF/FEPLO.
The pathology report says the tumour extended to the margins of the tissue removed, meaning complete removal couldn’t be confirmed, and specifically says regrowth is possible. Unfortunately that is exactly what’s happened. In around 6–7 weeks it has grown significantly again and is now extending onto her palate/previous surgical flap and becoming ulcerated.
She went back in yesterday for what was supposed to be another operation, but once she was under anaesthetic the vet decided not to proceed. We’ve been told another invasive operation at this stage may only give her around 6–9 months of improvement, whereas without further surgery they are concerned her quality of life could deteriorate significantly within the next few months because of the location, ulceration and pain.
Yeti is only six and she is my absolute world, so I’m not ready to just accept that there are no other options without exploring everything first.
I’m going back to the vets to ask for a referral/second opinion from a veterinary dental/oral and maxillofacial specialist, particularly to find out whether complete/en-bloc removal with clean margins could still be possible rather than simply debulking it again.
In the meantime, has anyone here had a Cane Corso (or another dog) with a peripheral odontogenic fibroma/FEPLO or recurrent epulis, particularly one that grew back very quickly after surgery?
I’d really appreciate hearing about anything you tried specialist surgeons, more extensive surgery, treatments that slowed regrowth, C*D or other complementary treatments, diet/supplements, pain management, or honestly anything else that helped. I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone whose dog had a recurrence and then went on to have successful treatment.
I’m not looking to replace veterinary treatment with home remedies and obviously I’ll check anything suggested with her vet. I just want to make sure I’ve explored every reasonable avenue available to her before I accept that all we can do is keep her comfortable.
Thank you if you’ve read all of this. Any experiences, recommendations or even names of specialists you’ve used would be massively appreciated. ❤️
