Incissor removal

Hi All

I have searched this topic on here but am still concerned (pertrified if i'm honest!) for Molly who has to have her front teeth removed this week.
She is just under 18 months old and her front teeth have never really met that well but they have been under control until a few months ago. They have suddenly become very long and no longer even 'just' meet.
They were trimmed 4 weeks ago and on advice I filed them a little each evening so as to try and reduce the need for trimming at the vets. This hasnt helped enough and she needed to have them trimmed again on friday.
I have tried all sorts of hard fruit and veg and gnawing objects but her teeth seem to go crazy growing. The verdict is now that they need to be removed. Trimming every 4 weeks for another ~10 years (god willing) of her life is just not fair on her, and could cause risks of its own such as teeth splitting. It seems the best option for her in the long run. Never the less I am so worried about the operation and the risk of infection afterwards.

Has anyone experienced this situation? How did the op and afterwards go? Any tips?
My vet is very reassuring and is very experienced having removed both incissors and molars and never lost a bunny to infection, she went through the procedure and how they would discourage infection and how they would deal with it should it occur etc... i'm such a worrier and just want to be as perpared as I can be.

Sorry the thread is so long!!

Both me and Sue, my main foster carer, had a bunny go through incisor removal the same week.

Inca's went well, all teeth came away easily and the pulp was thoroughly destroyed. We had arranged for me to be off work for 3 days following his op' to provide intensive nurseing however he was alert within a couple of hours of coming around and started eating pellets mushed with warm water and a teaspoon of apple and blackcurrant baby food within 20 minutes of arriving home.

His follow up care involved Baytril & Metacam for 5 days to prevent infection and relieve pain. He was eating greens the same day and solid pellets within 48 hours.

He was also neutered at the same time as the extraction.

Nero also went well and was eating solids by the following morning. There was a complication with nero's procedure.... one of his upper teeth snapped during the op and was not fully removed.

It is vital the root pulp is thoroughly removed to prevent the teeth growing back. This is quite unpleasent for the vet and observers as it requires quite a bit of force.There is a 10% incident rate of regrowth of removed incisors.

This thread may be interesting: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=115722&highlight=inca

Squidgy (left in my sig) had his incisors removed about 5 years ago, due to the same problem you're having. He was fine after the op - I fed soft, finely cut up food. He has absolutely no problems now. We slice everything for him, and chop his hay, and he sometimes needs an extra hand with grooming if he's moulting heavily. Other than that - no problems at all.
Good luck with it.

Hi,

We have had in two Nethies with incisor problems. Both have had 2 operations and both have pulled through fine.

Hi guys

Thankyou all for the words of encouragement and for all the info ....
I have friday off so will be with her at home until monday too

I have been out and got all her favs for her to eat afterwards and am doing my best to prepare for the big day tomorrow. The thing I am most worried abotu with the post op care is due to the place that she will have wounds how do I keep her from getting any unnecessary infection?? I will be washing her greens and already cut them up for her, and will be giving her a bowl to drink from but what about the hay - shoudl I wash that too? I just have visions of her having gaping wounds and getting things stuck in there... just not sure what to expect on that front ? Sure it isn that bad but I suppose i'm comparing it to when we have teeth out and we know how to cope around it...

Anita opted to try a couple of small sutures on Inca and it seemed to make all the diffrence. He healed very quickly and found eating easier than other rabbits have done in the past.

Antibiotics were a must, he was on enrofloxacin for 7 days.

Thankyou Sooz I have a few questions in mind this morning and stitches was one of them.. Just keeping everything crossed for today for her

Well Molly has had her op and is back home now (phew!)... I have been tasked with the administering of antibiotics (by injection! ouch! and one more shot of painkiller for day 2, since I was injecting) and swabbing the area with salted water twice daily.

Molly has been very good with her eating and drinking and the needles but is being a pain in the whotsit when it comes to the swabbing (her perrogative, since it cant be very pleasant for her)..

I have been told to watch out for pus and to take her in should I find any. I also saw her gums before returning home with her on thursday as a frame of reference.... so far the area looks ok but i'm nto sure exactly what to expect as the area heals...:? I have removed a small piece of grass so far and 2 very small pieces of what can only be described as soft tissue :? and am hoping that these arent solidified pus. There is no smell and nothing 'gooey' so think all is well so far.

Can anyone describe what I shoudl expect to see as the days go on? Is it the same as with all wounds that you may find dead tissue can be removed from time to time? Has anyone experienced pus in the area and what woudl that be like? I know this isn't going to be a pleasant description :shock: but I need to know as much as I can so that I know what to look out for.

Thanks all