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Charlie's abcess is back u/d it's burst

lotsofsmoggies

lotsofsmoggies

Mama Doe
Says it all really. 3 weeks ago he had it removed. Tomorrow he is back at the vets. It is the size of a large marble already.

I'm not a happy bunny and nor is he. Now what? Would it be worth going through a op again? Or just have it drained? How do they drain a bunny abcess? I need a hitting head against a brick wall smilie.
 
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Aww these abcesses are a :censored: nightmare, Billy had 2 ops 3 wks apart, then another popped up, the 2nd op he had really took it out of him, which wasnt like Billy.Have you had an xray done, too see if the teeth are the major factor here.xDeb:D
 
Bobby had an operation for his abcess (tooth root) last November. He had the upper and lower incisors removed on the side of the abcess.
Since then he has had it drained at the vets when needed. This can be anything from 10 days apart to two months apart.
Sadly the abcess has entered into the bone, so I have been advised that another operation would not actually be very useful.
Bobby is still living happily, although he has lost some weight (it's creeping back up now). We know it will be the abcess that kills him, but he is coping with it just fine at the moment. I'm extremely proud of him actually, as he is doing so much better than we expected and lives his life to the full.
It's difficult to know what to do as each bunny is different and each abcess is different.
Lots of vibes, and I hope he feels better soon.
 
Where abouts is Charlie's abscess?Has he been on antibiotics since he had the last one removed?I would ask you vet to do a culture to see which bacteria you are dealing with
 
Its on the side of his jaw right near the front, sort of like if its was human it would be just before the chin. It has come back in exactly the same place. He was only on metacam/baytril for 7 days after the op but on his second wound check he had slight swelling (so I had a feeling then we would end up back to square one) so was placed back on them both. Tomorow is the day of his 3rd wound check even though he has healed the abcess has just returned. Think I'll be getting the wet behind the ears vet to get someone I trust in on it. Checking a wound is one thing but I'm not having him go UMMM again at me, before suggesting to go back on baytril/metacam.


I'm just at a loss of what could be the next steps. And he is hiding today, feels like he has lost some condition, I'm really worried. :cry:
 
I've just checked Charlie and its has burst there is pus coming out of it. What on earth do I clean it with? His last one burst the night before his op, but it was twice as big. Is this a good or a really bad thing? Help. Is cleaning it a good idea?
 
Flush the abscess with a sterile saline solution.
I suspect the infection is actually in a tooth root. A Skull Xray would give some indication as to the extent of the infection and if it has gone into the bone (osteomyelitis)
Baytril is seldom useful for treating abscesses. An injectable Penicillin or Cephalexin would be better as they have better tissue penetration including bone

The abscess will need removing again and a swab could be taken from the abscess wall. Just sampling the pus will be useless. Rabbit pus is often sterile.

Good luck and sending vibes

:)
 
One last thing to add if you are not happy with the way your vet is treating charlie why dont you put a post up and ask people on the forum if there are any really good bunny vets in your area.Good luck with Charlie
 
Personally, I would seek a second opinion from a rabbit savvy vet if you are not entirely happy. A culture can be taken to determine the best antibiotic, although they sometimes come back as 'sterile' and don't tell you anything so be warned, thats what happened to me when mollys abscess returned for the 3rd time...we were still no clearer on the best antibiotic to use. I definantly recommend a full head xray to determine the source of infection and to see how far the infection has progressed.

Try cleaning the wound with a saline solution, i found wiping the pus away with cotton wool soaked in the solution to help...as it can be a beast to clean.

I'm so sorry that the abscess has returned....i know how it feels. Mollys abscess returned 3 times (just below his ear) before I took action and found a different vet who performed surgery to reconstruct his ear. He has been abscess free since Jan (touch wood) and its been 18 months since the first occurance and hes now a very happy bunny. :)

Sending lots of vibes to Charlie x x x x x x x
 
So starting point is an x-ray of his jaw. And see what that shows. Is that an GA thing? Hate having him put under.

My normal vet is very good with rabbits but I've delt with this, just out of vet school, vet to deal with wound checks just because I suppose its straight forward, but I don't think he'll know what to do when I ask for another vets opinion.
 
Sadly Jaw Abscesses in Rabbits are seldom 'straight forward' and really need aggressive treatment from the outset.

If he were my Bun I would expect the Vet to GA him, surgically remove the abscess- the entire capsule if at all possible. I would also want Xrays taken to show if any infection has gone into the bone. If this has occured it is not very good news :cry:
As Charlie has already been on Baytril I am not sure if a swab of the abscess wall would be that useful :?
I would expect the Vet to prescribe either Depocillin Injections or Cephalexin Injections aswell as good pain relief ( Metacam and possibly an opiate such as Vetergesic or Torbugesic ).
The abscess should be left open and you will need to flush it out several times a day. A dilute Hibiscrub solution can be used for this. I would then pack the abscess cavity with Manuka Honey

http://www.manukahoney.co.uk/article3.html

Obviously all this ^^^^^ is my unqualified opinion but it is what I would hope that my Vet would agree to.

Here are some useful references you may want to print off to show the Vet

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/jawabscess.html
http://jcm.asm.org/cgi/content/full/40/3/1044?view=full&pmid=11880435

:)
 
Some vets also recommend putting antibiotics into the cleaned wound itself..could be worth asking about.
sending vibes for him
 
I also agree with the honey you need to get the highest strength manuka honey.I always use one with a 25 or 30 UMF factor.You can get it in holland and barret.My spaniel has just had an abscess on her back and I cleaned the wound every day and packed it with honey.She is now better
 
Thank you everyone, it seems like a long road ahead. His appointment is 9:30am, I'll update you as soon as I can.

Since I cleaned the wound he is more lively again, so the pressure must have been huge on his jaw.
 
aw poor lil thing, surely now its burst he will be a little more comfortable as i have learnt with my teeth in the end its best the area infected is removed in the long run as all its takes is one little bit left inside to start off again, i understand its not a simple procedure, (and boy do i know about complications in teeth) must be ten times worse for a bun, shame a bun cant gargle saline, sending lots of nose rubs and vibes,
 
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