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What to do with Shaun...

vee-jay

Mama Doe
Well, it hase been concluded that Shaun's eye ulcer is not responding to either the Ticail or the fucithalmic drops. So my options are now this.

Be referred to **** vet to a specilist. It would cost £140 just for a consulation, £60 follow ups. They are most likely going to say teh same as my normal vet..and still charge me £140...

Take a culture off the eye and send it away to be tested, to see if its pasturela, in which case we would change his medicine to something called Exocin and a type of Baytril. Problem with that is he would have to be off his Tiacil for 2 weeks...and whenever we have taken him off it before, the infection came back and made his eye worse Also, i doubt its pasturella...

Just change the meds anyway, with out taking culture.

and then eye removal...

Its a tricky one, He dosent appear to be in any pain, he is a happy wee bunny, though obv it would be better if i didnt have to give him 2 sets of eye drops 3 times a day.Also I would prefer him not to go under GA as he is a problem rabbit and I suspect his insides may be messed up.

My vet doubts we will be able to get sight back
so unless we can make the eye more comfertable/ stable long term. Looks like eye removal.
Im just so sad, i was (stupidly) hoping he would be able to see even just a little again

Anyone had anything like this before?
what were the outcomes?
 
hi...personally i think just remove the eye... it sounds harsh but he will cope really well without it.we had a bun who was blind and he was fine getting about...not just the money but the trips back and forward to the vets,treatments etc is bound to stress him.you have tried to save his eye but i think its time to be realistic and think of his quality of life. it must be annoying for him ,if not sore not to mention being medicated and prodded etc.
i think you have done a great job in trying to save his eye so dont see this as a negative with the thought of losing an eye. hope all goes well in whatever you decide and he is well very soon:)
 
Thanks very much for your thoughts:)
Your right, he has put up with a lot and been such a good bunny through it all. He has mental problems as well, so gets confused easily bless him.
 
Shaun

Poor little poppit. But our Bandit is now completely blind and manages fine esp with his little friend Rose nearby. Also we always talk to him to reassure him to stop him getting startled. i hope you decide what you think is best for Shaun and that it goes well, whatever you decide. He looks such a darling. Vet bills are horrendous-- so many animals must go without treatment because fees are so sky high. Shebunkin
 
We found our 7 yr old rex Penny had a big eye ulcer in early May and the vet started us off with daily eye drops (chloramphenicol) and painkiller (metacam). The ulcer just wasn't responding after a couple of months despite gentle 'debriding' and a grid scoring procedure that the vet was able to do under local anaesthetic. The eye didn't seem infected so the vet recommended a '3rd eyelid' op where I think they stitch shut this extra eyelid for about 2 weeks to try to encourage uninterrupted healing underneath. This seemed to help it turn a corner and when the lid was opened, 'vascularisation' had started at last (healthy blood vessels starting to show at the edges of the eye). We continued the very gentle non invasive regime of daily eye drops (twice a day) and painkiller and slowly but surely the eye ulcer appears to have healed. So that's 5 months.

I was very nervous of the anaesthetic but she was healthy in other ways: eating and pooing normally so a good prospect I suppose. There have been a lot of visits to the vet so we also worried about stress tho she's always been quite a calm tolerant bunny. The worst part was the vet wanted her to wear a trumpet collar after the eyelid op to stop her scratching the eye and this distressed her so much that we just had to take it off. We approached it the other way by keeping her foot lightly 'sock bandaged' but I don't know what we would've done if she had then scratched the eyelid open again.

I've read that it is notoriously difficult and can take an awfully long time for these eye ulcers to heal, especially in older buns and felt that with Penny, patience was the key thing and presumably the 3rd eyelid procedure to get healing to start. At no point did the vet mention removing her eye and I felt very grateful for her approach which seems to have worked - for Penny anyway.

Good luck with deciding what to do with your poor bun. Penny was pretty healthy and apparently quite robust with some of the stresses so I think it's really difficult to know what's best for another bun with the same problem.
 
Thank you very much for your inputs:)
I think, before I decide to take out the eye, i will take him to the specilist and see what they say. Just because I have heard that taking the eye out is quite a risky procedure, and with him not being the healthiest of buns..

Vee
your case sounds very similar to my little ones (he to has had many debridements). I will talk to the vet about the possibility of a 3rd eye lid opp. As said he isnt the healthiest, but he is young.
 
Aw poor bun :( I wouldn't make any decision without him seeing a specialist. So many normal vets get bunny medicine wrong. It's a shame you're so far away-my vets specialises in eyes. I wonder if you could call him and ask his opinion, maybe he could recommend someone nearer to you, who won't cost so much? If you feel your buns eye removal op could cause him other issues with his insides-then it's surely worth exploring this - you've nothing to lose :) it's riversmeet vets tel 01827 63841 his name's simon patterson. If you explain one of their clients recommende his advice on your rabbit's eye issue-he'll call you back :) it's worth a try x x fingers crossed for you both :)
 
The eye didn't seem infected so the vet recommended a '3rd eyelid' op where I think they stitch shut this extra eyelid for about 2 weeks to try to encourage uninterrupted healing underneath. This seemed to help it turn a corner and when the lid was opened, 'vascularisation' had started at last (healthy blood vessels starting to show at the edges of the eye).

I have also heard of this procedure, or a very similar procedure. :)
 
it sounds like something worth trying , the third eyelid op.....i hope that whatever you decide to do for shaun, he gets better in no time:D
 
i would see the specialist and see what they say. whatever happens it will end up costing alot so better to pay that to someone who is highly trained. good luck x
 
eye ulcers slow to clear-- good luck

Sorry I don't have advice-- just to share that Bandit whose persistent large central eye ulcers were diagnosed in May has recently beenchecked and one eye is almost completely clear and in the other the ulcer has dramatically reduced.
Eye vet though the was too old and for debridement, and just recommended palliative treatment of once a day fucithalmic. She thought eye lube drops would inhibit ulcer healing. I stopped the Septrin antibiotic drops 2 weeeks ago and just give Metacam once a day for his pain/discomfort. I now only put Fucithalmic in the bad eye. If there is white goop which happens occasionally in bad eye, I give an 2nd Fucithalmic eyedrop later in day. We tried Tiacil earlier. I think he is improving!

So don't lose hope--sometimes ulcers CAN get better, even if more or less on their own. Good luck, Shebunkin
 
Thanks everyone, very much, your thoughts are all very much appriciated!

We are going to phone my vet and talk to him about thr third eye lid opperation, see what he says about that. Then I think we will make an appointment with the specialist.

linzi1loveanimals, thank you for the phone nucmber :)
I think I may call him about Shaun or suggest my vet calling him.

shebunkin, we had him on the fucithalmic a wee while back, but the vet changed it back to tiacil, I dont know why he did it, but maybe he fucithalmic may help him more now. Is wierd as our vet is always on about the vsicotears (eye lube drops) helping :lol:
 
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