Abscess pls advise

I noticed about 4 wks ago my rabbit Roger had a lump on the right hand side of his face. I took him to the vet who said it was an abscess he has been on baytril daily since. It has been lanced once but by the next evening it was back. The vet has basically said this is the beginning of the end. The vet has said that it's not worth operating as unless you get every last bit of abscess it will just keep reoccurring. Roger is now also on metacam as a painkiller incase it bursts. Hes 8yrs old which the vet said is elderly and he is the oldest rabbit I've ever owned. I've been planning his cremation expecting the worst and dreading the day I have to make the decision to call it a day. He's been so lively today and I just found your website which has given me hope reading about another rabbit lasting over 3yrs with an abscess, but I'm confused what is this honey? Any advise is most welcome please

Sorry for this rushed response, hope these links will be helpful

*warning some graphic images in links*

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Absc_treat/abscess_treat.htm

http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/FacialAbscessesRabbits.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...found-their-match-in-manuka-bees-2266938.html

Many thanks for you response. I will ask my vet about the beads see what she says. My only concern would be Rogers age 8yrs and the anaesthetic do you know of any older rabbits having survived surgery I don't want him to die on the table.

I would suggest the use of injectable antibiotics.
Rabbits are given baytril because it's one their stomach can stand but it's not very strong. I have treated abscesses with depocillin which is a penicillin. This is lethal to rabbits if they take it orally so he had injections every three days for eight weeks. I was taught by the vet how to do the injections and did them at home myself. This was combined with him having a general anaesthetic and having it cleaned out first though.

Could your vet ring up a specialist and discuss the use of depocilin? Our vets didn't have it in stock but they spoke to some specialists about its use (after my persistent persuasion) and have subsequently saved my rabbit's life and now two others that I know of.

The worry with the general anaesthetic is that it could cause other problems. If he's otherwise healthy I would probably go for the anaesthetic and get it cleaned out, then start a course of injectable antibiotics. Many rabbits are fine at any age having a general anaesthetic. Usually if there are complications it is due to underlying problems like heart issues, so if he's healthy and your vet is competent there shouldn't be a problem.

I know how awful rabbit abscesses are so wishing you both lots of luck. Please don;t be afraid to get a second opinion from another vet if you're not happy with yours. You can always make a thread in General Chat asking for a good vet in your area. :wave:

Sounds like maybe your vet does not deal with that many rabbits? I have had a nine year old survive a kidney removal!!! So 8 is not THAT old for an op!

regarding the abscess . . we too are struggling with an abscess at present. However in a way having one that actually present to the outside world (rather than inside the inner ear etc) is god news as it can be cut and drained and then with a course of INJECTED (NOT ORAL) penicillin and perhaps insertion of antibiotic beads - there is every chance of remission.

However it does sound like you may need to ask your vet for a referral to a rabbit specialist vet.

If you have problems post a thread on here asking for information on good rabbit vets in your area OR the big specialists around the country (though it should not need that).

Good Luck!

Age is not a reason to rule out treatment options though perhaps a blood test prior to surgery would be sensible to check how he is coping and tailor his anaesthetic protocol to his exact health status. I always like to take xrays of the head of abscess bunnies too so the surgery technique can be planned in advance and an idea of likely success is known before surgery.
marie

marie_kubiak said:

Age is not a reason to rule out treatment options though perhaps a blood test prior to surgery would be sensible to check how he is coping and tailor his anaesthetic protocol to his exact health status. I always like to take xrays of the head of abscess bunnies too so the surgery technique can be planned in advance and an idea of likely success is known before surgery.
marie

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You can't get better advice than that! Our bun also had a CT scan but thats because it was deep in the inner ear.

Great advice, as always, from Maria. Where is the abscess? One of my buns, Totti, is over 9 and we have been treating his ear abscess since November last year. I can send you the info if it helps.

The abscess is on his right 'cheek' it's about as big as a ping pong ball. It has been weeping the last couple of days but he's kept it clean himself there was a small hole which now looks to have scabbed over. I appreciate every bodies help and have phoned my vet to discuss these antibiotic beads unfortunately she's away til Tuesday but I've left a message and she will call me back. She's one of the two vets at the practice I fully trust with Roger. I want to do the best for him but it all sounds v expensive any idea how much I'm looking at for x rays, bloods, anaesthetic, antibiotic beads etc

I would think that you would have to keep the hole open in order to drain the pus.
I can only compare what I'm doing with Tottis abscess i.e. he has the drain hole re-opened when it closes over (currently every 2 weeks, roughly). Once the hole has healed, you see the pus build up and a couple of times I've got him to the Vets before it was going to burst. I soften the scab with a cotton bud that has been dipped in boiled water that has been cooled slightly.

Good luck

Rog said:

The abscess is on his right 'cheek' it's about as big as a ping pong ball. It has been weeping the last couple of days but he's kept it clean himself there was a small hole which now looks to have scabbed over. I appreciate every bodies help and have phoned my vet to discuss these antibiotic beads unfortunately she's away til Tuesday but I've left a message and she will call me back. She's one of the two vets at the practice I fully trust with Roger. I want to do the best for him but it all sounds v expensive any idea how much I'm looking at for x rays, bloods, anaesthetic, antibiotic beads etc

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Vets vary incredible in their pricing so it would be very tricky to say - depends mostly on location (of vet).

For mine that lot would be about £300- £400 - but I know a lot would be much much cheaper (I am in Cambridge and my vet is one of the more expensive in the area)

Many thanks to everybody whose helped. I have now spoken to my vet and she is pretty sure the abscess will involve bone. I asked about the beads but as she has never done these said I would need to be referred to a specialist but our nearest is over an hour away, and as Roger gets stressed going 5 mins down the rd in the car I'm not sure I want to take him that far. She did say about using the manuka honey to draw the puss out, my husband has seen 15+ UMF would this be ok or should it be stronger?

Without an xray there really isn't way to know whether it will include bone or not. Were you offerred an xray?

Hello! both my buns have root tooth abcsess's, i was devastated when i found out about my oldest (nearly 9 years old) getting a abcsess and then a few months ago my other bun who is 4 years old got one too but rabbits are true fighters! unfortunatly casper has so many other issues, we could not operate and my other bun poppy had a op and had the whole abcsess removed in one and bit of her root too , (she had a x-ray too), her abcsess was then taken to a lab to find the best antibiotic to kill the infection... unfortunatly there was no antibiotic that was affective. But i do think its well worth doing as if there is a antibiotic that can kill your buns infection i would try anything the honey has to be 25 plus it needs to be strong, unlike abcsess's in other animals, rabbit abcesess's are very hard to treat. Has the abcsess been flushed or removed? sorry if you had said before, only just saw this. Im gguessing your buns on pain relief too? i can say rabbits can live very happy lives with them aslong as the abcsess is managed. I would dicuss with your vet about further treatment like finding the right antibiotic, gives the best chance on recovery my thread is http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=271033 feel free to have a look, shows my ups and downs from when i first found out about caspers abcsess. Hope this helps. every bun is different and needs different treatment. keep strong , it can be tiring and hard work, iv become a full time carer when im home but its worth it when i see them running rounf the garden happy xx

Hi

Sorry you're having to deal with this.

I will summarise my experience with an abcess in case it's any use to you.

I adopted a rabbit (Sorrel) who had previously had a jaw abcess removed surgically. I was informed that the hole where it had been removed was left open, and that she didn't currently need treatment.


She was fine for a few months but then the hole started seeping a bit of pus, so she was put on antibiotics. I also cleaned it out daily with a cotton bud dipped in hibiscrub, then packed it with manuka honey. If you use this get the strongest you can, I think i found a 20+ one in one of the health food shops, but you might get higher online.

This seemed to control although not eliminate the infection. She was in great spirits for the next 2 years and you wouldn't have known she had anything wrong with her - although she did also get molar spurs which needed periodic burring. A couple of teeth became loose and had to be removed, too.

In the end she got a sudden, severe respiratory infection. She was suffering badly and I had to have her put to sleep. The vet said that ordinarily it would be worth treating the infection further, but that Sorrel was run down from the remaining low level bone infection from the abcess, which is why the respiratory problem hit her so hard.

Her problems were more complex than just the abcess though, the x rays of her teeth were horrific, her roots were growing up to her eyes and down through her lower jaw, everything misaligned, horrible. From what I know of rabbit teeth I suspect all the problems were interrelated.


So to sum up - all cases are different - but for Sorrel it was definitely worth the initial surgical procedure. She was so happy and lively for two whole years afterwards!

I do wonder if better post-surgical treatment cold have helped her live longer. She was kept on Baytril for two years and I wish I had got a culture + sensitivity test done to see if this was the most effective antibiotic, or whether there was a better one we could try.

Wishing you all the best for your bun. I won't lie, abcesses in rabbits are difficult to treat - but it doesn't automatically mean he must be PTS straight away. Hopefully you can find suitable treatment to buy him as much more time as possible.

I have an eight year old bunny that just developed an abscess on his left shoulder. I was concerned about his age and was not sure about surgery as an option. The vet and I decided to go a more conservative route. The vet used a syringe to draw out the out the pus and then flushed the area with a betadine/saline solution. Blue (my bunny) was also put on orbax and metacam. After the first vet visit the abscess seemed to disappear. Two days later he was swollen all over again so the vet again drew out the pus and flushed the area. That was a week ago. Blue is still on pain meds and antibiotics. I do a hot compress five times a day and the small remaining swollen area is gradually going down and Blue is acting more and more like himself.

I don't know if the abscess will come back again, but for right now Blue is feeling much better and looking great.

Good luck to you and your bunny. I hope everything goes well for the both of you

Tinkerbell had a very large jaw abscess which was operated on and packed with antibiotic beads. It wasn't possible to remove all of it but the majority was removed.

She survived for another 12 months after the operation and the abscess never became large in that time.

Many thanks for all your replies it's nice to hear everyones experiences. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet just trying to think everything over and discussing options with my husband. I think I need another chat with my vet so once I've got everything straight in my head and know what I want to ask etc I'll give her a call.

Rog said:

Many thanks for all your replies it's nice to hear everyones experiences. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet just trying to think everything over and discussing options with my husband. I think I need another chat with my vet so once I've got everything straight in my head and know what I want to ask etc I'll give her a call.

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Thats a good idea Every rabbit is different and needs different care and treatment, only you know your bun. I usally write a list down of things id like to ask my vet, as when i get to the vets i forget everything lots of vibes for whatever path you decide to go xx