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Mouth abscess :( No treatment????!

R

Rabbitsrabbits

New Kit
Hi all.

One of my rabbits a dutch called Mr Tumnus has a huge abscess in his mouth. He's never has problems like this in the last 5 yrs (don't know how old he is as he was a fully grown adult when I got him). It came up and I took him to vet who prescribed antibiotics. He said it may come back and said how difficult they are to treat. It came back so I took him to a different vet and again he said how hard it would be to treat as its in the jaw and so would involve removing bone/teeth and he wouldnt be able to eat (and thats if he made it thro anesthetic as he's elderly) so gave more antibiotics but its not touched it and its now huge and he has pus draining from his eye!! :( I've spoken to both vets and they said if he's still eating (which he is) then he can't be in too much pain and I can just treat with antibiotics- which arent soing anything so i wont do that.

My question is are both these vets right that it can't be treated and is it cruel to keep him alive with this massive abscess?? I can't bear seeing him with it. It sort of drains then builds up again. It;s the biggest its been now. This has been going on about 5 weeks.

Any help/advice would be great please- I want to do the right thing for him
 
Did either of these Vets xray his jaw, or attempt to lance/drain the abscess, and what antibiotic did they give him? where abouts do you live? sorry so many questions. Maybe a different more rabbit savy vet might be able to give you better help or advice.
 
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Rabbitsrabbits said:
Hi all.

One of my rabbits a dutch called Mr Tumnus has a huge abscess in his mouth. He's never has problems like this in the last 5 yrs (don't know how old he is as he was a fully grown adult when I got him). It came up and I took him to vet who prescribed antibiotics. He said it may come back and said how difficult they are to treat. It came back so I took him to a different vet and again he said how hard it would be to treat as its in the jaw and so would involve removing bone/teeth and he wouldnt be able to eat (and thats if he made it thro anesthetic as he's elderly) so gave more antibiotics but its not touched it and its now huge and he has pus draining from his eye!! :( I've spoken to both vets and they said if he's still eating (which he is) then he can't be in too much pain and I can just treat with antibiotics- which arent soing anything so i wont do that.

My question is are both these vets right that it can't be treated and is it cruel to keep him alive with this massive abscess?? I can't bear seeing him with it. It sort of drains then builds up again. It;s the biggest its been now. This has been going on about 5 weeks.

Any help/advice would be great please- I want to do the right thing for him
Click to expand...

It sounds like both of the vets you've tried haven't been exotics specialists and weren't able to give the appropriate care. Rabbits are classed as exotics so you really need an exotics vet - unfortunately this information isn't widely known so many owners are in the same situation as you. Whereabouts are you located? If you post in the rabbit chat section for a 'rabbit savvy vet' in your area you should get some recommendations. Take bunny to an exotics vet and hopefully they may be able to do something for him. Rabbit abscesses are hard to treat as the pus is so thick and antibiotics alone are ineffective. However, a rabbit savvy vet will be able to tackle it much better.

5 (or a few years older) isn't necessarily old or too old for a rabbit. It may be that an experienced vet is also unwilling to do surgery on him due to his age or for other reasons such as an intolerance to anaesthetic that he's displayed in the past for example. However, it's also likely that a rabbit savvy vet may be willing to attempt surgery. Generally it's a bit of a delicate surgery, but depending on the abscess size and affected tissue etc (which can be seen via an x-ray) it may be possible.

If surgery is not possible, your bunny may be able to live a happy life for a little while or a longer while with little intervention. If surgery cannot be done your vet may choose to drain it and put him on antibiotics, which should hopefully keep the abscess at bay - possibly indefinitely. Rabbit abscesses are less painful in rabbits than they are in humans generally, but your bunny should have been put on pain relief. Is bunny on any antibiotics or any medication at all? You mentioned the antibiotics - what antibiotics was he given and how often?

My bunny Nena had surgery for an abscess on her jaw 5 weeks ago. This is her thread, it may make for interesting reading: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?415173-Nena-s-jaw-tooth-root-abscess. If your new vet is willing and able to attempt surgery and prescribes appropriate antibiotics/pain relief it's possible that your bunny could recover. He may well get them again in the future but they may be able to be treated again.

Fingers crossed for you, I really sympathise with you. We'll be here to help and advise you :D
 
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I would certainly want the opinion of a rabbit expert vet. If you tell us whereabouts you are we might know of one near you.

5 is not elderly for a bunny, even if you suspect him to be 6 or 7 I still wouldn't call a bunny elderly till 8 at the earliest!
 
yaretzi said:
If surgery is not possible, your bunny may be able to live a happy life for a little while or a longer while with little intervention. If surgery cannot be done your vet may choose to drain it and put him on antibiotics, which should hopefully keep the abscess at bay - possibly indefinitely.
Click to expand...


^^ This is how one of my bunnies has been treated and she has been abscess free for a year now.
 
yaretzi said:
It sounds like both of the vets you've tried haven't been exotics specialists and weren't able to give the appropriate care. Rabbits are classed as exotics so you really need an exotics vet - unfortunately this information isn't widely known so many owners are in the same situation as you. Whereabouts are you located? If you post in the rabbit chat section for a 'rabbit savvy vet' in your area you should get some recommendations. Take bunny to an exotics vet and hopefully they may be able to do something for him. Rabbit abscesses are hard to treat as the pus is so thick and antibiotics alone are ineffective. However, a rabbit savvy vet will be able to tackle it much better.

5 (or a few years older) isn't necessarily old or too old for a rabbit. It may be that an experienced vet is also unwilling to do surgery on him due to his age or for other reasons such as an intolerance to anaesthetic that he's displayed in the past for example. However, it's also likely that a rabbit savvy vet may be willing to attempt surgery. Generally it's a bit of a delicate surgery, but depending on the abscess size and affected tissue etc (which can be seen via an x-ray) it may be possible.

If surgery is not possible, your bunny may be able to live a happy life for a little while or a longer while with little intervention. If surgery cannot be done your vet may choose to drain it and put him on antibiotics, which should hopefully keep the abscess at bay - possibly indefinitely. Rabbit abscesses are less painful in rabbits than they are in humans generally, but your bunny should have been put on pain relief. Is bunny on any antibiotics or any medication at all? You mentioned the antibiotics - what antibiotics was he given and how often?

My bunny Nena had surgery for an abscess on her jaw 5 weeks ago. This is her thread, it may make for interesting reading: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?415173-Nena-s-jaw-tooth-root-abscess. If your new vet is willing and able to attempt surgery and prescribes appropriate antibiotics/pain relief it's possible that your bunny could recover. He may well get them again in the future but they may be able to be treated again.

Fingers crossed for you, I really sympathise with you. We'll be here to help and advise you :D
Click to expand...

Excellent post!
 
bunniemum said:
^^ This is how one of my bunnies has been treated and she has been abscess free for a year now.
Click to expand...

Ditto: I have a little bun who had an abscess and was treated via the 'lance and drain' method, with ongoing penicillin injections. He's been fine for a couple of years now, and no longer has the injections.

Good luck
 
I would definitely seek out a rabbit-savvy (Exotics specialist) vet.
If you post a thread 'Rabbit-savvy vet needed in .................' someone may be able to recommend one to you.
 
Roger had a nasty abscess under his tongue, and he was 7 at the time, and a very disabled bunny. My vet who is a specialist with rabbits, drained it and treated it aggressively with antibiotics, and it took no more than about 10 days for it to fully clear up and heal and was never a problem again.

I think you really do need to get your bun to a vet a lot more experienced with rabbits, and as far as I am aware, abscessess are extremely painful for rabbits, and he really does need some pain relief. It sounds horrific and as though the infection is getting out of control, especially if it is coming out of his eye as well now, and I really don't think time is on yours or your buns side, and it really does need treating as an emergency issue now.

Hope it gets sorted.
 
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