Anyone had rabbits undergo gut surgery to remove a blockage?

Barney has impaction of the gut (see other thread). It is not a full blockage, and he has responded well to fluids and gut stimulants, but I realise that there is the chance that it will turn into a full-on obstruction of the gut. If that happened, I would probably need to make a quick decision about whether to put him down or go ahead with the op, so I'm trying to gather what info I can about it, just in case.

If you've had a rabbit undergo the surgery, I'd be grateful for your experiences. If applicable, I'd also like to hear about the recovery period, how long it was and how it affected them and whether they had any long-term problems or effects. I'd also like to know what you felt about their quality of life after the operation.

So much depends on exactly where in the GI tract the obstruction is. All surgery on the GI tract is very high risk.

Getting through surgery is only the first hurdle and afterwards possible risks include severe infection, the formation of surgical adhesions (possibly causing another obstruction) and the possibility that gut motility cannot be restored.

I have had 3 Rabbits undergo surgery for a full obstruction. One was caused by a botched spay (NOT a spay done my my current Vet). The Doe survived surgery and appeared to recover well. But sadly post surgical adhesions formed and a few weeks later she obstructed again and I had to let her go The other two surgical cases involved an obstruction in the pylorus. Both Rabbits survived surgery but died within 36 hours after

However, there are some people on here who have more positive outcomes for their Rabbits. As I said, so much depends on the exact location of the obstruction.

Is Barney's imapaction in his cecum ? Has the Vet tried SQ fluids/Cisipride/Lactulose for at least 7 consecutive days ? Or Domperidone rather than Cisipride. As a last resort the use of prostaglandin has been successful in a few cases of cecal impaction

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...ge&q=prostaglandin rabbit obstruction&f=false

Has the Vet run a full blood profile ?

Hi nessar my lance had surgery for a blockage around this time last year. He came through it but lost a lot of weight. After about 2 weeks of intensive nursing he was eatting and back to good health and put weight back on. Unfortunately 3 months later I lost him and am not exactly sure the reason he died but think it was a stasis issue and I have high suspicion now that he was a mega colon bun. My vet let me down terribly in this case even though he did a great surgery. My Rosie had a full blockage / impaction (secondary to a tooth root absess) in December and she went to a rabbit specialist vet 60 miles from me. She was admitted for 9 days and treated with cisapride and zantac 3 times a day plus 3 times a day belly massage and critical care feeding. They said cisapride is far superior to metacolpramide and since using it in conjuction with everything else they haven't had to operate on a bun for a blockage. Rosie has made a full and complete recovery. I just wish I had known about them for my lance. I understand the stress u are underunder and hope barney recovers. Sending vibes for u both. Just want to add that when Rosie was sick if it wasn't for jacks Jane advice which prompted the vet change Rosie would not be here .

Willow had a complete blockage - although it is several years ago and I cannot quite recall where - may be able to check back on here.

She had surgery more or less immediately as she was blowing up like a football - The culprit was a large 'foot tuft' of hair.

She survived and is still with us many years later. We had a very skilled vet.

Roger had a very positive outcome from his surgery for a blockage. My vet said it is very important to determine what is causing the blockage, as that determines the best way to then proceed.

Fortunately, my vet is a highly experienced specialist, and tends to favour laparoscopic procedures, also known as minimally invasive surgery. The advantages are less post operative discomfort, because a traditional large incission has not been made, quicker recovery time, therefore resulting in a shorter hospital stay, and a quicker return to full activities, with minimal scarring.

Roger's blockage turned out to be a hairball through over grooming, and Simon sees an awful lot of buns with this condition, when they are moulting.

He was admitted in the morning at about 11am, had his surgery about 2ish, and was discharged just before the clinic closed at 7pm. He left with pain relief and anti-biotics, which were more as a precaution, because an incission, albeit a very small one had been made, and although a little sleepy that night, because he was an older bun, he did nibble of bits of herby stuff, and the following day was pretty much back to normal.

Had a post-op check 5 days later. No problems found and none ever encountered thereafter.

I would definately recommend this procedure if your vet needs to perform it, and has the necessary equipment, as I really think that probably more problems could be encountered with a larger incission made.

Just in case anyone is interested, at Roger's post-op, Simon discussed with me the best way to manage buns and their grooming whilst moulting, so as to reduce the risks of such a thing occurring again, and he advised me to purchase a 'slicker' brush especially for small animals, as ones for dogs and cats may be too harsh and cause damage to your rabbits very delicate skin, and probably pain as well.

This is brilliant, and you will be amazed at how much loose fur is trapped in the brush with just one sweep through their coat. I'd say a couple of minutes a day is all you would need to keep on top of and remove all the loose fur that your bun may otherwise ingest.

Roger really loved what he then suggested following the brushing, which was to wet my hands and then just gently rub him all over, but fairly briskly, which gathered any bits that might have been missed, giving you lovely 'furry hands' :lol:

I've had two undergo surgery for blockages. I lost Little Dot, she coped with the surgery fine but died just as they were stitching her up which apparently isn't uncommon as there are massive changes to the body at that time.

Elijah has also had surgery for a blockage. Off the top of my head it's about 18 - 24 months ago. He has always been prone to stasis episodes and has had about 20 in total. His quality of life is the same after as it was before. His was believed to be from his habit of eating his hard faecal pellets. I tend to give him a few doses of Domperidone now when he's having a moult (they tend to be pretty horrendous) just to keep things moving. From x-rays there is no evidence of him having developed surgical adhesions since surgery. I've been told that one of the reasons that the success rate isn't good for this type of surgery is that a lot of non-specialist vets don't focus enough on the aftercare, rather than the surgery itself being unsuccessful.


Both rabbits had the blockage in the small intestine and it was moved along into the large intestine on surgery without the intestine actually being cut. Elijah's surgery is on video and I think it may have been used at conferences for training purposes :shock:

Thanks for your responses, I've been thinking hard about this and taking your experiences on-board.

Barney is doing better now. We are not out of the woods yet, but the impaction seems to no longer be such an issue currently, although with Barney's slow gut it could happen any time really.

Jane, to be honest I have no idea where the impaction was, I will have to ask the vet. From my very inexperienced hands, it seemed that it was in the gut rather than the stomach. My vet didn't mention which part but I think he would have if it was the caecum... poos seem fine anyway and caecals being eaten as usual, in fact poos are always 'okay', just hard and smaller and sometimes a bit oblong when he is ill. He was given sub-cut fluids, a painkilling injection and a pro-kinetic (gut stimulant), unfortunately I don't know the names of the meds, as I wasn't able to get an itemised statement that time like I usually do - the gut stimulant was probably zantac I imagine, and I know the pain killer wouldn't have been meloxicam or in that group of drugs, as he had it alongside his usual meds. He also had his usual metacam and metaclopramide and lots of recovery food for a few days. Do you know if cisapride has any advantages over metaclopramide? My vet has never mentioned that one to me. Barney has had zantac in combination with metaclop before, but I've asked and the vet thinks the metaclop is better for Barney long-term.

Based on your experiences, I think that I wouldn't let Barney undergo traditional gut surgery, as it is just too risky, with too poor a record for complications, to be used on him, as let's face it, he is chronically ill anyway, I don't want to add to his problems. However, I would consider the minimally invasive surgery or surgery that didn't cut into the gut itself but just moved the blockage along to a bigger area, I think. It also depends on whether my vets could perform these procedures, and if not whether we'd have the time to transfer him, so I will have a chat with the vet next time I am in (end of the month-ish, if he continues to improve). I'm glad to have less risky options to consider, as despite his problems I do feel that he has quality of life and is a happy bunny still, so I'd like to keep him going.