Pan
New Kit
Hi, I'm just looking for advice and thoughts.
My 7 year old dwarf lop rabbit Dougal just had a vet appointment yesterday and it seems like his worsening cataracts have set off his old stabilised glaucoma. The vet suggested he be back on eye drops and oral supplements for a week anyway just to see if that might help (though he was doubtful), and then decide what's best to do.
He's already pretty well blind in that eye and has already adapted, and it seems to me that that eye is doing nothing for him any more besides cause him pain and difficulties, so my natural reaction was to once and for all get rid of that eye, and that did seem like the option the vet preferred too, but there's always that terrifying risk of anaesthesia death for rabbits, and I (and my other rabbit) would be heart broken if that happened.
I don't need to be making a decision for a week, and really it depends on what the vet thinks the medicine is doing for him after a week, but it seems that even with that, the eye would still be getting worse.
I mean, from a layman's point of view it doesn't seem like removing an eye would be all that difficult and time consuming if you know what you're doing, but yes I don't know if I could ever risk it.
It annoys me that in this day and age we haven't figured out a way to cut anaesthesia deaths to virtual non-existent. Are there any specialist rabbit surgeons that would know what they're doing better, does anyone know? I think my vets are quite competent though.
My 7 year old dwarf lop rabbit Dougal just had a vet appointment yesterday and it seems like his worsening cataracts have set off his old stabilised glaucoma. The vet suggested he be back on eye drops and oral supplements for a week anyway just to see if that might help (though he was doubtful), and then decide what's best to do.
He's already pretty well blind in that eye and has already adapted, and it seems to me that that eye is doing nothing for him any more besides cause him pain and difficulties, so my natural reaction was to once and for all get rid of that eye, and that did seem like the option the vet preferred too, but there's always that terrifying risk of anaesthesia death for rabbits, and I (and my other rabbit) would be heart broken if that happened.
I don't need to be making a decision for a week, and really it depends on what the vet thinks the medicine is doing for him after a week, but it seems that even with that, the eye would still be getting worse.
I mean, from a layman's point of view it doesn't seem like removing an eye would be all that difficult and time consuming if you know what you're doing, but yes I don't know if I could ever risk it.
It annoys me that in this day and age we haven't figured out a way to cut anaesthesia deaths to virtual non-existent. Are there any specialist rabbit surgeons that would know what they're doing better, does anyone know? I think my vets are quite competent though.