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tooth root abcess

bunnymyhoney57

Warren Scout
One of my buns, Chloe 5yr old spayed doe has been at the vets today.She has an abcess which I first noticed on Sunday on her lower jaw. The vet says its caused by the roots of two lower molars being infected. The teeth are that bad he reckons they'll fall out, which in itself would cause problems .i.e. the top teeth would have to be trimmed regularly to keep them from getting too long. She has been picking at her A & P pellets the last few days and has'nt shown interest in her carrots and greens altho she has been outside binky'ing and eating grass and leaves.Her mate has been most attentive- maybe he realises she is feelin poorly. He cant cut the abcess out and has suggested trying to remove the pus as best he can and putting an antibiotic gel in the wound to clean it from the inside and giving her injections of antibiotics and pain killers.This would have to be done on a daily basis and would be expensive as it may take weeks. Also there is no guarantee that she would get better as abcesses have a habit of re-occurring as in rabbits they are difficult to treat. I have to think overnight whether I want todo this.She is being kept in and they have already given her painkillers and atibiotic jabs for now.Otherwise we could have her home for 24 hours and then she would be put to sleep. Please offer any thoughts. thanks........lynne
 
Whot a horrid decision to make i feel for you, i can only tell you my thouhgts but you know it is up to you in the end. Ive come across this many times with rabbits and your vet is right there is a likley hood of it spreading, i believe it can get into the bones as well as travel through the blood. One of my rabbits has just had an abccess removed from her dew lap thankfully in one peice, if this had not been the case i would have had here pts, here chances of it not spreading would have been nil. there will be other rabbits that have come through this but not i think with one wraped round teeth roots. As i said its your desision, but i personaly think its time to call it a day. val :cry:
 
I'm afraid abcesses involving the teeth roots are quite serious as they eat away at the jaw bone and are very difficult to do anything about :(

You could try having the two teeth taken out (and their opposite pair) which may allow the abcess to drain but its certainly no guarentee.

You could ask you vet to refer you to a specialist or phone up one for a second opinion.

Tam
 
I'm sorry to hear about your poorly bunny :(
I was faced with a similar situation last november when my rabbit Pepe developed an abscess on the side of his face. I was told that the long term prognosis wasn't good and it was up to me whether they operated on him or put him to sleep. Apart from the abscess, he was a lively and happy bunny and I felt I couldn't end his life at that time. He was operated on and was left with a large gaping wound which was loosely stapled together. They didn't manage to remove the offending teeth. Every day we had to flush it out with a pevidine solution at least twice a day and had to try and keep the wound open for as long as possible. He was also put on Baytril for the rest of his life. It was a shock seeing him like that and a bit stomach churning to begin with. He made an excellent recovery and eventually it healed over. About six weeks later his tear duct became blocked and that had to be debulked. Whilst he was under, the vet removed two teeth. After this he went from strength to strength. Occasionally his tear duct filled up again but after bathing it with a salt water solution, I was able to gently squeeze the contents out.
I managed to keep Pepe for seven months until I found he'd passed away in one of his favourite spots under the kitchen table :(
To this day I don't know why he died.
God I miss that rabbit so much!

I really don't know what to say to you, it's such a difficult decision to make.

Best Wishes,
 
Have a look at the info on abcesses on this site before making your decision:

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#abs

However although you can't get Bicilin here the other injectible penicillins may also work (probably the injection you vet has suggested as treatment). They can cause gut problems in susceptible bunnys but the injectible form is much less dangerous than the oral penicillin.

Removing the infected teeth and the opposite pair + giving the injections may prove quite costly but I think your bun could have a good chance of survival. Try asking to be shown how to do the injections yourself - many vets would be happy to teach you - you would just have to pay for the antibiotic then not the vets time as well!

Caz
 
Sad experience of abscess

My bunny Flo sadly died yesterday. She had an abscess on her jaw which was too close to the throat to operate on. Our approach was to just leave it alone as it was not bothering her and she did not even seem to notice it was there. Unfortunately 6 months later it suddenly caused blood poisoning, she went rapidly down hill and had a heart attack. On balance however I think the vets approach of leaving the abscess was right as she would never of coped with daily interference of cleaning out the wound, we had her for an extra six months happy and bright.

Sorry this is not brighter news but it seems these cases are always difficult, you just need to go with your gut feel and what you think your bunny could live with in terms of long term intervention.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about Flo :( It was nice she had that extra six months of quality time with you though.

Take care

Nicola
 
There is still hope for bunnies with jaw abscesses. Billy developed an abscess on his jaw about 4 months ago, my vet opened it up and I cleaned it on a daily basis. He was having daily engemycin injections and he completly recovered. He now has another tooth root abscess on his jaw and I am giving him daily engemycin injections (an excellent antimicrobial) again and is doing well. It is hoped the engemycin will sort the problem out without surgery. I always feel that as long as the bunny is happy and otherwise healthy then it is worth treating.

Cheryl
Sprowston guinea pig rescue
 
cheryl while i agree with some of your post, i can not agree with a rabbit being happy with a root abccess, ive had one and they are the most painfull thing to have. If it is to keep coming back then i dont think its fair to let it continue. A rabbit can put up with a lot of pain and you would not think it because they hide it so well. They cannot speak for themselves and so we have to make decisions for them. If it cannot be cured then there is only one answer. val
 
cheeky had two root abscesses a few months ago and the vet put him in antibiotics ( long term) , he also has snuffles so this was also going against him , He did however make a full recovery and I have the vets to thank for that . You will know best what to do as the infection may be alot worse than cheeky,s . Your vet will also be the best to advise on what can and cannot be done . I wish you and your bun the very best . Let us know how you get on .
 
tooth abcess

I am so sad to say that Chloe was put to sleep today. She did seem quite well up to 48 hours ago.She was on meds and I was helping her feed but then she was not interested in any food even her favourites and became very lethargic.I tried to find out all I could , following some of your advice and from the net, and my vet phoned for help too.She was around 7 yrs old and I'd had her for 2 yrs.Her mate Dylan said his goodbyes to her when I brought her home and she has been buried in our garden alongside her friends.Rest in Peace my darling.
She is the seventh bun I've lost this year. I still miss them all so much.
Thanks to all of you for your support.
Bunnylove - lynne
 
I'm terribly sorry for your loss! I know how hard it is to lose one bun but I can't imagine how you are feeling to lose seven in one year!

Caroline
 
Oh Lynne I'm so sorry to hear about chloe.
You gave her a chance, it must be such a hard decision to make. She is free from pain now and 7 is a good age.
What an awful year you've had. Thinking of you at this sad time.
 
Oh Lynn - I'm so sorry to hear about little Chloe but you did your very best and this must be the worst decision any bunny mum has to make.

Bunny hugs to you as this years been really bad for you - lets hope you've now reached the turning point.

Binky Free Little Chloe.
 
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