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Newly neutered bun, advice please.

cannonwoman

Warren Veteran
Hi all,
Tia my little blue mini lop was neutered on tuesday and all is not going well. She didn`t react too well to the aneasthetic so they had to keep her in over night, i got her back yesterday morning but she`s been refusing to eat or drink, so i`ve been syringe feeding her to prevent her stomach going into stasis.
The new problem is that when i picked her up today i discovered she`d pulled all her stitches out! :? Hence she had a big gapping hole in her stomach :shock: So it was then a case of a mad dash to the vets so they could stitch her up again! She`s now back home and i will continue to syringe feed her BUT they`ve done external stitches again! :shock: So she is now, to her dismay sporting a buster collar to prevent her pulling the stitches out again, she is starting to show interest in food but with the collar can`t work out how to get to it or the water bottle, the collar is just too big! Obviously i`m feeding her by hand with the small amount of solids she`s started eating but she`s got to keep the collar on for 10 days til she has the stitches out. I`m concerned that i need to get her eating normally again asap but with this collar can`t see how it`s going to happen??? I`m also worried about her getting stressed........
I`ve thought about trimming the collar back but am not too sure how far back i can trim it so she can get to her food but not her stitches.
Hope this all makes sense, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Su & a not very happy Tia.x
 
maybe trimming the collar would help as your bun needs to get back into the routine of eating and drinking herself....
we had something similar with Hessi who was kept in at the vets for 3 days as she wasn't eating... it was just hard work for a few days and lots of attention

Just keep on with it...keep us posted..
 
Righto, prepare for a long post!! FIRST: has she had adequate pain relief after her spay?? That acheived with the GA IS NOT enough to cover her for the first couple of days after surgery. Second, I would consider a 'body bandage dressing' on her rather than the buster collar. I have had a few Does who removed their sutures/staples SEVERAL TIMES after spaying and once adequate analgesia was given and a body-wrap type bandage applied all was ok. The wound MUST be checked every 24 hrs to ensure there are no signs of infection.So this means DAILY dressing changes. For this evening I would continue the syringe feeds, remove the collar whilst you are able to supervise your bun and hopefully she will nibble on some hay.I would contact your Vet in the morning to request some Analgesia if bun still seems to want to pull at her wound. You may have to be QUITE INSISTENT re pain relief but their is NO reason why a vet should not agree to it after what is really major abdominal surgery. If you notice your bun has not poo'ed/wee'd much then you MUST take her back to the Vet. Hopefully once the syringe feeding gets things moving she will feel more inclined to eat of her own accord. If you are at all concerned do not hesitate to take your bun back to the Vet. Jane and Buns xx
 
agreed - analgesia being metacam I guess? My vet wouldn't give me any though even though I begged her to sell me a £12 bottle :roll:

I would guess that a vet old fashioned enough to do external stitches isn't going to dish out painkillers either - It's going to be really hard for her with a collar on though - she can't eat her caecal poops either so you should also feed these to her by hand.

Poor little girl - I would make a makeshift bandage from a clean dishcloth - one of those jaycloths maybe - and cut up a pair of stockings so that you have a shortish tube to go over the cloth and keep it in place - you can't really leave her in it as she'll chew it off, but you could give her a couple of hours with no collar, a couple of times a day - Hope she gets well soon! Will be thinking of you - I have a bunny called Tia too :)
 
Thanks Jane for your advice,
Yes she has had pain relief, plus another antibiotics injection and a vitamin injection, plus avipro to keep her gut moving, but if she does show any signs of being in pain tomorrow then i will insist in more pain relief.
I hadn`t thought of a body bandage, :oops: , sorry brain not working too well at the mo! Have 101 varieties here, but just one quick question, what wound dressing would you use inside? i know with human stitches they tend to use jelonet, would this be a good idea or should i just use melolin?
Sorry, just want to make Tia as comfortable as possible.

Regards, Su.x
 
elve said:
agreed - analgesia being metacam I guess? My vet wouldn't give me any though even though I begged her to sell me a £12 bottle :roll:

I would guess that a vet old fashioned enough to do external stitches isn't going to dish out painkillers either - It's going to be really hard for her with a collar on though - she can't eat her caecal poops either so you should also feed these to her by hand.

Elve, i can`t work out why they did external stitches either? :? It was the oldest of the vets who did her, and as you say that`s very old fashioned! Normally the head vet who i get on really well with deals with 90% of my furries and he always does internal stitches which is so much better. If i do have to go back tomorrow for more painkiller then i will try and see him as he knows me pretty well and should hopefully let me have some.

Will keep you posted, Su.x
 
cannonwoman said:
Thanks Jane for your advice,
Yes she has had pain relief, plus another antibiotics injection and a vitamin injection, plus avipro to keep her gut moving, but if she does show any signs of being in pain tomorrow then i will insist in more pain relief.
I hadn`t thought of a body bandage, :oops: , sorry brain not working too well at the mo! Have 101 varieties here, but just one quick question, what wound dressing would you use inside? i know with human stitches they tend to use jelonet, would this be a good idea or should i just use melolin?
Sorry, just want to make Tia as comfortable as possible.

Regards, Su.x
Melolin or Jellonet will be fine, anything sterile and non-adhesive. My very worst 'undo-spay 4-times-bun' Maya had a Melonin dressing held in place with some micropore then an open weave bandage topped off with a cohesive bandage. I changed the dressing and checked the wound daily and was able to leave the dressing off completely after 5 days. Please keep us posted re your buns progress!! Jane and Bunsxx
 
You shouldn't need to use Jelonet on a closed wound! I would use Melolin if you want to use one of them. Using external sutures on a bun is not an old fashioned way, it is just what a vets preference is. We have young vets at our practice and some use internal sutures, others external and others staples. Hope she settles down and starts to eat soon!
 
Lind80 said:
You shouldn't need to use Jelonet on a closed wound! I would use Melolin if you want to use one of them. Using external sutures on a bun is not an old fashioned way, it is just what a vets preference is. We have young vets at our practice and some use internal sutures, others external and others staples. Hope she settles down and starts to eat soon!
Why would a Vet use EXTERNAL SUTURES on a bun who has already opened her spay wound once.......?? :? :? Jane and Bunsxx
 
That`s what i was thinking Jane, also with bunnies being such prolific chewers i just don`t see the sense in using external stitches when internal are just as good and bunny can`t chew them off! :D
On the body bandage front, Tia thought it was great, cheered right up and had a good munch, then i left her alone..................................... went back to find lots of chewed up bandage, dressing and micropore! :? :? :? :? O.k. so it`s back to plan a, i`ve put the buster collar back on, cut it back so she can eat but not get to her stitches. At the moment she`s just sitting there looking pretty peeved :( . I`m just going to have to check her regularily and if she decides she`s not going to eat with it on then i`ll have to take it off when i`m around to watch her. Can`t wait to feed her her overnight poos! :shock: Sorry, not even going to attempt to spell it as i never get it right!
 
How's little Tia this morning ?? I was munching my cornflakes when I read the part of your post about feeding Tia her 'over-night poos'........ GULP-GAG-GULP!! :lol: :lol: Jane and Buns xx
 
Sorry jane, but hope you sort of enjoyed your cornflakes! :lol:
Tia peed and pood overnight which is good but i`m going to have to go back to the vets as i feel she needs more pain relief........... The little madam managed to get her buster collar off in the night? :? But fortunately i woke up with a funny feeling at about 3am, ran in to check her and she was in the process of removing the first one of her stitches, so i managed to stop her in the act!
Will keep you posted as to her progress but feel this is going to be a long slog............. :roll:

Su.x
 
Hi Cannonwomen,

Alfie pulled out his stitches a few weeks ago, blood on the carpet and on his nose he made a right mess of them - apparently they were internal stitches and the emergency vet said that it was unusual for stitches to be pulled out with i was extremely surprised about.

Anyway, Alfie had to wear a collar. I kept him inside for a week so i would keep an eye on him. The collar was awkward but it wasn't massive.

He found it hard to eat so i hand fed him and i gave him a much bigger disch to eat from as well as a big bowl of water. Apart from that the collar didn't seem to bother him.

If the collar is really big you could cut it back a bit, i think when buns are sprayed there stiches are in their bellies so even by trimming it it will still be hard for her to pull them out.

How long until she has them out??

Alfie lost a bit of weight too, he loved banana which is fattening so i gave him a bit more then that then i usually do.

let me know if you need any more help. I know how hard it is watching your bun with a collar in and feeling sorry for them!
 
PS. I would try and keep the collar on her, she will get used to it.

I was so tempted to take it off Alfie under supervision but it felt almost much crueler to put it bak on him!!

As i said before he got used to it and when i took his collar off i thought he would be grooming himself non-stop, etc but he acted like nothing had happened!!!

If you are to put bandages on, again do this under supervision. Personally i wiuld leave the collar on it will be worth it when her stitches are nicely healed!
 
Hi Alfie,
Now i`ve cut tia`s collar back she is eating better, not a graet amount but better, i`m still syringing her some science recovery to make sure she`s getting vitamins etc....... I`ve actually just been and brought some bananas, it`s a case of offering her tempting things just to encourage her.
I`ve decided to keep the collar on as she seems to be getting used to it and when i have taken it off she just heads straight for her stitches! :?
She seems much brighter now and at present is investigating the kitchen so hopefully that means we`re on the right track. :D

Will keep you all posted, Su.x
 
I`ve decided to keep the collar on as she seems to be getting used to it and when i have taken it off she just heads straight for her stitches!

Definately keep in on, if she tears those stitches out again you will be back to square on.

How long until she has them out?? Alfie had his collar on for a week!
 
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