torn cruciate ligament. advice needed.

maxxev · Oct 26, 2006

i arrived home today to find Enya limping badly, even when resting she held her hind leg of the floor. i immediatly rany my vet who diagnosed the cause of this as a torn cruciate ligament (aparently common in large dogs and cats but rarely in rabbits) he has perscribed metacam to control the pain and reduce the inflamation and has adviced me to encourage her to 'rest' her leg as much as possibal. (this could be tricky as she is a very active bun. at the moment she is confined to the kitchen with the use of a small 4"6" run in the garden.)
improvement should be obvious in 2-3 weeks otherwise Enya will need surgery to correct the injury. does anyone have any experiance with this? (my vet has never encoutered it in bunnies before)
i've googled it but everything i can find is mindbogglingly complex.

would the use of a sports bandage help support the ligament while it heals?

Jack's-Jane · Oct 26, 2006

Not had a Bun with this sort of injury myself but I would have thought immobilising the leg would help initially :?
But would Enya tolerate a support bandage :?
Rest and anti-inflams should aid healing but I would have thought confining her to a cage would be necessary :?
Poor Bun, it must be very painful

Janex

bunnylove · Oct 26, 2006

did they do an xray? why are they waiting to do the corrective surgery?

this is what they thought my bunny had he was a british giant, i woke up one mornig and he was dragging his hind leg

they told me they would have to replace the ligament, turns out he had hip dyplaysia and bad arthritus and had to have his ball joint in his hip removed....

i would have thought they would have to replace the ligament if that is what the problem is....

sending healing vibes

touie · Oct 26, 2006

not come accross it in bunnies but seen loads of human cruciate injuries being a sports coach! Ouch poor bunny!

With people unless there's a complete or severe rupture they usually tell you to keep the joint moving as much as possible keeps the blood flowing and speeds recovery. Ligaments often take longer to heal than bones!

maxxev · Oct 27, 2006

bunnylove said:
did they do an xray? why are they waiting to do the corrective surgery?

this is what they thought my bunny had he was a british giant, i woke up one mornig and he was dragging his hind leg they told me they would have to replace the ligament, turns out he had hip dyplaysia and bad arthritus and had to have his ball joint in his hip removed....

i would have thought they would have to replace the ligament if that is what the problem is....

sending healing vibes

Enya has use of her leg, she is just reluctant to do so. they are waiting because (hopfully) the injury to the tendon may simply be a strain or partial tear that will heal itself without the risk of surgery.
she seems a little better this evening and has been hopping (although quiet slowly ) around the kitchen. yesterday she was reluctant to move at all. painkillers seem to be making a differance.
i'm hoping that keeping her confined to lino might stop her being too active while preventing her from feeling i've impeaded her freedom.
though im not convinced that she will tolerate being stuck indoors for weeks especialy once shes began to heal and is feling more like her old self again.

bizzy_vicki · Oct 27, 2006

Poor Enya! I have never heard of cruciate tears in rabbits either but I guess any animal with a cruciate can tear it! I would imagine surgery in a rabbit could make matters worse, the op is barely ever performed on cats and rarely performed on dogs under 10kg, they can function very well with torn ligaments. Keeping the pet slim and doses of metecam when needed generally makes the pet very comfortable.

torn cruciate ligament. advice needed.

maxxev

Mama Doe

Jack's-Jane

Wise Old Thumper

bunnylove

Wise Old Thumper

touie

Wise Old Thumper

maxxev

Mama Doe

bizzy_vicki

Mama Doe

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